Landscaper-turned-dispatcher found forever home in Sitka, Alaska

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on December 14th, 2021

Landscaper-turned-dispatcher found forever home in Sitka, Alaska

By Hilary Reeves

Linda Holmes joined Delta Western eight years ago.

Delta Western Dispatcher Linda Holmes always thought she’d become a professional landscaper serving the small Puget Sound communities she knew so well, growing up near Seattle. A 2001 commercial fishing season in Sitka, Alaska, changed her mind.

“I fell in love with the town and decided to stay awhile and build a family.”

Holmes grew up outside of Bremerton, Washington, with her mother and two older sisters. She attended high school in nearby Silverdale until the family moved south to Port Orchard during her junior year.

“The new school was overwhelming. It was big. I didn’t know anyone, and I felt completely out of place. I spent my time writing columns for the school newspaper, and I thought I wanted to be a journalist, but I wasn’t pushy or aggressive enough. I loved listening to people’s stories, but I didn’t like insisting that they tell them.”

She fell in love with gardening and horticulture after her mother began hiring Holmes out to work in her coworkers’ yards.

“I loved the feeling of growing and creating something from the ground up.”

She also worked in customer service, most notably at an auto parts store where she met her partner, Travis. A side job for a landscaping company in Port Ludlow, Washington, soon turned into a full-time job.

“Although I don’t do landscaping professionally anymore – except in my own garden at home – that job helped me recognize the joy that comes with watching things, and myself, grow.

Growing things

After Holmes and her partner moved to Sitka in 2001, the couple was blessed with two boys, and she spent the next eight years at home.

“Once they were in school full-time, I decided to go back to work. A friend told me about a position at a fuel dock that was just opening up. I thought I’d just go and apply – it was a whirlwind. Delta Western had just purchased the Sitka site, and they were still putting everything together here.”

Holmes joined Delta Western as a receptionist and dispatcher eight years ago.

“I loved the challenge, and it felt great to be part of a growing company. We were all working to figure out what worked for us and what didn’t.”

She said what she loves about her job are the people and the constantly changing environment.

“Helping out with the Ketchikan site has been my biggest challenge. For 10 months, I was processing all the daily paperwork because they didn’t have an office or any office personnel. I was able to get them started – remotely, from Sitka – while also still working on my daily tasks.

No hesitation

 Holmes credits her partner Travis, her “biggest supporter,” with encouraging her to go back to work and said their boys, Tucker, 16, and Carter, 12, are what she’s most proud of.

“I’ve tried to teach them the value of hard work so they can succeed in life.”

She said she sometimes wishes she had asked more questions.

“Not everything works for everyone. I’d have asked more questions about why things are the way they are and how we can change them to better fit each person’s needs.”

While she’d love to open a nursery or landscaping company someday, for now, she’s sticking with Delta Western.

“No matter where I go within the company, I feel welcome. We joke around with each other a lot. One of my favorite stories is when I made a trip to Yakutat to help out in the office there. I flew out from Sitka spent four days. Jon Jensen dropped me back off at the airport to check in to fly home. While I was checking in, the agent kept looking at me strangely. She finally asked, “Do you need assistance?” I declined, and she asked if I was sure. She finally told me that on my itinerary, it said I was disabled and needed a wheelchair, and couldn’t speak English. Every person in the terminal looked at me, awaiting my reply. And at that moment, I realized Mike Johnson (Sitka Terminal Manager) had booked my ticket. Everyone in the terminal had a good laugh. We make a great team. It has always been about teamwork with our site. There is never a dull moment working here.”

The one takeaway she holds close to her heart: change is inevitable.

“I’m not sure what will change here at Delta Western in the next few years, but it’s always good to see a company that’s not hesitant about moving forward.”

The Jankovich Company joins NorthStar Energy

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on October 19th, 2021

The Jankovich Company joins NorthStar Energy

By Hilary Reeves

‘We decided to join NorthStar because we want to continue to grow,’ said President Tom Jankovich, Jr. of the company his father founded in 1933.

Tom Jankovich, Jr. grew up outside of Los Angeles in the coastal community of San Pedro, California. It was, he said, a childhood not unlike those of his father and grandfather back in Yugoslavia.

“The men in my family were fishermen,” he explained. “My grandfather came over first. He chose Southern California because it felt like home. He fished until he had enough money to send for his wife and son, my dad.”

His grandfather emigrated in 1915. His father followed in 1921. In 1933, Jankovich’s father formed a business that would carry the family name – a company Jankovich wasn’t initially interested in.

“I never thought about getting into the business because it was a small operation, servicing just the local fishing fleet.”

Instead, Jankovich went to college with the dream of coaching football and track. Fortunately, he said, he also had the foresight to minor in business.

Tom Jankovich, Sr., left, and Tom Jankovich, Jr.

“It was in 1960 – my first year of college – that I started working with my dad. I saw some opportunities for growth and shared my thoughts and visions of expansion with my dad. Having lived through and survived the devastation of the Great Depression, my dad wasn’t one to take risks. Luckily, he pretty much left that aspect of the business to me.”

By 1963, Jankovich had married and began taking on more responsibilities at the company.

“Dad had an accountant that worked on the books one night a week, but within a couple of months of me being in charge, I let him go and was doing the books myself.”

The change allowed Jankovich to save up enough money to purchase the company’s first fuel truck in 1965.

“That changed everything. The truck had a thousand-gallon tank and the capacity to transport 20 drums. The truck paid for itself in just 30 days. Within a year, we had two trucks, but I was still the only driver.”

Then Shell Oil came knocking.

“They came to me and asked if I could deliver some of their lube oils to ships at night and on the weekends. That got us started in the marine lube oil business.”

The only vessel of its kind

By the late ’60s, even though Jankovich was managing multiple aspects of the business, he was only earning $600 per month. To support his growing family, he began teaching part-time with the Los Angeles School District two days per week at $25 per day.

When Shell contacted Jankovich once again about a contracting opportunity, he was ready and willing. In 1975, he formed a division that would eventually become the largest supplier of lubricants on the Western seaboard. Two years later, his father officially relinquished the reigns of The Jankovich Company, and Jankovich became president.

Vicki Ann and her namesake.

A year later, Shell presented Jankovich with an opportunity that would be the catalyst for decades of explosive growth: Shell asked Jankovich to build a boat to deliver bulk lubricants to ships at anchor.

The Vicki Ann, a Tanker Class vessel named after Jankovich’s daughter, was designed and built to transport 25,000 gallons of bulk lubricants that could be pumped directly to a ship’s lube oil tanks – the only vessel of its kind. The company went from delivering 600,000 gallons of lubricants through the Port every year to 9 million gallons annually during the next decade.

In 1981, the company launched a water taxi service within the Port of Los Angeles and expanded its trucking fleet. Eight years later, Jankovich acquired two offshore supply vessels immediately employed in the offshore oil production work off Santa Barbara and Ventura.

The Jankovich Company’s petroleum distribution business grew steadily throughout the ’90s, with the purchase of four tank barges to reduce trucking costs and transport fuel in greater volumes, the purchase of the San Diego 10th Ave Marine Terminal from British Petroleum, and, finally, the construction of a unique rail line in 2003 to streamline shipments from the Gulf Coast.

“It’s hard to believe I’ve been in the business for 60 years now,” Jankovich said, reflecting on the company’s 85th anniversary in 2018 and relocation into a new, larger headquarters in San Pedro.

Tom Jankovich, Jr. at the company’s new headquarters in San Pedro, California.

Luck, timing, courage, confidence

Earlier this year, The Jankovich Company joined NorthStar Energy, the energy business unit of the Saltchuk family of companies. Jankovich said he’d known of Saltchuk, especially the “good people at Foss,” for years.

“We decided to join NorthStar because we want to continue to grow,” he said. “It’s pretty hard for a small, individual company to access the capital to expand, and I thought it was the right time. There may be opportunities in the future that we’ll be able to execute on because of NorthStar’s financial strength and support.”

Jankovich said it will be “years and years” until substantial infrastructure is in place to support innovations such as electric cars.

“A fuel-less existence is on the distant horizon, but there are still plenty of markets seeking traditional energy sources,” he said. “Our business is going to go on for a while.”

And while his father, Thomas B. Jankovich, Sr., died many years ago, Jankovich said he’d be proud the company is staying in the family name.

“I have my three sons working for me now ­– they have ever since high school and again after college. None of them have ever worked anywhere else. It’s in their blood.”

Jankovich also has two grandsons involved in the business. One is married, with a baby boy named Thomas John – the fifth generation.

“My eldest grandson is very capable,” Jankovich said. “He’ll likely move into management soon. I’m proud that we were able to grow the business, that we brought our family in, and that we’ve been successful and able to live a great life.”

Jankovich said he’s in no hurry to retire.

“I don’t have any timeline. There may be a time somewhere down the line when I wouldn’t want to go to work every day, but I’d still like to stay involved.”

Jankovich and his wife still travel and have been back to his family’s ancestral home in modern-day Croatia eight times now.

“In the meantime, I enjoy driving classic cars, playing golf, and consuming fine wine, although not necessarily in that order.”

When he thinks back on The Jankovich Company, four decades of explosive growth – with hopefully more to come – he said it came down to three things: “I always say it’s a lot of luck, good timing, and most importantly having the courage and confidence to take risks when opportunities come along.”

1960

Tom Jankovich, Jr. joins The Jankovich Co.

1965

Jankovich purchases the company’s first fuel truck.

1975

Jankovich formed a division that would eventually become the largest supplier of lubricants on the Western seaboard. He acquired a lubricant oil tank farm in nearby Long Beach and a warehouse for packaged products and services.

1977

Jankovich’s father officially relinquished the reigns of the company, and Jankovich became president.

1978

Shell asked The Jankovich Co. to build a boat to deliver bulk lubricants to ships at anchor. The Vicki Ann, a Tanker Class vessel named after Jankovich’s daughter, was designed and built to transport 25,000 gallons of bulk lubricants that could be pumped directly to a ship’s lube oil tanks – the only vessel of its kind.

1981

The Jankovich Co. launched a water taxi service within the Port of Los Angeles and expanded its trucking fleet to accommodate the more than nine million gallons of lubricant oil the company was delivering every year.

1989

The company acquired two offshore supply vessels immediately employed in the offshore oil production work being performed off Santa Barbara and Ventura.

1990

Jankovich purchased the tank barge J&S No.1 to reduce the cost of trucking diesel to the Marine fueling station at LA Berth 74. The barge enabled the company to purchase and transport bulk diesel in much greater volumes. An additional benefit of the barge acquisition was the ability to enter and develop a new line of business: supplying and delivering bulk diesel and fuel oil to ships. This bunkering business grew rapidly as demand continued to increase annually.

1994

The Jankovich Co. sold its water taxi business to focus on its core business, petroleum distribution.

1995

The company acquired the San Diego 10th Ave Marine Terminal business and assets from British Petroleum. BP had been making deliveries of modest quantities of fuel oil to the cruise ships by barge and diesel to the San Diego tuna fishing fleet and area tugboats.

2003

The San Diego facility’s utilization and profitability increased when Jankovich secured an agreement to become a receiving, storage, and distribution point for jet fuel to the San Diego International Airport. In addition, the construction of a unique rail line dramatically increased the efficiency of Jankovich’s Paramount facility by enabling larger bulk shipments to be received from Texas and the Gulf Coast by rail instead of trucks.

2007

Due to the continuing growth of the cruise ship business in San Diego, Jankovich commissioned Sundial Shipyard in Troutdale, Oregon, to build the 15,000-barrel double-hull barge Payton J.

2021

The Jankovich Co. joined Northstar Energy.

Forty years of fuel and family

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on September 23rd, 2021

Forty years of fuel and family

By Hilary Reeves

The future looks bright for Alaska Petroleum Distributing – General Manager and second-generation business owner Lisa Sundborg said things changed for the better after joining NorthStar Energy in 2019.

Lisa Sundborg has never created a resume, and she’s never filled out a job application.

“When I tell people that, they can’t believe it. But I never wanted to work anywhere else.”

Lisa joined Alaska Petroleum Distributing, the business her father had founded two years earlier, in 1984 when she was 20 years old. As the company marks 40 years in the fuel business this year, she said she and her siblings – who still run the business together – are looking forward to the future again after joining NorthStar Energy in 2019.

“We’ve loved every minute of being part of the Saltchuk family.”

Alaska Petroleum Distributing

Sundborg was born in Seattle. In the late 1960s, her father, Gus Johnson, owned the famed Blue Moon Tavern near the University of Washington campus. After meeting Sundborg’s mother and starting a family, the couple married in the spring of 1969. The next day, the family set off for Gus’s hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska.

“I started Kindergarten at North Pole Elementary,” Sundborg said. “North Pole is a little town about 15 miles south of Fairbanks. “And I graduated from North Pole High School. My dad always said that if you lived in Fairbanks, you either needed to be in fuel or beer.”

