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People of Saltchuk

People of Saltchuk

The stories behind the Saltchuk family of companies

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Saltchuk People

Leslie Hinton in Palmer, Alaska.

Family helping family

December 23, 2022January 16, 2023 5 min read

Earlier this year, Naniq Director Mike Hinton’s sister was in crisis. Five Saltchuk companies worked together to help bring her home for Christmas. In May, Mike Hinton took a phone call from his older sister that would change his life

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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

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CITB

CITB team’s incremental approach earns award for safety innovation

November 1, 2022November 1, 2022 3 min read

President Jeff Johnson: ‘independent streak’ of Alaskans fuels culture of advancement Cook Inlet Tug and Barge (CITB) crews meet the return of winter this month armed with a series of mariner-engineered safety improvements aimed at addressing the inherent dangers of

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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,

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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

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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

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Leray Leasure

Safety Q&A with Leray Leasure, Deckhand Engineer, Foss Maritime

August 30, 2022September 8, 2022 3 min read

As a new hire to Foss Maritime, Leray Leasure was nominated for a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award for stepping up to address safety issues within the company’s Columbia Snake River fleet. During the past two years, he’s championed improvements in

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Ed Ehler

Safety Q&A with Ed Ehler, Regional Operations Manager, PNW Oceans & Harbor, Foss Maritime

August 2, 2022August 2, 2022 3 min read

Foss Maritime Regional Operations Manager Ed Ehler was nominated for a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award for working directly with customers and crew to make sure progress toward safer operations takes place. “This is not easy, and it is time-consuming,” said

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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

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Mike O'Shea

CITB VP explores new lines of business in Alaska

May 24, 2022October 5, 2022 6 min read

Michael O’Shea: ‘I’ve really been blessed in my life. My only wish would have been to have my mom along for the ride.’ Not long after Michael O’Shea was born, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. “There was never a

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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