Skip to content
If you have any issues accessing this website, please call 206.652.1129 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the Pacific time zone.
People of Saltchuk

People of Saltchuk

The stories behind the Saltchuk family of companies

  • saltchuk.com
  • Saltchuk Job Board

Growth

Merrilee Gorman

Tropical operations manager celebrated for Distinguished Service in Safety

November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 4 min read

Merrilee Gorman is ‘deeply concerned with doing the right things the right way.’ Vessel Operations Manager Merrilee Gorman began her career at Tropical Shipping 38 years ago as a File Clerk in Accounting. “When I first started at Tropical, it

Read more
Robert Ackley, Tropical

Safety Q&A with Robert Ackley, Tropical Shipping

October 11, 2022October 11, 2022 4 min read

Tropical Shipping Shipside Operations Supervisor Robert Ackley is a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award nominee after a series of pinch-point finger and hand injuries led to co-creating a tool that allows the company’s stevedores to hold lifting cables away from cargo,

Read more
Jay Richardson and Jesse Schram

Safety Q&A with Jesse Richardson & Jay Schram, Foss Maritime

September 29, 2022September 29, 2022 11 min read

Jesse Richardson and Jay Schram, both managers at Foss Maritime, were nominated for a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award for recognizing the need for and implementing new equipment into the company’s seasonal lighterage operation, located 200 miles above the Arctic Circle

Read more
Carly Remm, Foss

Safety Q&A with Carly Remm, Project Manager, Foss Maritime

September 8, 2022September 8, 2022 4 min read

Project Manager Carly Remm has proven to be a great asset for Foss Atlantic, having successfully triaged many of the safety issues encountered during the reactivation of a fleet of dilapidated vessels, returning (to date) five vessels back into safe

Read more
Coleen Kaneshiro, AAC

Aloha Director of HR details career ‘journey’

August 25, 2022October 5, 2022 7 min read

Coleen Kaneshiro: ‘I wanted to slow down, and I did. The experience gave me time to reflect on where I was in my career and where I wanted to go.’ Like many born and raised on Oahu, Aloha Air Cargo

Read more
Michael Loomis, Foss

Safety Q&A with Michael Loomis, Project Manager, Foss Maritime

July 19, 2022July 19, 2022 4 min read

Foss Maritime Project Manager Michael Loomis is a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award Nominee. He recently oversaw the contract/project management and execution of the final sea voyage of the USS Kitty Hawk under tow by the Michele Foss, a journey spanning

Read more
Paul Hendriks

Foss Director of Marine Assurance keeps safety at the forefront

July 5, 2022July 5, 2022 7 min read

Paul Hendriks: ‘As leaders, we should always remind ourselves of what it’s like to stand in the shoes of the people who do the work.’ As Foss Maritime’s Director of Marine Assurance, it’s Capt. Paul Hendriks’s job to make sure

Read more
Becky Selengut

Thea Foss chef dedicated to preserving SCA, SMA for future generations

May 10, 2022May 12, 2022 8 min read

For Becky Selengut, the battle to keep the trade schools open is personal. Growing up on the largest lake in New Jersey, Thea Foss Chef Becky Selengut describes her childhood as “sort of Rockwellian.” “We were a half-mile away from

Read more
Rob McCaughey

From oil tankers to tugs and barges

April 8, 2022May 10, 2022 8 min read

TJC Marine HSQE Manager Capt. Rob McCaughey reflects on his life at sea. Capt. Rob McCaughey’s career path has been as diverse as the ocean on which it was built. He’s worked as a diver. He’s sailed on tankers as

Read more
Ben Ostroff

GM hopes to bring stability, sense of ownership to Starlight Marine

March 15, 2022March 15, 2022 6 min read

Ben Ostroff: ‘I believe in giving decision-making power to the people closest to the operation.’ In the weeks following the completion of Ben Ostroff’s first semester at Pitzer College—a top-ranked liberal arts school near Los Angeles where Ostroff was planning

Read more
Kimo Haynes

Hawaii Petroleum president reflects on growing the family business

March 1, 2022March 10, 2022 6 min read

Kimo Haynes: ‘This pandemic has been the greatest challenge of my career, but I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together.’ It’s been almost two years to the day since Hawaii recorded its first case of coronavirus.

Read more
Rose Rodriguez, NSE

NorthStar recruiter’s roots in Alaska key to candidate search

February 8, 2022February 8, 2022 9 min read

Rose Rodriguez: ‘You really have to think like an Alaskan.’ When NorthStar Energy Recruiter Rose Rodriguez has open jobs in Alaska, she doesn’t rely on the usual recruiting platforms to fill them. Instead, she meets potential applicants right where they’re

Read more
Paul Stevens

Saltchuk SVP, former Foss pres reflects on 40 years in maritime

January 11, 2022February 8, 2022 8 min read

Paul Stevens: ‘I somehow fell in love with the industry.’ Paul Stevens never imagined a career in the maritime industry. A quintessential “gentle giant,” his imposing presence and breezy charisma belie his quiet Jersey upbringing. “New Jersey was a great

Read more
  • ← Previous

Interested in working for the Saltchuk Family of Companies?

Looking for a great place to grow your career?
Visit the Saltchuk Job Board

Categories

  • Alaska (71)
  • California (4)
  • Career Growth and Advancement (2)
  • Caribbean (54)
  • Companies (124)
  • COVID-19 (18)
  • Environment (11)
  • Ethics (4)
  • Family Ties (34)
  • Featured News Stories (239)
  • Florida (24)
  • Giving (23)
  • Hawaii (26)
  • Joining the Family (7)
  • Main Site Feature Story (224)
  • PNW (57)
  • Public Policy (4)
  • Regional News (24)
  • Safety (74)
  • Saltchuk (159)
  • Saltchuk People (229)
  • Veterans (22)
  • Videos (17)

Topics

air cargo Alaska Anchorage Awards Caribbean caribbean shipping Carlile Charitable Giving Community Delta Western family Family Ties Florida Foss Foss Maritime Giving Growth Hawaii History Hurricane Jacksonville leadership NAC NAMS Northern Air Cargo puerto rico retirement Safety safety award Safety Culture Saltchuk Saltchuk Alaska saltchuk family Saltchuk People Seattle shipping to caribbean Tacoma TOTE TOTE Maritime Tropical Tropical Shipping trucking tugboat tugs Young Brothers

ABOUT THE MAGAZINE

People of Saltchuk was created in 2014 to highlight the hard working people dedicated to making Saltchuk companies the best in their industries. We think the transportation industry is fascinating, and hope you find the stories here interesting, inspiring and enlightening as you learn about the companies and people that make up the Saltchuk family. If you have a suggestion for a feature, please > contact Emily Reiter

> VISIT SALTCHUK.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

HILARY REEVES

Hilary Reeves spent 10 years as a newspaper reporter and editor before joining the Saltchuk family of companies as a consultant. Since People of Saltchuk launched in 2014, Reeves has interviewed more than 200 Saltchuk employees from operating companies all over the world. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Reeves is a former president of both the collegiate and local professional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists, a graduate of the Society’s Ted Scripps Leadership Institute, and a Toastmaster. When she’s not writing, she loves to read, ski, and practice the piano. She lives in West Seattle with her husband and two young daughters.

Interested in working for the Saltchuk family of companies? Check out the Saltchuk Job Board for opportunities throughout the nation.

> VISIT THE SALTCHUK JOB BOARD

Copyright © 2023 People of Saltchuk. All rights reserved.