He tried the bar business first.

“But the bar business isn’t good for family,” Sundborg said. “So, when the pipeline started, he went to work there.”

Gus eventually transitioned from pump stations to a transportation company, driving a van up and down the haul road to deliver mail and passengers.

“They started calling it ‘The Gus Bus,’” Sundborg laughed.

In 1981, Gus Johnson convinced his boss to bid on a fuel contract at the Eielson Air Force Base.

“They won the contract, but they had to sell it to North Pole Fuel since they didn’t have a fuel truck,” she continued. “But in 1982, my dad applied for a line of credit from the bank and bought a fuel truck. As well as military contracts, he began delivering to customers. There were no cell phones – people would leave messages on an answering machine in my parent’s bedroom, and my dad would deliver fuel for cash only. Then, he’d come back, and my mom would have the next list of deliveries ready.”

By 1983, she said, there was so much business, he needed an office.

“He got an office upstairs in a roller rink not too far from the house. I was 20 years old in

1984, and he asked me if I wanted to come work for him.”

Sundborg answered the phone, took orders, and logged the deliveries – all on paper. By 1986, her brother, Jay Johnson, joined the company as a fuel delivery driver, followed by Raleigh Johnson in 1999. In 2004, sister Teresa Johnson joined Alaska Petroleum as well, and the company expanded to include a line of convenience stores. In the years before Gus’s death in 2012, its success made it the second-largest fuel company in Fairbanks.

“Everybody on the pipeline knew him because he drove that bus. I can’t tell you how many people still call and say, ‘I knew Gus.’”

Sundborg, center, with her brother, Jay Johnson, and her sister, Teresa Johnson.

De-stressed success

Sundborg said there’s no doubt the company is successful, but there were hard times.

“When you grow and grow like that, your debts can get out of hand. Fuel is a challenging business to get into,” she laughed. “I always tell people to get into a business where you can buy something for a nickel and sell it for a dollar. Don’t get into a business where you buy for a nickel and sell for six cents.”

And working with family, she said, always adds to the drama in ways good and bad.

“They’ll be the best days and the worst days of your life. It’s impossible to separate your work from your personal life. We all live in the same neighborhood. We’re a really close family.”

Sundborg said much of their decision to join NorthStar depended on the fact that it’s hard to be a small, independent company in the fuel business.

“You don’t get any pricing breaks,” she explained. “Even if you buy a lot of fuel, you’re only one business. There’s just so much competition. If you have the margins to compete, you’re not making any money. We were also trying to provide our employees with insurance and pay them what the market was paying.”

A conversation with a visitor from Inlet Energy opened the door to talks with NorthStar, and Alaska Petroleum officially joined the Saltchuk family of companies on Sept. 13, 2019. While Sundborg’s brother, Raleigh, left to pursue his dream of working in the radio business, the remaining three siblings continue to run the business their father created.

“At the start, they really made us feel our family business was going to stay a family-run business,” she said. “And two years later, I’m telling you, that’s the way it is. Do you know how nice it is to be a small family business with an HR department, a legal team, an environmental team, a safety team – all standing by to help us? When you get as big as we were independently, we had to do all that on our own. We still have a desire to be successful – but we don’t have that constant stress.”

Twenty-year volunteer

Nineteen years ago, Sundborg’s friend,  development director of the American Heart Association, called her about a new event she was starting for the American Heart Association: “Go Red for Women.”

“It basically centered on the idea that most the studies on heart disease were on men – women are different,” she said. “AHA was raising research dollars to study heart disease in women since heart disease is the number one killer of all people.”

Sundborg’s friend decided to hold the first “Go Red” event in Fairbanks and wanted Sundborg to be on the committee.

“My dad was very much like, ‘Unless you’re dead, you go to work,’” she laughed. “I’d never done any volunteering before. I wasn’t even an organ donor at the time.”

Sundborg said her father “reluctantly” agreed she should take on the project, which was a big success. The following year, she was asked to be a co-chair of the entire event, which she did for two years, and then remained on the executive committee ever since. One day, she was watching the World Series of Poker on television and had an idea.

“I called my development director friend and told her I wanted to do a poker event and call it ‘Queen of Hearts.’ There are 100 players who buy in at $100. There’s no gambling (for money) allowed in Alaska, so the winner receives a champion bracelet, a plaque, and bragging rights! That first year, we raised $10,000. We just did our 16th tournament, and this year we raised $35,000.”

Sundborg said that over 16 years, the Queen of Hearts poker tournament raised more than $400,000 for the American Heart Association. As a result, Lisa was presented with the all-time Top Giving Heart Achievement Award for the entire state.

And her commitment to philanthropy has only grown stronger. This year, Sundborg co-chaired the Heart Walk in Fairbanks with TOTE Site Manager Amy Cook. Together they were the top fundraisers and awarded the Leaders with Heart Award.  She was also named a 2020 Woman of Distinction by the Girls Scouts of America’s Farthest North Council. In March 2022, Sundborg and her daughter will be the keynote speakers for the city’s Breast Cancer Detection Center (BCDC) Gala, telling their cancer story.

“It’s actually a compelling story,” Sundborg said. “My daughter had a lump in her breast, and the hospital didn’t have any imaging appointments available for three weeks. I was insistent that she get a mammogram that day and BCDC fit her in. Her scan showed that the concerning lump was nothing but a cyst – but there was cancer in her other breast. She ended up having a double mastectomy at 37, as well as a hysterectomy to help prevent her cancer from coming back. The really scary thing is that the cyst disappeared a few days after the first scan. If she’d just accepted that she had to wait three weeks – and it had gone away in the meantime – would she have kept the appointment? Would we have caught it before it was too late?”

Sundborg said she’s planning to split the Queen of Hearts’ proceeds between BCDC and American Heart Association next year.

“It’s a great organization that performs mammograms for anyone even if they can’t afford it or don’t have insurance. They even send a fully equipped truck out into the villages and do mammograms there.”

When she’s not working or volunteering, Sundborg spends time with her friends and family, including her grandchildren, performs standup comedy – and she loves to cook with her daughter, often donating six-course dinners for 12 to several different community auction events.

“Right now, I’m learning how to make duck confit. Life is good.”

2020 Safety Award nominee Q&A: Brandon Kurtzweil & Greg Walz, Delta Western

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on June 22nd, 2021

2020 Safety Award nominee Q&A: Brandon Kurtzweil & Greg Walz, Delta Western

By Hilary Reeves

In the first of a nine-part Q&A series, Delta Western Terminal Operator Brandon Kurtzweil and Lead Terminal Operator Greg Walz answer questions about their lives, careers, and nominations for this year’s awards.

On Dec. 8, 2020, Delta Western Terminal Operator Brandon Kurtzweil and Lead Terminal Operator Greg Walz discovered two pipeline leaks during a resupply operation. Their ability to work together cohesively, paired with their familiarity with the system and operating procedures, ensured an expeditious level of communication so a decision could be made on how to best proceed forward.

Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school? 

BK: My name is Brandon Kurtzweil. I’m proud to call myself a lifelong Alaskan who works and supports the energy industry. I grew up in a small town called Wasilla, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the Mat-Su Career & Tech High School, a career-driven educational system designed to prep students for the career of their choice. The pathway I chose was construction. After graduation, I joined the construction industry working for Nana Construction, building modular buildings for the northern oil fields. I saw these big semi-trucks hauling away those massive structures, and that’s when I knew I wanted to further my education and get my Class A CDL. I attended Northern Industrial Training and completed a six-week P.T.D.I. course to achieve my Class A CDL.

GW: I was born in Alaska and grew up in the Mat-Su Valley, about an hour north of Anchorage. My parents both worked for Carlile, and I spent a lot of time at the Carlile office putting together training binders, riding in the sleeper cab of a tractor with my two younger brothers, and climbing around a flatbed trailer when my stepdad brought loads home. I come from a pretty sizeable family: four brothers and two sisters. Most of us, including myself, worked for Carlile at some point. I graduated from Colony High School in 2008 and attended UAA for a couple of years pursuing a psychology and criminal justice degree, but I lost interest.

Tell us about your career, your current position, and what led you to it. 

BK: After earning my Class A CDL, many opportunities opened up for me. I spent a couple of years hauling and pumping concrete all over Alaska. Once that slowed down during the winter season, I landed a temporary position driving out on the ice roads up on the North Slope. That eventually turned into a permanent job for the next several years. I learned how important it is to work safely and responsibly so we leave the least amount of impact on the environment. That was an eye-opener for me that has been life-changing. Eventually, work slowed down in the oil fields, which left me looking for a new career. I heard that Delta Western was on the search for a Methanol Terminal Operator. I was fortunate enough to become a valuable asset to an already great team.

Delta Western Lead Terminal Operator Greg Walz.

GW: I spent my early years after high school working all over the place. I’ve been a landscaper, carpenter’s assistant, worked in a bakery, a moving company, set up stage and audio equipment for campus events at UAA, managed a thrift store, and even worked for Netflix for a time, if you can believe it. Back when the company mailed out DVDs, someone had to clean and inspect every disc that got mailed back before it got sent out again. When I dropped out of college, my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I were planning to attend a trade school in Seward for its culinary and business management programs. Life had other unfortunate events planned, and we were unable to go through with the trade school. Luckily, not long after that, I got word that Carlile had an open slot in its grant program from the state to attend a six-week Class A CDL course through a local training facility. I finished the program in January of 2013, and two weeks later, Carlile hired me to drive a 26-foot box truck making local deliveries in the Anchorage area. After six months in a box truck, I was promoted and assigned to a tractor and began to expand my skillset into flatbed and tanker work. One year after starting at Carlile, I got the opportunity to join a project crew for the winter in Prudhoe Bay, delivering materials and equipment across the ice road for a massive bridge project in the Conoco Phillips – Alpine field. I was offered a full-time position at the Deadhorse terminal, and I worked there for the following four years. I learned things few other drivers my age could ever get the chance to, like driving groceries across an ice road built on top of the Beaufort Sea out to an island or delivering 100,000 pounds of explosives to a gravel mine pit and then getting to see it detonated. Unfortunately, in 2017, work in the oil and gas industry dropped significantly, and I had to transfer back to the Anchorage terminal. It was about August of that year when my manager approached me about needing someone to work a new contract Carlile had with Delta Western, helping them load methanol railcars and Carlile tankers to ship north. I accepted the new project, and it was shortly after, I met my current manager Tou Yang. For the next few months, I spent half of my week working with the DW methanol terminal, developed a strong relationship with the crew, and became very familiar with the equipment and operation. In November of 2017, Tou told me they had an open position for a class A driver at the terminal, and I applied and got hired. When I started, this terminal had only been operating for just under two years. While many industry standards and regulatory requirements laid out our work, very few operations like ours exist. We are among only a handful of bulk methanol facilities in the country. We’ve had the opportunity to design and implement many of our own site-specific procedures, training outlines, and equipment maintenance guidelines. This has granted us an extremely thorough understanding of our operation, and we take personal ownership of it. My current position is Lead Terminal Operator for the Anchorage methanol terminal.

Tell us more about catching the pipeline leaks last December. Was it just a typical day? For readers who aren’t familiar, describe a typical methanol “transfer.”

BK: On Dec. 7, 2020, I came on board as a new employee to the Delta Western Methanol Terminal. It was my first week of work and my first-ever methanol transfer between a ship and our terminal. I’d never worked a typical day as a terminal operator, but under the supervision of Greg Walz, I trained on how to walk down the pipeline from the POAVY (Port of Anchorage Valve Yard) to our terminal. This included the process of checking all connections, valves, flanges and performing security checks multiple times throughout the transfer. That evening, I was heading back over to walk down all the connections and pipelines at the POAVY when I got to the last section of exposed pipeline before it disappeared beneath the ground on its way to our terminal. I noticed a drip. I stood by for several minutes to verify what I saw was correct, and I knew at that point we needed to stop the transfer. I returned to the terminal and updated Greg on the situation. Greg immediately contacted the ship, stopped the transfer, and contacted/reported to all the proper personnel according to our terminal spill reporting procedures. Greg did an exceptional job maintaining a calm and professional presence during this unforeseen situation. His leadership gave me confidence that I was working for a great company and a great team.

