Army veteran Laticia Rowe joined NAC 18 years ago after settling in Alaska.
By Hilary Reeves
It took Northern Air Cargo Claims Controller Laticia Rowe decades to find her dream career. Born and raised in Central Florida, she is the oldest of 10 children and said high school graduation marked one of several turning points in her life.
“I attended Lake Mary High School and was undecided on what I wanted to do after graduation,” she said. “Having worked several jobs, none sparked an interest that made me want to further pursue them as careers, except one: a summer job working at a police station in the Records Department.”
Rowe worked a few temp jobs, “seeking to find something that made me feel differently,” but had no luck. She decided to enlist in the United States Army as a Wire Systems Installer and Repairer in the Communications Field.
“During the 14 years of my enlistment, I traveled to Karlsruhe, Germany, Fort Stewart, Georgia three times, and Fort Richardson, Alaska, where I was based when I served in several campaign deployments: Incirlik Air Base, Silopi, Turkey; Zahku, Iraq; and the desert of Egypt,” she said.
While Rowe was stationed in Alaska, she met and married her husband of 22 years, Edward Rowe, a Northern Aviation Maintenance Services Passenger Ramp Lead. The couple has three children, ages 25, 20, and 16.
“If there is something that comes up missing, trying to find it really intrigues me – I don’t stop until I’ve done all that I can do and have exhausted all means. Investigating and finding a mutual resolution is what I love.”
“In 2001, we decided to leave the military and relocate to Anchorage to raise our kids. I began working for Northern Air Cargo more than 18 years ago as a Customer Service Agent. In the summer of 2004, the position of Claims Agent opened and my journey into the wonderful world of freight claims began,” she laughed. “If there is something that comes up missing, trying to find it really intrigues me – I don’t stop until I’ve done all that I can do and have exhausted all means. Investigating and finding a mutual resolution is what I love. The countless interactions with customers help to continuously build on the relationships and make the customers feel valued and cared for. It’s one of the things that sets NAC apart from others. It’s how we keep customers and maintain the lasting patronage.”
Rowe’s typical day involves processing claims, negotiating settlements, and keeping up-to-date notes and files.
“Locating freight that didn’t make its flight, registering discrepancies for re-manifesting, or putting it into the station’s queues to get a more accurate tracking on it for the customer,” Rowe continued. “It also ensures that the Airway Bills are not being held up in the system and can be invoiced by Accounting.”
Rowe said she’s proud of what she’s learned and accomplished over the years and constantly still finds herself picking up little different nuggets of knowledge every day.
“My spare time is spent with my family and friends making memories,” she said. “Life is too short, so you have to live in and cherish the moments.”
She said she’s always been sparked by the teamwork at NAC – the support that it gives and the lasting friendships she’s developed.
“In years to come, I think that there will continue to be big changes at NAC – it’s happening now, just look around. It continues to amaze me how far the company has come in the past 18 years. Change keeps it exciting and it keeps you on your toes; you just have to remember to stay flexible and have fun.”