GW: In a typical transfer, or tank resupply, from the time a ship docks up, some 1.5 million gallons of methanol is pumped out over 15 to 20 hours. We work two shifts to cover the transfer, each crew consisting of one PIC (Person in Charge) and one additional operator. After the ship has docked, the shoreside PIC is craned onto the ship in a man basket and conducts a safety briefing with the ship’s PIC to verify cargo amounts onboard, available space in the shore tank, flow rates, and safety requirements, among many other items. After the briefing, we return to our terminal and ensure our facility is ready to receive, confirm it with the ship, and the transfer begins.  We perform inspections for flow rate, API density sampling, security checks, and pipeline/tank checks on an hourly basis for the duration of the transfer. It was during one of those hourly checks that Brandon Kurtzweil discovered our first leak. It was his first week on the job. Because this transfer took place in December in Alaska, much of the pipeline had snow on it. The product we receive from a ship can be anywhere from 40 to 90 degrees depending on what other cargo is on board, and it will melt any snow and ice buildup along the pipeline. Brandon spotted the leak because all of the snow and ice had melted off the line, but he found one spot still dripping. He informed me as soon as he could and asked if I could verify. Methanol has a very distinct odor, and I recognized it immediately. I called the ship over the radio and requested an all-stop. The leaking section was isolated, drained, cut out, repaired, and refit. We found the second leak while a hydrostatic test of the pipeline was running post-repair. The pressure was steadily building in the pipeline and had reached about 100 psi when it abruptly stopped climbing. I quickly began inspecting the pipeline and found another leak in an almost identical spot (on a weld, directly after a flanged section).

Your story stands out as a stellar example of why following procedure works. Do you agree? What might have happened if you’d skipped over the resupply line check and the initial leak never found?

BK: I believe that if we missed the leaks and the transfer of methanol continued, there was a great chance that the line could have ruptured, resulting in a horrific spill affecting not only our terminal but any other terminals here at the Port of Anchorage that had transfers of their own lined up after the completion of ours. Not only would it have been an extremely dangerous and expensive situation to clean up, but if it were to have somehow found its way into the surrounding waters, we would have been contaminating/polluting the environment with a unrecoverable product because methanol mixes 100 percent with water. That said, following procedures and knowing what to look for, going the extra mile to do the job correctly even when nobody is around, is key to a successful operation.

GW: I wholeheartedly agree, in every industry, human error exists, and all equipment/components fail given enough time. Methanol, the only product we deal with, is carbon-based alcohol that eats through anything it comes into contact with eventually. It is not a matter of if, but when, for us, and if we lapse in maintaining our discipline, we’ll miss things like these leaks. It is hard to say exactly how severe the leak could have become if we had not found it as soon as we had. We found small fractures in the immediate surrounding area of the leaking welds through x-ray examination, so what was at the time a very minimal leak could certainly have developed into a serious incident.

Is there something in your life that helped develop a safety mindset in you? 

Delta Western Terminal Operator Brandon Kurtzweil.

BK: Living in Alaska, safety culture is a way of life. As an avid snowmachiner, I go out riding in the mountains where you could be swept away by an avalanche or just simply break down in below-freezing temperatures with no communication, just yourself and the supplies you brought. Working up in the Arctic Oil Fields, safety was also a key element to completing any task. Proper training goes along with safety – knowing the procedures, knowing where your evacuation locations are, and finally, knowing who to call in the event of an emergency. Coming on board with Delta Western under Tou Yang (Terminal Manager) and Greg Walz (Lead Terminal Operator), I knew that I would enjoy working with them. They had the terminal and operations/procedures dialed in, materials and parts were all organized, tools were organized, all the equipment had been taken care of and was in good shape, and the best thing is both Tou & Greg relayed to me that they would rather us do the job correctly even if it takes a little longer than have us rushing through and have a mistake. I’d never worked under Saltchuk, but I am proud to be a part of a great company and look forward to the years ahead.

GW: My mother (Lisa Marquiss, Safety & Compliance Director, Carlile) definitely has a lot to do with how I operate. Surprising, right? Growing up, I heard countless stories of the various accidents and injuries in the trucking industry, and I got a genuine understanding of how badly things can go when you make the wrong decisions. Most of the causes of the accidents/incidents I grew up hearing about were things like fatigue, rushing a task, or panic, and I learned that while the conditions of our work are often out of our control, how we prepare for and react to them is always a choice. It is my personal responsibility to come to work properly rested every day, make a conscious effort to remain disciplined and do my job the right way, even I am behind, and to learn everything I can about my work so that when things go wrong, I can handle them calmly and safely.

Think about a time in your career when you felt like what you were doing was somehow less than completely safe. What did you learn from that experience? 

BK: When I was 19 years old, I decided to get my Class A CDL, not knowing how difficult it was to find a job where I could get hired to drive. I ended up getting many responses back from potential employers saying I was too young to add to their insurance policies and to try applying in a couple of years when I was older. Finally, I was able to get a job hauling wood and driving dump truck for a small outfit. I worked hard for them and tried to do anything they asked of me to show that I was a dependable, hard-working employee and gain experience for a job further down the road. One warm spring day, I was to haul several loads of gravel across an ice road built over a lake to my employer’s cabin on an island. When I arrived at the ice road, I noticed standing water as far as I could see, so I contacted my boss and expressed my concern. He assured me I would be fine and that he really needed me to get the material to his property. So I continued and completed several loads of gravel to his property. After getting back onto the main road and heading home for the evening, I listened to a local radio channel. They reported that no more than an hour after I’d gotten off the ice, a pickup truck had fallen through that same ice road, and the driver had drowned. At that moment, I understood that a person’s safety and well-being are more important than taking risks that could end tragically.

GW: In my first job after high school, I worked for a small landscaping and construction outfit. The construction we did wasn’t overly complex, mostly decks, fences, and stone retaining walls. We did most of our work in Eagle River, just 15 or 20 minutes north of Anchorage. The city of Eagle River is largely built across a mountainside, which means you’ll encounter endless rocks if you have to do a lot of digging. On this particular occasion, our job for the day was to dig all the holes later filled with concrete to act as deck supports. My boss would bring a bobcat over with an auger attachment to finish the hole to the proper depth when we couldn’t go any deeper. The problem was, every couple of minutes, the auger would find a rock and not dig any farther. So, I would lay on my stomach and fish out these rocks about the size of a football. My boss would lift the auger just enough to get my arm beneath it and get the stone out. The last time we did it this way, while I had my arm down the hole, my boss accidentally engaged the auger. I was lucky that my arm wasn’t in contact with the auger at that time, and I came away from it unharmed, but I could have been seriously injured or even lost my arm. I learned from this to slow down and think through the task at hand before pushing forward. There was no reason to leave the bobcat running while my arm was down there or even leave the auger in the hole. But, nobody ever stopped to consider if the way we were doing things was the safest way to do it.

Speaking up for safety can be difficult for some people. What advice would you give to someone within our family of companies who’s convinced their feedback won’t matter – or worse, that they’ll somehow be punished for taking action? 

BK: During my days working in the Oil Fields of the North Slope, I was lucky enough to have joined a safety team. Safety had always been an interest of mine, so it was a great way to learn more and help others understand that safety is everyone’s responsibility. During this time, our task was to share that it was important to speak up and communicate risks/hazards by completing  Safety Participation Cards and the importance of turning them in so they could get documented and tracked; that way, we could follow up on the SPC’s and resolve as many issues as we could to make and improve the safety and well-being for all employees. We also wanted to reiterate that speaking up about safety would not get anyone punished but is needed to help become a safe and successful operation. I hope anyone reading this understands that we want all our employees to feel safe at their workplace and know that if they had any issues/concerns that could jeopardize anyone’s well-being, speaking up is the right thing to do.

Delta Western Lead Terminal Operator Greg Walz (right) and his father-in-law.

GW: I’ve always thought that if you cared about the work you do and the people around you, that speaking up for safety wouldn’t be difficult at all. However, for the folks out there who are struggling, think of it this way: a company that performs its work safely is a profitable one. When you don’t constantly have to pay to replace damaged equipment, clean up spills, or deal with fines and lawsuits, you have the capital for things like bonuses, raises, and new equipment. A safe company also maintains a greater reputation, allowing it to collect more business, and again, in turn, more profit. To those worried about the repercussions of speaking out against an unsafe act or condition, I would tell them that if they had information that could save someone’s life or limb, prevent equipment/property damage, or prevent a spill, it makes no sense that a reasonable supervisor would dole out punishment for it. Additionally, I have now worked for two Saltchuk companies and have received the same message of encouragement to speak up for safety and that every employee has the authority to stop work whenever they feel presented with an unsafe condition.

Mike Garvey Award for Distinguished Service in Safety awarded to Hawaii Petroleum’s Jozette Montalvo

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on June 10th, 2021

Mike Garvey Award for Distinguished Service in Safety awarded to Hawaii Petroleum’s Jozette Montalvo

By Hilary Reeves

The award celebrates her role in creating a safe environment for company employees during the pandemic.

Jozette Montalvo’s first job was as a field hand on a farm growing romaine lettuce and cabbage.

“I grew up in Kula, Maui, which is on the slopes of Haleakala Crater,” she said. “I initially wanted to be a farmer, as I love plants, but I quickly realized after that first job just how physically demanding it was.”

Montalvo, Vice President of Human Resources for Hawaii Petroleum, is the 2020 winner of the Mike Garvey Award for Distinguished Service in Safety. The award celebrates her role in creating a safe environment for company employees during the pandemic.

“The age-old saying holds today more than ever: it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

‘Part attorney’

Montalvo graduated from Saint Anthony High School, along with her brother and sister. Her father was a Cable Splicing Supervisor for Hawaii Telephone Company, and her mother was a Park Ranger up at Haleakala National Park.

“I had a wonderful childhood,” she said. “Because my mother worked for the national park, I spent a lot of my childhood days hiking into Haleakala Crater and camping at Hosmer Grove. My parents worked very hard to pay for my private high school education, as well as college.

Montalvo said she was initially adamant about not going to college, but one day abruptly changed her mind.

“I told my parents I was going to get an associate degree in Secretarial Science at the local community college, then go to work. I did achieve that degree, but my parents then encouraged me to go off-island to Oahu to the University of Hawaii and pursue a four-year degree there.”

After “much prodding,” Montalvo decided to go and later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Personnel & Industrial Relations. She returned to Maui; it took six months to land her first position as a temporary Industrial Relations Clerk at the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. (HC&S).

“I worked there for 25 years; my final position was Human Resources Manager. When I started with HC&S, which is a unionized company, there were about 1,600 employees,” she said. “When I left, it only had about 700 employees. With the sugar industry dying in Hawaii, the company was always at risk of closing and did finally close at the end of 2016.”

Montalvo moved on to Hawaii Petroleum, where she’s worked for 12 years. A few years ago, she went back to school and earned her master’s degree in Human Resource Management through the University of Hawaii cohort program.

“I was always interested in management but felt the field was too broad and not specialized enough. I chose Human Resources to narrow it down. I like the legal side of HR, and I’ve always said you have to be ‘part attorney.’”

‘Change is good’

Montalvo said she most enjoys helping employees one-on-one.

“I was impressed and felt so very blessed when I was hired to work here. Hawaii Petroleum is an amazing company with wonderful people and great leadership. I love the businesses we are in, the people, and the great team I work with. A favorite story about Hawaii Petroleum I have is participating in the Makawao Rodeo Parade, riding in the Minit Stop convertible with ‘Krispy’ the chicken, and passing out candy as clucking chicken music was blaring from a boom box in the car. The clucking chicken music was so hilarious, laughing the whole way and it was so well received by the crowd – lots of fun!”

She was nominated for the Safety Award by Hawaii Petroleum’s President, Kimo Haynes, for the work she did related to creating and enacting COVID-19 protocols when the pandemic broke out in 2020.

“The key was keeping employees and customers safe while still operating as an essential business and taking action to ensure the virus did not spread within our facilities,” she said. “I want to give credit to the wonderful team I worked with, too, who followed through on protocols developed, putting them into place throughout our many locations on two islands. I also want to give credit to our awesome employees who followed and continue to follow safety protocols, as we would not have been so successful if it was not for their full cooperation.”

Though her primary responsibility is HR, Montalvo has always had safety-related responsibilities. She said if she could change one thing about her past, she wouldn’t have worked for HC&S for as long as she did.

“Having the opportunity to work for Hawaii Petroleum has shown me that change is good, and career-wise, it’s advantageous to experience working for more than one organization over one’s lifetime.”

She is most proud of her team’s contributions during her 12-year tenure.

“I continually want to grow in my current position here and work towards making continual improvements in my area of responsibility that will positively impact the business. Long term, when I retire, I look forward to being able to do whatever I choose to do each day. We have a small farm where my husband raises protea flowers. With more time, I’ll be able to help him on the farm as well as with other things around our house, as well as spend more time with our granddaughter.”

She said she’s most surprised by how quickly her 37-year career has passed.

“And I’m still never bored,” she laughed. “Safety is always number one and has to be at the forefront of everything we all do, and it’s everyone’s responsibility. That being said, we have an individual responsibility to speak up if we note anything unsafe. I have to say that it is truly an honor, and I am grateful to Saltchuk for awarding me the Mike Garvey Safety Award. I’d like to congratulate the other nominees and finalists as well – we’re all winners in my book!”

NSE environmental compliance specialist finds home in Alaska

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on March 25th, 2021

NSE environmental compliance specialist finds home in Alaska

By Hilary Reeves

“We’re all more alike than we know; we just have to listen. Once we do that, we’re presented with new ways to connect and be excited about and for the people around us.”

— Kelly Willett

Kelly Willett wears many hats: she’s a pilot, a member of Alaska’s Air National Guard, a videographer, a realtor, and an avid cyclist – all secondary, she said, to her full-time career as an environmental compliance specialist for Seattle-based NorthStar Energy (NSE).

“What’s most surprised me about what I do at NSE is the variety,” she said. “I thought I’d be reading regulations all day, every day. While my job does consist of a fair bit of that, I can expand into a lot of different areas to help develop training, identify areas of improvement, give ideas, and help out on projects as needed.”

The call of the wild

Willett grew up on a small farm in Oklahoma and was the first in her family to graduate from college. She attended the University of Central Oklahoma, majoring in biology.

“Growing up, I showed livestock and helped my parents build our house,” she said. “I worked summers at their roofing and fencing company. I wanted to be a veterinarian.”

Willett’s landed work as a veterinary technician and genetic lab assistant during college but was lured away from veterinary school by an internship with a landscape architecture firm in Alaska.

“I discovered a passion for sharing the outdoors and found that landscape architecture was a way to share that passion,” she said. “But instead of falling in love with landscape architecture, I fell in love with Alaska.”

She joined NSE in March of 2020.

“I missed the technical aspects of using my biology degree, which led me back to the world of environmental work,” she said. “I like that I’m able to help the company and site managers reach their goals, getting to know the employees through site visits and helping identify areas of improvement.”

Willett remembers an early trip to Yakutat, Alaska: “I had no cell phone service, and also no idea what the person who was picking me up looked like. Then, they called my name over the loudspeaker of the one-room airport, and it turns out I was standing right in front of the site manager,” she laughed.

Willett has lived in Alaska since 2012 and said part of why she joined NSE was the ability to work where she lived.

“The people of Alaska are my home, and I enjoy visiting the sites and getting to know everyone who is part of our companies within the state.”

A military liaison

Willett’s regrets are few but center on her desire to have done more sooner.

“I’d tell myself not to worry what other people think so much and to go after all the things I didn’t think I could do,” she said. “And I would’ve tackled my pilot’s license a lot sooner.”

Willett joined Alaska’s Air National Guard in December of 2018 after meeting a few National Guardsmen while fishing on a beach.

“I felt called to serve, in part, because the people I’d met that were serving seemed like people I’d want to work beside.”

Once in the Guard, she went into public affairs, shooting video and taking photos. Since beginning her career, her products have been viewed and shared more than 10 million times on various platforms.

“I enjoy telling our stories and being a liaison between the public and the military, she said. “I capture any and every part of the mission. A photo I took of a survival expert was most recently featured on the cover of Air Force Magazine. I enjoy sharing pieces that people wouldn’t see otherwise.”

Relaxed mountaineering

Willett said she’s most proud of her decision to turn around while attempting to summit Denali during the summer of 2019.

“I just sort of had a wild hare,” she said. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. It’s the tallest mountain in North America. On a clear day, it can be seen from Anchorage and out of my window at home.”

But Willet forced herself to turn back roughly 2,000 feet from the summit.

“Quitting is a hard thing to do; standing at 18,600 feet and deciding to turn around because of altitude sickness was a difficult choice,” she explained. “I was disappointed in myself at first, but after thinking about it, I learned more about success and failure that day than I have any other day and re-defined the word for myself. Success is defined not only as what you achieve but also who you are while achieving those things. In the Alaskan mountaineering community, a Denali expedition is almost a right of passage, and I wanted to make sure I checked that box. Since then, I’ve become more relaxed about my mountaineering activities.”

As far as Willett’s hobbies, “I’m lucky enough to live in a state that allows for ample social distancing outside my back door,” she said. “Skiing, biking, ice climbing, hiking, hunting, fishing, swimming, reading, writing, painting, and flying are most of what I do for fun these days. I like puzzles too, but rarely sit still long enough to do them.”

In the coming years, Willet said she believes NorthStar will further flex its technological muscle.

“COVID has presented its challenges, but I also think it’s pushed forward much-needed use of technology throughout not just our company but the country as a whole.”

Circumvention and connection

During the pandemic, Willett estimates she’s saved roughly 10 hours per week working from home.

“I promised myself that I’d use the time I saved for self-development and’ passion projects,’” she said. “The passion project I’ve taken on this year is publishing my biking book.”

Willett began cycling as a child, accompanying her father to “bike rodeos” in Oklahoma. After many years away from the sport, she began riding seriously again three years ago.

“I picked it back up because it was another avenue of getting outside,” she explained. “I’ve ridden 40-plus mile rides alone and not only grew my confidence but my abilities within the sport. As my experience level increased, I realized that many men and women around me were asking the same questions I used to ask myself. So I started compiling the things that I had learned and commonly asked questions. It just sort of morphed into a book as I went on. I want to share my experiences and help people discover biking, maybe circumventing some of the learning curve.”

This past summer, Willett set out on a solo ride that was up and over a pass – 28 miles and more than 2,500 ft of elevation gain, all without cell phone signal.

“That was the ride when it finally clicked for me that I was confident in my abilities as a rider,” she said. “I not only had to make trail decisions, but I also had to be bear and moose aware and be able to get myself out of any situations I might’ve gotten myself into. It’s in situations where you’re forced to reflect on your abilities and knowledge when you understand what you know.”

While researching the book, Willett said she learned a lot about listening and making assumptions – or not.

“I’d say one of the most important takeaways I’ve solidified is that we’re all more alike than we know; we just have to listen. Once we do that, we’re presented with new ways to connect and be excited about and for the people around us.”

Pilot turned Delta Western terminal manager focused on community

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on February 11th, 2021

Pilot turned Delta Western terminal manager focused on community

By Hilary Reeves

“Sometimes we’re not just an essential service; we’re the only service…we’re the sole provider of fuel – for transportation and heat – for the people of Haines.”

— Mike Denker

Delta Western’s Haines Terminal Manager Mike Denker was determined to fly.

Born in Germany in 1966, he lived in Bitburg, West Germany, until his father was transferred to Tinker Air Force base in Oklahoma City when he was a child. He started accumulating flight hours when he was a junior in high school.

“I caught the bug early and made it happen,” he said. “I saved up all my money from working at a golf course and a grocery store and learned to fly my junior year. After high school, I went ahead and got my instrument, commercial, and flight instructor endorsements.”

In December of 1987, Denker received a call from Aero Tech Flight Services in Anchorage, Alaska, to be a flight instructor.

“I was a 21-year-old pilot with adventure in his eyes – I showed up in Anchorage two weeks later.”

He was offered a flying job for a small air carrier six months later and moved to Homer. Here, he flew small bush planes from village to village. In 1992, Denker joined L.A.B. Flying Service in Haines. He returned to Oklahoma for Christmas that year, where his parents, brother, and sister lived. His father was a career civil servant working for the U.S. Veteran’s Administration from an office on the fifth floor of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. Denker’s brother – a “big outdoorsman” – was working seasonally for UPS.

“I remember saying to him, ‘Chris, you’ve got to get out of Oklahoma and come up to Alaska,” Denker laughed. “He came up the following spring and started working for a river-rafting outfit.”

On April 19, 1995, the Murrah building was the target of a bomb so powerful it remains America’s deadliest and most costly domestic terrorist attack, killing 168 people – including 19 children – and injuring more than 800. Denker’s father was sitting inside his office on the fifth floor when the bomb was detonated.

“He was in a fifth-floor column on the north side that didn’t collapse,” Denker said. “My brother and I were in Alaska – and this was before cell phones. We knew a federal building had been hit, and we both headed back to Oklahoma. He was okay, but he lost many friends that day.”

Rejoining Delta Western

Denker started his first tenure with Delta Western later in 1995. He’d taken the summer off from flying to spend some time enjoying the summer in Haines. Later that year, he picked up work as a fuel truck driver for Delta Western before deciding to go back to flying in 1997. The following year, he rejoined Delta Western as the company’s Canadian Division Operations Manager. Just when the flying bug began biting him again, the airline industry screeched to a halt in the aftermath of 9/11.

“I wanted to get back into commercial aviation, but 2001 ended up not being the best year to try,” he said. “But by 2017, I was getting contacted due to a pilot shortage.”

He joined Horizon Air in 2018 and flew for two years before Delta Western reached out again last spring.

“I was contacted early last year about a terminal manager position here in Haines,” he said. “With Horizon, my wife and I were living here in Haines, but I was flying out of Boise, so it wasn’t ideal. I’d kept in touch with Delta Western and North Star – I’d stop by the office sometime.”

Denker officially rejoined the company in June of 2020.

“It’s been great so far,” he said. “I can walk to work now.”

Essential Services

Some 50 inches of snow fell in Haines during October and November of last year, setting the stage for a December crisis of epic proportions.

“It’s not unusual for southeast Alaska to have snow in late October and November, but it was heavier than usual this winter,” Denker said. “Our tank farm outside the city is perched 300 feet up on a hillside, and we had two-to-three feet of snow up there.”

Everything would have been fine, though, Denker said, were it not for the weather pattern that formed during the first week of December.

“It was warm, and it was wet,” Denker said. “we got a lot of rain in two days.”

Haines received 10 inches of rain in 48 hours – a lot of water on its own, but when combined with more than four feet of melted snow, it quickly turned life-or-death. The town experienced record-breaking flooding and a series of mudslides, one so catastrophic that it pushed several houses from their foundations directly into the bay. Two young people perished in the slide. One was a former Delta Western scholarship recipient who had returned to town after college to teach kindergarten.

“It was a tough, tough period for the town,” he said. “Something like 50 families lost or were displaced from their homes because of the flooding and slides. Roads were cut off or destroyed” – including the road to Delta Western’s tank farm located approximately five miles outside of town.

“A lot of us in the Saltchuk family – we’re essential services,” Denker continued. “Sometimes we’re not just an essential service; we’re the only service. That’s what we are here in Haines. We’re the sole provider of fuel – for transportation and heat – for the people of Haines. The landslides damaged the road and cut us off from our tank farm for periods of time, but we needed to provide the fuel for the equipment to clear the roads and provide emergency services. It was all-hands-on-deck for everyone in town, including at Delta Western.”

Denker and his team quickly reached out to nearby businesses they knew to have accessible tanks in town. They created a small stockpile of fuel to provide the diesel necessary to get the roads open again and keep the town’s electrical generator in fuel.

“The tank farm itself was okay, but we had a tremendous amount of water we needed to pump out of the tank farm’s containment areas,” he said. “We spent six days dealing with the excess water, and the whole time we were nervous there was going to be another big slide that was going to cut us off entirely.”

The Big Picture

Denker and his wife, Lisa, married in December of 1995. She was born and raised in Haines. They met during his first winter in town. He appreciates the community he’s come to call his own.

“Alaska can be a tough place to live, a hard place to live,” he said. “But there’s nothing like small-town Alaska living – it’s worth it.”

He said he rejoined the aviation industry for the final time in 2018 because he knew he’d regret it if he didn’t.

“When I was a little boy, I saw the older kids riding their bikes, and none of them had training wheels,” he explained. “My parents got me a bike that had training wheels. I didn’t want to ride it. I stayed in the backyard, learning to ride it without the training wheels. I just kept at it. By the end of that evening, I was riding that little bike. That drive has carried me my whole life. I believe if you can see it in your mind, you can do it. I thought I’d lost that little boy for a few years. Getting back into commercial aviation, I had to work harder than I’ve ever worked before to get through Horizon’s training program. Through that experience, I recaptured some confidence in myself and my ability.”

But as rewarding as that experience was, Denker said giving up flying and settling back down in Haines has allowed him a connection to his community that he lost.

“I did lose that over those two years – I started to lose my connection to Haines,” he said. “To the people here and the place. It was a big deal. It revealed some things that I didn’t realize were so important to me. Now I’m getting that connection back through my position here. It’s a job, but really you’re serving people. Saltchuk’s value structure is important to me: safety, reliability, commitment. I’m a big-picture guy.”

Denker said he plans to spend the rest of his career innovating at Delta Western.

“You always have to think outside the box,” he said. “You can’t assume that because it’s always been done one way, it has to stay that way. We’re the only fuel game in town, but we’re not going to act like that. We’re going to act like there’s competition right next door. We won’t serve the people of Haines properly if we don’t think that way.”

Most important, Denker said, is to let the value structure – not money – be the driver of innovation.

“If we follow up on those values, the rest will come,” he said. “We’re doing something here in Haines that’s never been done before, starting with a discount to all of our customers through January to help them recover from this crisis. We didn’t have to do anything, but we’re driven by our values to serve people and always do better. Our challenge is to always do better.”

NorthStar fuel pro reflects on early days in Dutch Harbor, Alaska

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on April 5th, 2019

Senior Inventory Specialist Robert Sevilla began his career in the field.

By Hilary Reeves

The winter of 2011 was a bad one for Alaskans: the snowiest winter on record and one of the coldest. That December, the crew of Delta Western Dutch Harbor heard that the coastal community of Nome was completely iced in and running out of fuel after a barge scheduled to arrive in the fall couldn’t make its delivery.

“We had to charter an ice class marine tanker to make the delivery from Dutch Harbor to Nome” over 300 miles of thick sea ice, said NorthStar’s Robert Sevilla. “I believe that if you put in the hard work and strive to better yourself every day that there is nothing you can’t achieve.”

Post-winter move

Sevilla started with Delta Western as a Fuel Dock attendant and driver in Dutch Harbor some 15 years ago. He transitioned to the role of Warehouse Administrator, maintaining the company’s packaged product inventory, then to the role of Office Administrator. By the spring of 2012, he was ready for a change.

“A position opened up in our Seattle corporate office for an Inventory Clerk, so I applied for the position and, luckily, I got it,” he said.

From there, Sevilla moved to his current position as Senior Inventory Specialist, a role that now sits in the NorthStar Energy supply group.

“I started in the field, so I enjoy seeing how everything unfolds, from purchasing our products to our site receiving them, selling to the customer to invoicing them. I get to see the paper trail from cradle to grave, sort of, and at the end of it all when the inventory is in balance, I know I did my job.”

Childhood challenges

The youngest of five children, Sevilla spent his childhood moving between the United States and the Philippines. His first job was encoding Census data for his brother’s NGO there.

“There was a project to collect data from the people living in the slums in Manila so the government would try to relocate them to better housings. It was something I understood because I grew up in a single-parent household with my mom working multiple jobs in the U.S. to make ends meet,” he explained. “She had to make a tough decision to send us home to the Philippines to stay with relatives. Living away from my parents was hard, but it built a strong foundation for my relationship with my siblings. My childhood had challenges, but I was still grateful because I knew that there are others who had less than me.”

“Living away from my parents was hard, but it built a strong foundation for my relationship with my siblings. My childhood had challenges, but I was still grateful because I knew that there are others who had less than me.”

Sevilla has been married for 16 years to his “wonderful wife,” and “has been blessed with two amazing daughters.” He said he’s grateful to have found his way to helping people in a slightly different capacity.

“I’m grateful for all the opportunities that the company has given me,” he said. “We have amazing people in place, and I believe we’re poised to do great things in our field, not only expanding the areas we service, but also venturing into alternative energy solutions. I see us continuing to be the best at what we do: providing safe, quality products and services for the people and communities that we serve.”

Sitka, Alaska native at home with Delta Western

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on June 3, 2019

Mike Johnson: ‘Having a strong and supportive team with a trusting relationship is key to success.’

By Hilary Reeves

Delta Western Sitka Terminal Manager Mike Johnson describes his teenage self as the type of guy who “was only interested in learning specifically what I was interested in learning.” Born and raised in Sitka, his childhood was a combination of whimsy and self-imposed work.

“I grew up on a small private island where my parents built a cabin over the course of several years,” he said. “We had no running water, no city power, and no dock, and hauled all our drinking water, fuel, groceries, and living supplies by landing our small boat directly onto the beach.”

The proud owner of “quite a few pets,” Johnson was nine when his parents helped him start a dog-boarding business on the island.

“When people went on vacation, the local veterinary shop would refer people to me to watch their dogs,” he said. “The daily fee was $6 per dog per day and I shoveled a lot of poo, but made a lot of money” – money that was soon sunk into Johnson’s very own boat, which he purchased at the age of 11.

“For the price, the boat was a real steal and seaworthy enough that my parents deemed it safe enough for me to stay out of trouble,” he laughed. “I spent my summers ranging out as far as a tank of gas would carry me, usually exploring the surrounding islands, camping, and river fishing with my trusty golden retriever, Sandy.”

Johnson’s teenage recreation settled on motorsports. He said he crashed enough three- and four-wheelers and motorcycles that he had to work to afford the replacement parts.

“I was reckless enough that I kept an inventory of spare parts so that when I crashed and wrecked something I didn’t have much downtime,” he said. “My body still hurts from those days.”

Once he was old enough to hold a regular job, he did everything from newspaper routes to mechanic’s helpers, to running a small crew at a custom meat and seafood processing plant. He also fished commercially for halibut on the family longliner boat during the dangerous “derby days.”

When his high school wrestling coach told him he couldn’t work and wrestle, that was the end of Johnson’s career in organized sports.

“I had lots of wheeler parts and gas to buy,” he laughed.

Homeschooled through elementary school, Johnson graduated Valedictorian from Sitka High School.

“I never liked school, but I endured it,” he said. “I always tried harder than most of my friends, which always resulted in good grades. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I graduated but my parents impressed upon me the need to gain a skill of some type. I decided that I would be a mechanic and enrolled in an automotive and heavy diesel technical school in Phoenix. I told myself I’d never return to Sitka except to visit.”

Returning to Sitka

Johnson returned to Alaska after his schooling and took a job as a heavy diesel mechanic for Alaska Power Service in Cordova. After several months without a single day off, he joined Allen Marine in Sitka.

“Between Alaska Power Services and where I am now at Delta Western, I ventured down many different career paths: welding and fabrication, truck driver, operations manager, fleet vessel maintenance, facilities maintenance, boat rigging and repair, small engine repair, boat captain, freshwater guiding, and crane operator, amongst other things.”

The game-changer, he said, was the day he was offered a job helping run the local boatyard, Halibut Point Marine Services.

“The owners told me, ‘you’ll need to get your CDL; we plan to enter the fuel sales market to keep you busy during the slow winter months,’” he said. “The next thing I knew, they’d bought a brand new Kenworth fuel truck and told me to drive it around the boatyard until I felt comfortable taking my road test.”

Once Johnson had his CDL, he was given a handwritten list of friends and family – Sitka is a small town and he already knew everyone – to whom he was to deliver fuel.

“I was told to get the fuel into the truck and figure out how to get the fuel from the truck into the customer’s fuel tanks,” he said. “I had no training whatsoever in handling or delivering fuel. I taught myself most everything and asked questions about the rest to anyone who would talk to me.”

Before long, Johnson was managing both boatyard and fueling operations – “a whopping three fuel trucks.” The company began fulfilling the Alaska Airlines contract for Delta Western and was subsequently awarded two other large fuel contracts. In July 2013, Delta Western bought out Halibut Point Marine Services, the company Johnson had spent five years building. He accepted a management position with Delta Western. The transition between companies wasn’t smooth.

“Most of us aren’t born with natural gifts or talents that will bring success. Most of us just have to really apply ourselves and be willing to try harder than the rest. This mindset has always served me well.”

“Within a month we’d lost all but one part-time employee and about 65 percent of our customer base,” he said. “Back during those difficult days, I was trying to hire good people to help me out in the office. I was only allowed to hire one person, but I had two absolutely awesome candidates for the same job. I approached my boss at the time and explained my quandary. He smiled and said, ‘hire them both; truly good help is so hard to find that we can’t afford not to pick them up if we have a chance.’ I hired both candidates and they are both working alongside me to this day. The boss’s advice has served me well.”

One of Johnson’s greatest challenges was and is working with other people.

“I’ve figured out that people are both the problem and the solution, most of it depends on how you treat them and how you relate to them. Learning this has been a long journey for me.”

His Sitka team, he said, he great – driven, focused and can take a joke.

“We do a lot of that around here,” he laughed. “Having a strong and supportive team with a trusting relationship is key to success. Without a strong team, nothing would get done and I’d be quite ineffective.”

He said what he most enjoys about the career and company he’s settling into is the variety of the work – and the thrill of the chase.

“One minute I’m flying a desk, the next I’m fixing something, the next I’m in a tank truck hauling fuel to a first-time customer or out on a sales call,” he said. “Heck, recently I’ve been traveling to other scenic small towns in my region seeing new things and meeting new people. I enjoy the challenge and the thrill of the chase.”

A subsistence lifestyle

Johnson said that his only regret so far is the fact that he once worked a “dead end, do-nothing” job in the public sector.

“If I could take it all back, I’d have stayed in the private sector for my whole career,” he said. “I consider those years of my life as wasted years; it’s where I learned the meaning of bureaucracy and ineffectiveness.”

He’s most proud of his wife and three boys, and is, as one might expect, most comfortable in the Great Outdoors. He said he has more hobbies and interest than time or money: marksmanship, light construction, the restoration of a 34-foot pleasure boat first built in 1969, and coaching a youth competitive clay target team that normally places among the top three (of 22) teams in the state.

“I also spend a lot of time camping and exploring,” he said. “I live as much of a subsistence lifestyle as I can. I normally set out to harvest at least seven Sitka Blacktail deer, lots of halibut, sockeye salmon, spot prawns, octopus, and a few other species. I grow what I can in the garden also.”

Every July, Johnson takes his family on a 10-day boat trip to Tenakee Springs, a small community between Sitka and Juneau built around natural hot springs.

“My family just about plans their lives around this annual pilgrimage and it’s the biggest event of the year for my kids,” he laughed. “We live on our boat during the trip and go more or less wherever the wind blows us – so long as we are in Tenakee on Independence day for the celebrations. For such a tiny town they put on a really big event and the kids have an absolute blast every year.”

While Johnson’s retirement plans have him outdoors (and still working) – “maybe a winter caretaker position at a remote lodge” – he said he’s having fun turning over lots of stones for Delta Western and doing what he can to help the company grow.

“We’ve got some very innovative people working here and we’re willing to think outside the box for the first time in a while. I could see us expanding into different areas of the state and possibly into other areas in the Northwest. I think we’ll be working on buying and selling the energy sources of the future and focusing more on the relationships with some of our larger customers to grow into the same geographic areas that they expand into. I think we will be looking into some very strategic partnerships that will be an absolute game-changer for us – that will give us an edge over our competitors and help us to better serve our customers.

“I tell my kids all the time that if they want to get ahead in this world they need to be willing to try harder than most everyone else around them. Most of us aren’t born with natural gifts or talents that will bring success. Most of us just have to really apply ourselves and be willing to try harder than the rest. This mindset has always served me well.”

An energetic homecoming

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on April 29th, 2019

Four years after embarking on an experiential quest, Ryan Macnamara is armed with the knowledge and know-how to help propel NorthStar into its (sustainable) future.

By Hilary Reeves

Ryan Macnamara was still studying marketing at Western Washington University in Bellingham when he decided to pursue an internship to help launch his career after graduation.

“I had a deep respect for Mike Garvey, whom I’d known from childhood, and I was interested in coming to join the Saltchuk family,” he said. “I reached out to him, and he put me in touch with a number of companies.”

It was Delta Western, Macnamara said, that most excited him – and the feeling was mutual. He began his decade-long stint with the company in Seattle a week after he graduated in 2004. By 2014, Macnamara was happily managing a bevy of accounts.

“I put my marketing degree to use learning the Alaska business, but after 10 years spent learning contract creation and management, the different types of accounts, and how to manage the relationships, I recognized that my primary gap as a professional was related to my limited operational experience,” he said.

In the early years, the solution seemed obvious: when the time was right, Macnamara and his wife would move to one of the company’s terminals in Alaska so he could begin a more “hands-on” phase of his career. But once the eldest of his two sons reached Kindergarten, he knew a move to Alaska wasn’t in the cards anymore.

“There was a time period where it would have worked, but by the time I really needed to make a change, we couldn’t do Alaska anymore,” he explained.

Enter Covich Williams, a local, family-owned Chevron marketer.

“I was approached by Covich Williams and I was immediately struck by how similar their business was to one of Delta Western’s Alaska terminals,” said Macnamara. “The company’s general manager of 30 years was leaving, and they needed a new GM to step in and manage inside and outside sales, the warehouse, drivers – everything I was looking for in terms of experience and exposure.”

Delta Western’s management was encouraging and left the door open – so Macnamara took the job.

“I learned a heck of a lot. I’m happy that I did it,” he said.

Bridging the gap with a new team

Four years later, Macnamara is back in the Saltchuk fold – this time at NorthStar, Delta Western’s parent company, working as a Director of Pricing under VP of Supply and Logistics Don Stone.

“This year, the time was finally right,” he said. “Under new NorthStar leadership, Delta Western was making big changes. I’d heard that a shared service model was being rolled out whereby critical business functions were being done at the parent company level in order to strengthen the role of site managers at the terminal locations, allowing them to focus on their strengths, take greater ownership over the performance of their local businesses, and know that they have a supportive team behind them at NorthStar.”

Macnamara has been in the office for just a month but said he already feels a synergy between his past experience, both at Delta Western and at Covich Williams, and his new role.

“With my new understanding of operations from Covich Williams I saw a perfect opportunity to join Don (Stone),” he said. “Don needed someone experienced who could take the lead developing pricing strategies for each Delta Western terminal. I would be able to have an immediate, measurable impact on the business overall, and for each one of the sites.”

Macnamara, who knew Stone from his years at Delta Western, said he’s always admired Stone’s ability to see opportunities in a complex network of interconnected, moving parts.

“He could make things come to life that other people weren’t able to even see, and you wanted to be a part of that,” he said. “Don was building up a new group dedicated to finding supply efficiencies on behalf of existing markets while probing growth opportunities in entirely new places. This team would allow me to make an impact as a connector between that global supply strategy and the local markets that I knew well. I’m excited to be a part of bridging the gap between those two worlds.”

‘A bit surreal’

One thing that’s been brought to the forefront in the years since Macnamara left is that NorthStar is an energy company chock-full of energy solutions.

“I now have the opportunity to explore energy alternatives that are a focus of this new NorthStar-Delta Western regime more than ever,” he said. “The change that thrills me the most is bridging the gap between the energy of today and the energy solutions of tomorrow. I’m thrilled to be supporting site managers so directly as a connector between the parent company shared service model and the boots-on-the-ground operations; I truly care about our sites.”

One thing that hasn’t changed, Macnamara said, is that everyone wears a lot of hats.

“It’s been a big whirlwind – a bit surreal. There’s a completely different team in place. I’m still learning about the team and the different roles and how things have changed. There’s a lot to tackle. Luckily, we have someone at the helm in Bert (Valdman) who’s a real visionary. I’m just loving being back.”

DW heavy equipment inspector ‘huge supporter’ of tech, career ed

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on February 19, 2019

Delta Western’s Dennis Massingham: ‘I’m a lifelong learner.’

By Hilary Reeves

Dennis Massingham’s work history is a menagerie of life experiences – but perhaps he saved the best for last:

“I get to work with one of my former students from when I was a teacher at the University of Alaska in Anchorage (UAA),” he said. “Ben Hansen works for Carlile Transportation; we’ve been a team for the past two years. He travels with me to our fuel terminals to perform cargo tank inspections and truck maintenance. I’ve been able to mentor him, and he became a registered cargo tank inspector on Dec. 28, 2018. I’m very proud of him. How cool is that?”

Massingham’s current title of rolling Stock Supervisor for Delta Western’s Alaska operations is a comprehensive one. He coordinates and performs the maintenance and repair of the company’s trucking fleet and support equipment in and around terminals across the state.

“The most important thing I do is take care of the cargo tanks that haul our fuel products. I, too, am a registered cargo tank inspector. My name goes on all our cargo tanks; I make sure they are safe to use and are compliant with Alaska and Federal Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations and the Environmental Protection Agency. I have a special credential from the Feds that allows me to perform mobile cargo tank inspections at remote terminals not connected to the road system. It’s a huge responsibility with much accountability.”

Back to school

Massingham grew up in rural Thurston County, Washington, near the state’s capital city of Olympia on a “small family hobby farm.” His parents owned Massingham Trucking, a company that specialized in hauling forest timber.

“Of course,” he said, “that influenced the direction I took with my education and career.”

His “first real W2-type job” was at the Evergreen Sportsman’s Club.

“It’s a skeet and trap range,” he said. “When I turned 12 years old, I filed for a permit with the State of Washington Department of Labor and Industries. I set the target machine that would fly the clay pigeons. It paid $2.75 per hour. In 2019, can you even imagine a 12-year-old working downrange at a shooting range? I miss the ’80s,” he laughed.

Massingham went on to attend what he considers a comprehensive high school vocational auto shop program at Tumwater High School, which sparked his interest in further academic achievement. He went on to earn an associate degree in Diesel Power Technology from Centralia College,

At the encouragement of an instructor, he transferred to the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and finished a Bachelor of Science in Diesel Power Technology.

“I’m a lifelong learner,” he said. “After working in the heavy equipment and transportation equipment industry for 10 years, I went back to school.”

This time, he said, he was the professor.

“I taught diesel technology at Lewis-Clark State College for five years. At the same time, I attended graduate school at the University of Idaho and earned a Master of Education in Professional-Technical education.”

From professor to fuel tank inspector

After graduating with his master’s degree, Massingham held positions at a large Caterpillar dealership in Idaho: Western States Equipment Co.
“I was a corporate trainer, training manager, HR generalist, recruiter, and probably a couple other titles I don’t remember,” he laughed. “My career is all a blur from there. As I mentioned, I was a professor at the University of Alaska before going to work at Delta Western.”

Massingham’s initial impression of Delta Western was limited to Anchorage, but he said his excitement built at the prospect of traveling to all the terminals.

“I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in many significant projects,” he said. “One project that stands out is a 350,000-gallon fuel transfer to a pair of Japanese warships that sailed to the Port of Anchorage for a fill-up. We used an engine-powered skid pump to move the fuel. The transfer took about 18 hours, and the electrical system on the engine was being temperamental with the salt spray and heavy rains. It took constant babysitting to keep running, but we completed the transfer safely, on time and under budget.”

“My career has been constantly changing, but the one thing that stays the same is I’ve always worked in the heavy equipment and transportation industry. Every job has been related to maintenance or technical education.”

Reflection

While Massingham isn’t a big proponent of changing his past, his take gives pause: “I’m reflective, but I don’t dwell on the past except to learn from it.”

The aspects of his life of which he is most proud are all related to his family: 30 years of marriage to his wife, Tammy, the graduation of his son, an electrical engineer, from UAA, and the near-graduation of his daughter, a soon-to-be-nurse, from the same alma matar.

“I like to shore fish Hawaii and chill on the beach with my wife. Doesn’t Hawaii Petroleum need some cargo tank work done? Something in Kona probably needs maintenance,” he joked.

In all seriousness, Massingham said he’s excited to watch Delta Western and the other Northstar Energy companies grow.

“I see us moving into new communities – perhaps maybe we’ll see the gas station business grow, or maybe we’ll get into other energy products and new markets. Eventually, I’ll go back to school again and earn a doctorate in Education. When I get too old to crawl into cargo tanks, I’ll go back into academics or teaching. I enjoy helping people learn career-related skills and helping them grow their careers. I’m a huge supporter of career and technical education.”

Delta Western Payroll Specialist works to connect communities

This article was originally posted on People of Saltchuk on January 29th, 2019

Michaela Naidoo on family, photography and bringing people together.

By Hilary Reeves

When Michaela Naidoo is out on the streets of Seattle and sees people taking pictures of each other in front of city landmarks and scenic vistas, she stops.

“I say, ‘Let me take the picture – you go get in it,’” she explained. “I absolutely love being able to do that for people. There’s a photographer that I follow whose mantra is ‘exist in photos.’ Everyone should exist in their photos. No one should be left out.”

Naidoo, born in Seattle and raised in the city’s Magnolia neighborhood, is a Payroll Specialist for Delta Western, a company that provides fuel to Alaska. Before her official hire, she spent her summers as a sort of intern.

“My mom worked for Delta Western, and I would go in with her during the summers to file and make copies and whatever else they could give a kid to do,” she said. “After I graduated from high school in 2002, I was managing a restaurant – Ivar’s Seafood,” she said. “My mom was the IT Director at Delta Western and she told me the company was hiring an Administrative Assistant.”

Naidoo applied, and was hired.

“I’d never officially worked in an office environment before,” she said, “but by that point, I’d been there almost every summer working and it felt very natural. I already knew everyone. About a year into my time here, I was able to start working with a lot of different departments through various projects. I’ve been here for 13 years and I still enjoy learning about the different facets of the company.”

Bridging the geographical gap

Naidoo’s strong interest in business led her to pursue an associate’s degree while working full time at her job at Delta Western. She hopes to continue her education in the coming year and entrench more firmly into the world of Human Resources.

Naidoo’s work often takes her to Anchorage, where she makes time to capture the surrounding dramatic landscape. Photo: Michaela Naidoo.

“I’ve always had a really strong interest in people and entrepreneurial things,” she said. “When I came out of high school, I got a lot of support from my mom. She encouraged me to go to school. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I started working to figure it out.”

Last July, Naidoo earned the accreditation of Certified Payroll Professional. She currently splits her time between the company’s Seattle and Anchorage offices to provide support and help bridge the geographical gap.

“Some days are spent doing the basic things you would expect: paperwork, filing, etc.,” she said. “But a lot of what I do now is helping employees. There are a lot of moving parts and every day is different. Even though I’m officially in HR, I still try to connect our corporate community – employees, managers, families and the public – and get information out. For example, I started the years of service and recognition awards for the employees this year.”

Naidoo also coordinates the company’s scholarship program, awarding funds to high school graduates in rural communities where Delta Western operates.

“The scholarship program has been one of the most rewarding projects,” she said. “Being able to help students advance in their education and see them grow has been a privilege. I think the most challenging part of my job is learning the best way to connect and help people, particularly when geography separates us. But we’re learning to utilize new technology, and becoming more familiar with the different regions of Alaska through in-person visits have made a difference.”

A local meet-up of Instagram users – called an “Instameet” – regularly connects between 20 and 100 Seattle photographers. Photo: Michaela Naidoo.

Nice to ‘Instameet’ you

Naidoo’s interest in photography stems from a childhood where documenting life’s accomplishments was the norm.

“I got my first film camera from my aunt when I was eight and I took pictures of everything all the time,” she laughed. “I loved capturing things on film. I love capturing memories.”

An avid photographer, when the social media application Instagram launched in 2012, Naidoo was quick to sign up. The app allows users to post individual pictures, add effects, and post them for followers to comment on.

“When Instagram came out, the purpose behind it was to get people all over the world to share their love of photography,” she said. “There were also local meet-ups of app users called ‘Instameets.’”

Naidoo attended her first Seattle Instameet in 2012.

“I literally didn’t talk to anyone,” she said. “I came back though, and I ended up meeting the people who were running it. I started going to them regularly, and eventually, they asked me to volunteer.”

Naidoo adopted the role of Community Coordinator, encouraging Seattle’s Instagrammers to come out from behind their screens, meet fellow photographers and create together.

“Our hashtag is #igers_seattle,” she said. “The part I love most is encouraging people to come to our meetups, witnessing the connections they make, and then seeing them via the hashtag out with new friends taking pictures in the city.”

The hashtag has garnered more than 550,000 photos from different areas of the Puget Sound community: photographers, bloggers, restaurants, and local neighborhoods and establishments.

“Our Instameets have ranged from more than 100 people down to 20 people,” she said. “But each one is unique and brings new people together, creates new memories and connections.”

Taking ownership

“Probably what I’m most proud of right now is seeing the Instagrammers community grow, seeing the positive impact on the Seattle creative community, and also continuing to grow and gain a better understanding of our company,” she said. “There was a time when I didn’t really take a lot of ownership of working for Delta Western. Especially in Seattle – you don’t tell people you work for an oil company. But petroleum isn’t such a scary word in Alaska. We’re a company that provides a vital resource to people who wouldn’t otherwise have it and I am proud to be a part of that, and I’m proud of the positive impact I’m able to contribute to our growth and goals.”

Alaska Couple Forges Separate Careers Under Saltchuk Umbrella

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on June 11, 2018

Delta Western Safety Director Leon Dwiggins and Carlile Senior Project Manager Christen Van Treeck are always ready for the next adventure.

By Hilary Reeves

Delta Western Safety Director Leon Dwiggins and Carlile Senior Project Manager Christen Van Treeck are always ready for the next adventure

Leon Dwiggins and Christen Van Treeck could have been high school sweethearts.

“We actually met right out of high school,” Dwiggins explained, “and I knew she was the one. We dated for about eight years before we got married. We’ve been together 24 years, married for almost 16.”

Both Dwiggins, Safety Director at Delta Western/NorthStar Energy, and Van Treeck, Senior Project Manager at Carlile Transportation, attended Dimond High School in Anchorage after moving to Alaska as children. Dwiggins was born in San Diego, but was quickly whisked back to his parents’ home state. Van Treeck was born in South Dakota, but spent much of her early childhood in Missouri.

“We lived in Missouri until 1985 when my dad accepted a job in Alaska running Matanuska Maid Dairy – one of Carlile’s first customers,” said Van Treeck. “When people ask me about my childhood, I always tell them that I came from the ultimate “Beaver Cleaver” family: mom, dad, brother, and cat. My parents have been married for 46 years, and my dad still calls my mom his ‘bride.’”

Prior to graduating high school, Van Treeck began searching for a summer job.

“My brother was already working at Carlile, so I mailed my resume to Harry McDonald. I started at Carlile a week before my high school graduation, and I worked full-time while putting myself through college at the University of Alaska Anchorage.”

Van Treeck eventually graduated with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Global Logistics Management. But growing up, her dream was to own a Chevrolet dealership.

Carlile Senior Project Manager Christen Van Treeck

“I’ve always loved cars from a young age,” she said. “My friends in high school always laughed at me because my favorite pastime was washing and waxing my car.”

Meanwhile, sports were Dwiggins passion growing up. He held state records in track and football.

“I learned at a young age that I needed to work hard to get the things I wanted out of life,” he said.

Dwiggins spent much of his childhood outdoors, “snow-machining,” teaching children to ski as a high school ski instructor, and fishing at his grandparents’ cabin in Kenai. He grew up wanting to be a teacher and a coach.

“I have three adopted younger brothers, so a lot of my teenage years were spent taking care of them while my parents worked.”

“Safety doesn’t have a ‘typical’ day”

Delta Western Safety Director Leon Dwiggins

After high school, Dwiggins worked road construction in the summer and at VECO (now Jacobs) in the winter. He said his early years working as a laborer led to a passion for safety.

“I personally experienced some very unsafe situations at other companies I’d worked for, and I decided that if I could be in a safety role, I could be proactive and prevent coworkers from having injuries or incidents,” he explained.

One of his greatest challenges, he said, is the fact that if someone gets hurt on the job in a remote location, he can’t always be there.

“Safety doesn’t have a ‘typical’ day,” he said. “We work through daily challenges on a variety of different issues ranging from hazard recognition, near misses, employee concerns and suggestions, to special projects. Dealing with Alaska’s increment weather conditions is always a challenge.”

Van Treeck has spent the past 23 years in the transportation industry.

“When I started working at Carlile just before I graduated high school, we were a small office building on Ship Avenue, and I was a file clerk.”

She transitioned to billing clerk, then billing supervisor while in college. After graduation, she said she wasn’t sure what she was going to do with her degree.

“As luck should have it, about six months after I graduated, Carlile was awarded an all-encompassing transportation and logistics contract that required a single point of contact to manage the customers’ day-to-day logistical needs; at that time, I was promoted to Senior Logistics Manager. That role, and the Alaska Logistics department, gradually grew over time.”

Van Treeck’s greatest challenge in her new role was earning the respect of the company’s Prudhoe Bay customers.

“I remember the first time I had to call a field manager and report that we couldn’t find a valve,” she said. “I told the customer they’d have to file a claim and reorder – only to be angrily told that the specialized valve had a 12 week lead time, and that they had to shut down in two weeks so, ‘figure it out!’ We found the valve and delivered it just in time, but that first year for me was a tough one. I learned a lot, and as I gained the respect of those customers, the barriers came down and they knew they could count on me to do what I said I was going to do.”

In her current role, Van Treeck is working on a project that allows the company’s dispatchers to send load offers to drivers digitally.

“This allows our drivers to have their dispatches at their fingertips, reducing phone interaction an offering real-time information flow.”

Fostering strong relationships

Working for companies under the same corporate umbrella, Dwiggins and Van Treeck often cross paths – most often at industry events, according to Van Treeck.

“Anytime Leon has the opportunity to refer someone to Carlile, he does, and tells them to ‘call Christen Van Treeck – she’ll take care of you.’ He’s a pretty good unpaid salesman for Carlile,” she laughed.

And for Delta Western.

“Delta Western is one of the premier fuel and lubrication companies in Alaska,” he said. “We work long hours in very adverse conditions. We work safely in remote, isolated locations, and we have a culture built around safety, supported and backed up by the fact that we are one of Saltchuk’s safest performers according to safety statistics. This accomplishment by our team brings me much pride, and that’s what I’d like the public to know about our company.”

In terms of his personal journey, Dwiggins said he wishes he would’ve learned sooner to channel his passion.

“I give 110 percent to everything I do,” he explained, “whether it’s personal or professional. I’ve had to learn how to channel those passions so I don’t come off as ‘in your face’ or ‘aggressive.’ It’s been a process, but over the years I’ve been able to communicate better by changing my delivery, and listening more thoroughly. I’m much more open and understanding of the needs of others.”

Van Treeck is most proud of the fact that she’s always stood by her personal and professional morals and ethics.

“Early on in my career, I learned quickly that being open and honest is key when building and sustaining relationships with customers,” she said. “Delivering bad news isn’t easy, but if you’re honest with your customers and provide solutions when problems arise, that’s paramount in fostering strong relationships.”

Like Van Treeck at Carlile, Dwiggins hopes to continue his career at Delta Western.

“I take a lot of pride in and am passionate about what I do, and I want to become the Vice President of Safety for Delta Western/NorthStar Energy.”

Escaping the Alaska winters in their favorite travel destination, Hawaii

The couple enjoys traveling – their favorite vacation spot is Hawaii – and working at home in Anchorage (Dwiggins, on the “greenest yard in the neighborhood,” and Van Treeck, washing and waxing cars in the garage), and hours north of Anchorage at their cabin, accessible only by snowmachine in the winter and four-wheeler in the summer.

“We built the cabin from the ground up with the help of some great friends,” she said. “It’s been a labor of love and a lot of hard work; when you don’t have road access, everything becomes a logistical challenge. The cabin offers us a place to go and disconnect, and just get back to the basics. It’s a pretty humbling experience to live and work in such a beautiful place. I always say people pay thousands of dollars to come see the things that are just in our back yard, and that’s pretty neat.”

“Words that I live by: live life to the fullest, because you may not be here tomorrow,” Dwiggins concluded.

New leadership to energize Delta Western and Hawaii Petroleum companies for Saltchuk

This article was originally published on the Saltchuk website on February 22, 2018.

Seattle, Wash. – On January 2, 2018, Bert Valdman became the President & CEO of North Star Petroleum­, Saltchuk’s energy distribution line of business. Valdman brings a wealth of experience in the energy sector to the Saltchuk family of companies, most recently serving as the President & CEO of Optimum Energy, the leading provider of data-driven cooling and heating optimization solutions for enterprise facilities. Prior to joining Optimum Energy he was the Chief Strategy Officer of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, one of the largest electric utilities in the country. Prior to Edison, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Puget Sound Energy where he was responsible for regulated electric and natural gas distribution operations, as well as the Customer Service, Information Technology, and Community Affairs functions. He also served as Puget Energy’s Chief Financial Officer from 2003 through 2007.

Already very familiar with the Saltchuk family of companies, Valdman served on the Saltchuk Board of Directors since April 2015.

“We are thrilled we were successful in our efforts to move Bert from being a member of the Board to a senior leader within the Saltchuk family of companies,” said Tim Engle, President of Saltchuk. “We are continually impressed by his input and look forward to working with him to grow this sector of our companies.”

North Star Petroleum oversees leading petroleum and lubricant distribution companies Delta Western Petroleum in Alaska and Hawaii Petroleum – Ohana Fuels, Minit Stop and HFN – in Hawaii. Valdman is based in the company’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington.

“Our companies provide critical services to the communities that our more than 500 employees live and work in. I’m looking forward to spending time across our operations and working with our teams to continue to deepen and develop our businesses in Hawaii, Alaska and the Pacific Northwest,” said Valdman.

Valdman earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Northwestern University, as well as masters and doctoral degrees from Stanford University. He serves on the board of Lakeside School and has served as a member of the board of trustees for Overlake Hospital, Puget Sound Blood Center and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Living healthy in Hawaii

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on December 31, 2017

Hawaii Petroleum’s Laura Alfonso has a passion for helping her fellow Hawaiians lead healthier lives.

By Hilary Reeves

Laura Alfonso knew from a young age that she wanted to help people – and she didn’t waste any time getting started.

“Shortly before graduating from high school, I had to decide whether to go to college or get a job,” she explained. “I decided to go straight to work and started interviewing for jobs during my last few months of high school. One of my interviewers asked when I could start. I was graduating on June 6, so I said ‘I can start June 7,’ and I was hired on the spot working for a large, local bank in downtown Honolulu.”

Born and raised in Honolulu, Alfonso’s now a Senior Account Manager at Hawaii Petroleum on Maui. Her parents met and married when her father was stationed on Oahu. The marriage was short-lived, ending before she was born. Her grandparents, first generation immigrants from Japan, raised Alfonso.

“My grandmother was a ‘picture bride,” she said. “My grandfather came to Hawaii at age 16. As was custom at the time, my grandparent’s marriage was arranged by both families. My grandparents only had a picture of each other before my grandmother was sent from Japan to Hawaii to marry in 1932. They were happily married for 58 years.”

Alfonso’s grandparents had seven children. Although her grandmother couldn’t read, write or speak English, she ran a successful delicatessen on Oahu where Alfonso began helping when she was seven years old. Through the mentoring of her grandmother Alfonso learned the importance of servitude, a custom of her grandmother’s samurai heritage.

“We were taught in our family home that the life of a samurai is the life of a servant, and it was ingrained in us early on to help and serve anyone we could.”

Alfonso began her career as a file clerk at a local bank, and married in 1979. She married her high school sweetheart; the couple now has two daughters and six grandchildren.

Alfonso’s husband was in the U.S. Army, and the couple moved to Germany with their two young daughters in 1984.

“We came from Hawaii, and we learned really quickly what cold was,” she laughed. “It was the coldest winter in Germany in more than a decade. Temperatures dropped to 30 (degrees) below (zero). I developed a wonderful friendship with our landlady there in Germany, and she taught me some German and I taught her some English. We were well loved there in Germany.”

After Alfonso moved to Germany, she was hired at American Express on post.

“I’d always wanted to be a loan officer, and after meeting with the branch manager, he created a loan department for me to work in. I loved my job, and helping the soldiers and community there.”

One of the most rewarding times of Alfonso’s career came every year during her Christmases overseas.

“I remember in particular I processed as many as 26 loan applications in one day to send soldiers back home for Christmas,” she said. “My manager thought I was crazy, but it was worth everything to see the soldiers get home to their ‘ohana’ [family].”

The family moved back to Hawaii in 1988, this time to Maui.

“Maui was always intriguing to me,” said Alfonso. “There’s something magical about this island. I promised myself that I would live there someday, and here I am.”
Alfonso again landed a job in loan servicing, this time for GE Capital. When the company closed its Hawaii operation, she went in heavy equipment sales.

“I made a lot of friends in the construction industry. When the opportunity came for me to build our home, I had so much help and support from a lot of my contacts and friends,” she laughed. “The thing about Hawaii is we have strong relationships with people.”

Alfonso was hired at Hawaii Petroleum in 2010.

“Once again, I get to focus all my customer service and sales experience in a new way to help the people and businesses of Maui,” she said.
Joining Hawaii Petroleum has also allowed Alfonso to continue helping others outside of the office as well.

“I’m a Type 1 Diabetic,” she said. “Doctors – they diagnose and prescribe medication, but it was up to me to learn to become my own doctor, in a sense. I researched what works and doesn’t work for me. I started to learn about the benefits of healthful living.”
Alfonso learned of a community-based health program and wanted to learn more about the lifestyle.

“I started testing all the lifestyle principles (of the program) on myself and made some simple changes, and it made a big impact on my disease,” she said. “I saw a big improvement.”

This motivated her to travel to New Mexico to get her certification to conduct the community health program, so she could begin helping others. She wasted no time, and began running the program on Maui in 2008.

“We built up a team, and organized to get them trained and certified to move forward in helping our community with this amazing health program,” she said. “We have helped hundreds of people get off medications, lose weight, eat better, and live longer and happier lives. It’s a powerful way to help and serve other people in need.”

Out of the 700 certified community health chapters across the country, Alfonso and her team’s hard work resulting in Maui being ranked third in results.

“The program’s founder flew to Maui to see the incredible results we were having here,” she said.

In addition to the program, Alfonso stresses the importance of a sustained lifestyle change.

“We keep participants connected through cooking classes, outdoor activities, and other community-building activities,” she said.

Recently, she and the eldest of her six grandchildren started a healthy, plant-based meal prep-delivery service.

“I plan the menu and prep while my granddaughter takes the orders and manages the business,” she explained. “Everything is fresh and healthy. It’s geared toward busy working people who are looking for healthy meals, but are too busy to cook.”

Alfonso said she looks forward to a future full of friends, family, new recipes, and sharing her food with others.

Delta Western Operations Manager honored for search and rescue work

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on March 16, 2017

Mike Riley and his team of Bethel Search and Rescue volunteers have saved dozens of lives during his 26-year tenure with the organization

By Hilary Reeves

A wooden sign marks the wind-whipped trailer serving as headquarters for Bethel Search and Rescue. Black paint peeling, the sign features a single flag, red on yellow, drawing the eye toward something found.

Delta Western Operations Manager Mike Riley has lived in Bethel since 1968; his family moved south from St. Mary’s, the village on the Yukon River where Riley was born. Four hundred miles west of Anchorage, Bethel acts as a transportation hub for the 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta, where the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers empty into the Bering Sea. It’s one of the largest deltas in the world, and Riley knows firsthand that each of its 129,500 square kilometers can prove deadly.

“(Bethel Search and Rescue) is called out at least three times a week,” he said. “We’re mostly looking for locals in the wee hours of the morning when they haven’t made it home.”

Riley began volunteering for Bethel Search and Rescue 26 years ago, and has been president of the all-volunteer crew for six. Married with three children and three grandchildren, he began his career as a carpenter, then as a helper at a local marina before transitioning into the role of small engine mechanic, working on outboard motors and snowmobiles. He went on to manage the marina, a job he held for 26 years, before electing to stay at home with his family.

“That didn’t last long at all,” he joked.

He was offered a management position at a local gas station where he worked for 14 years before joining Delta Western. Throughout the second half of his career, he volunteered his time as a member of Bethel Search and Rescue.

“For many years, I was just a member, then for eight years I served on the Board of Directors as vice president before being elected president six years ago.”

The recipient of a handful of awards, Riley was honored again last year by the Red Cross of Alaska as a recipient of the 2016 Real Hero Award for Alaska Safety.

“If (Mike) knows someone is out there, he doesn’t give up until we know that person is brought back,” said Earl Samuelson in an online video. Samuelson, also a Bethel Search and Rescue volunteer, is a retired State Trooper pilot. “At times, he’d stay up all night, taking phone calls. I’d (go out) sometimes (for) a search mission and he’d stay…until the last person was back.”

Riley also spearheaded efforts to mark safe trails and developed partnerships with the City of Bethel Police Department, and the Alaska State Troopers. In 2015, Bethel Search and Rescue was able to fund and purchase a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) to assist in underwater searches.

“The urgency of finding people is needed, and the volunteer part of it,” said Riley, who encourages the younger generation to become search and rescue volunteers. “We have a lot of pride in our organization and we want to keep that reputation going.”

And though the Red Cross considers Riley a hero for saving the lives of dozens of people during the past three decades, he hesitates to accept the praise.

“I don’t like to say the word ‘I’ within this organization. It’s a ‘we’ organization. It’s (difficult for me) to emphasize myself, because we work so well as a group together,” he concluded.

When asked about a particular search effort that stood out in his 26 years, he recalled a pair of teenage brothers.

“Two brothers in their mid-teens got lost in a snowstorm,” he said. “Because they were so young, and brothers, it was important we find them. We used all the resources we had trying to rescue them: a Blackhawk, a C-130 with night vision, night flares. The temperature was 20 below. It took three long days. They were alive.”

A legacy of efficiency, safety sails on in Alaska with the ‘Antril S.’

The original article was published on People of Saltchuk on January 30, 2017

The Delta Western barge was christened in October after employee Antril Sanguinetti, who died in 2014

By Hilary Reeves

A crowd gathered at Foss Waterway Seaport Museum in Tacoma to christen the Antril S., Delta Western’s new 326′ barge built to serve Western Alaska.

On a wet and gusty morning last October in Tacoma, Washington, Delta Western personnel gathered to christen the company’s new 326’ barge built to serve Western Alaska the “Antril S.” The ceremony was bittersweet.

“I remember the first time Antril and I met,” said Leon Dwiggins, the company’s Director of Safety, who was asked to speak at the event. “He asked what I did for the company, and I said I was the ‘safety guy.’ Antril rolled his eyes and laughed. He explained that most safety guys came from a book and had no experience in the field. We talked some more and I explained…what I was about, and all Antril said to me was, ‘prove it.’”

By all accounts, Antril Sanguinetti was a man who believed safety and efficiency were not mutually exclusive. Careful and deliberate, Sanguinetti grew up in Alaska and knew firsthand the dangers living and working in a land of such extremes could pose. It’s one of the many reasons his death in a head-on collision on the Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks on Dec. 22, 2014 was such a painful shock to his family, friends, and coworkers.

“One of Antril’s best strengths was that he was a do-er,” Dwiggins said. “He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He was always busy making things happen…but he would always make sure he and his crew were doing it the right way – the safest way. And that’s why Antril and I clicked.”

’Safety is life-changing’

Dwiggins also grew up in Alaska, describing his fellow Alaskans as “family who don’t yet know each other.”

“One of my true beliefs is that friends are the family you choose,” he explained.

He joined Delta Western six years ago after leaving a large oil support company with interests on the Slope.

“Honestly, I wanted to get out of that volatile oil-field market. At my last company, I was a number. I was just ‘11023.’ I wanted something smaller, something more intimate. I wanted to go somewhere where I could implement my ideas.”

Dwiggins was recently promoted from Safety Manager to Director of Safety, a move that widens his influence across other North Star companies, specifically NOSI, Minit Stop, and Hawaii Petroleum.

“A lot of times, the safety guys aren’t well-liked,” he said. “A lot of times they have the title of ‘safety officer,’ and I never liked that. I’m not an officer, or a dictator. I’m more of an educator. My role and responsibility is health and safety.”

Sanguinetti left a lasting impression on coworkers at Delta Western, especially when it came to his focus on safety

Sanguinetti’s job, said Dwiggins, most often involved traveling into the field and troubleshooting system failures. Frequently, his work meant making sure trigger systems pumped the fuel.

“I believe you can either be the guy that no one likes, or you can be the guy that goes in there and asks how the guys that have been out there on the job everyday think it should be done,” he said. “I knew right away that I wanted to utilize Antril. He knew the systems inside and out, and we worked to build our programs and policies of that. He understood that we needed to give ownership to the employees.”

Dwiggins said he still thinks about Antril every day. An “in loving memory” button with Antril’s photo sits on his bathroom counter.

“It motivates me,” he said. “Everyday I get a little reminder of Antril. I’ve definitely changed my ways a little bit. I used to be a bit more hard-nosed sometimes. Now my attitude is more service-oriented.”

Dwiggins said that he might have helped to build the company’s improved emphasis on safety, but it was Antril who gave it legs.

“When I was designing our safety manual, I would reach out to Antril and pick his brain. I would tell him what I was trying to do and tell him my ideas, and some would be good and to others he would say ‘that ain’t going to work.’ But he would tell me why, how it would work, and walk me through the solution.”

He said the naming of the barge for Sanguinetti meant a lot to him and to others across Alaska.

“To me, safety is life-changing. The reward is that people get home safe. And naming the barge after Antril, the story behind it – that helps get the word out even more.”

’I had the best husband in the world’

At the October christening, Sanguinetti’s widow, Benita, stood up to smash the celebratory bottle on the hull of the barge named for her husband.

“It’s something Antril would have loved,” she said. “He would have been so honored. When I was told about the barge, I was at a loss for words.”

According to Benita, whom Sanguinetti nicknamed “Beda,” he put all his heart into his work.

“When his name was left on a job, he made sure it was done correctly. Like everything in his life, he made sure it was top-notch.”

Benita said she never envisioned herself having a storybook marriage when she was a little girl – but that’s exactly what life with Sanguinetti was like. They met at a friend’s house. Benita, thinking he spoke Spanish due to his dark good looks, asked “Cómo estás” – to which Sanguinetti laughingly replied, “Yo quiero Taco Bell!”

“I had the best husband in the world,” she said. “It truly was the love story that little girls wish for. He used to tell me God first, then me, then his mother, then my mother, then on down the line of family and friends. He held everyone in his heart. I have nothing but good memories from the 23 years we spent together.”

Every November, the couple traveled to Maui for their anniversary. On their second anniversary, they spent three weeks there, prompting Benita to ask her new husband if they could move from cold, snowy Alaska to Hawaii.

“I remember him saying, ‘No, you don’t really want that. Alaska is home.’ He never wanted to live anywhere else.”

Though it’s still painful to talk about, Benita said she remembers speaking to Sanguinetti on the morning of his death two years ago.

“We used to pray together every day,” she said. “That morning, I remember saying, ‘I’m going to go read my scripture now.’ And he replied, ‘I already read mine today, dear.’ And then I said, ‘Well, I love you,’ and he said, ‘I love you too, Beda.’ And that afternoon, he was gone.”

Benita said she knows God doesn’t make mistakes. What she didn’t know, and found out on that cold morning in October, was just how much her husband meant to those he worked with. She chuckled as she recalled how Sanguinetti often affectionately called Dwiggins “Captain Careful.”

“I still sometimes can’t believe he was that important to the company that it chose to name a barge for him,” she said. “It’s a great honor. It’s a legacy that will go on and on.”

’You should be here!’

Dwiggins concluded his remarks at the christening with a story. Two days before Antril passed, he was working on a project, building and installing parts and equipment. He texted Dwiggins “you should be here!” Dwiggins thought something might be wrong.

“I called him immediately and asked him whether something was wrong,” said Dwiggins. “He said, ‘No, just the opposite.’ Antril said that I would be a ‘proud Papa’ if I was there. He told me that he could see firsthand evidence of the culture I was building: all the crew were wearing the proper equipment, using the proper tools for the job, and pre-planning their work. Antril said to me, ‘Leon, do you realize that a few years back, that wouldn’t have happened?’ So after a bit of bantering back and forth, he said, ‘You’re doing it! Keep it up, no matter how tough it gets, ‘cause it’s working!’ Antril was so respected and so well-liked, he had such a grasp on life and safety, for him to accept me as his ‘safety guy’ was really meaningful for me.

“Antril’s ideas and experiences live in the procedures built and still followed to this day by the teams at Delta Western…with his christening, and his name on the side of this barge, Antril’s legacy will always ‘sail on.’”

Inlet Petroleum lubricants specialist inspired son to join the ‘family’

This article was originally posted on People of Saltchuk on July 13, 2016

Cody Potter worked alongside his father, Bill Potter, for years before recently joining Delta Western

By Hilary Reeves

Bill Potter is a self-proclaimed “lubricants nerd.”

“I’ve done everything during my career from warehousing, driving and operations management, to sales, to installing equipment and fixing the kitchen sink,” he said. “I still love the field of lubricants – I guess I’m pretty boring.”

Raised in Oregon, Potter and his five siblings lived briefly in Alaska as children, and he returned during the summer of ’75 after graduating from high school.

“I never went back,” he said.

Potter began his career in Fairbanks, working at Chevron’s airport plant in operations and sales support during the pipeline boom. By 1986, Chevron had sold off most of their plants, and he went to work as one of “the original seven” at Inlet Petroleum, where he is currently a Certified Lubricants Specialist, training manager, and assists with business development for the company. Potter also assists with the lubricant supply for various other Saltchuk companies through a unique program with one of Delta’s main lubricants suppliers, Chevron.

“I enjoy assisting the other sites as well with lube or fuel issues,” he said. “I enjoy the challenges some of the customers have in their businesses. Since my father was an engineer, two of my sisters were CPAs, one was a biology major, and my brother is an electrician, it’s no surprise that I kind of enjoy mechanical and technical stuff. Drives the wife crazy.”

His sons, however, were a different story.

“I have two sons: Ryan, 35, and Cody, 23. My daughter Randi is in the middle at 31. Ryan is a diesel mechanic – and a customer of ours. Randi is a chiropractor’s assistant. I have a nephew in Fairbanks who is a State Wildlife Trooper and has been on the Discovery Channel – that’s our link to Hollywood,” he joked. “And now Cody drives package trucks for Delta Western.”

Cody Potter grew up in Anchorage and joined Inlet Petroleum in the warehouse four years ago, shortly after graduating from high school. His greatest challenge was obtaining his commercial driver’s license – which he achieved this past February. Now he’s on the road.

“Growing up, my mother was a very important person in my life, taking me camping and fishing every weekend while my dad worked through the night,” Cody said. “But when I was a kid, I looked up mostly to my dad. I am proud of my father and what he has sacrificed in his life for us as a family, working 15 hours everyday, always on-call and keeping a roof over our family’s head.”

According to Potter, working with family requires a delicate balance.

“You can’t get too involved, but I try and give advice on how to work with fellow employees and customers,” he said. “It’s a bit tough, as the younger generation generally has a different mindset. Part of it is their not having gone through as many tough times – in my opinion,” he laughed.

Since Cody began at Inlet Petroleum, Potter has transferred from the port to the company’s L Street offices.

“We still touch base from time to time.”

Courageous convenience

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on June 20, 2016

Minit Stop marketing manager Kim Robello continues to chart new waters

By Hilary Reeves

Kim Robello graduated from high school on the Hawaiian island of Oahu in 1978. He immediately went to work as the graveyard cashier for a local 7-Eleven, and never looked back.

“I’ve been in the convenience-store business all of my working life.”

Robello was the only one of four children to be born on the mainland. His father, a career U.S. Marine, moved back and forth, and just so happened to be stationed in Barstow, Calif. when Robello was born. The family moved back to Hawaii in 1968.

“My mother was a very proud, but generous and gracious Hawaiian,” he said. “She taught elementary school, and specialized in teaching kids who were rough, on the edge, who didn’t want to be in school. My father always said my mother made no money teaching because she spent so much of what she earned on her students, who didn’t have much. She made sure we studied hard, showed compassion and empathy toward others, and always lived our lives with Aloha.”

Robello said he learned from his mother an empathetic approach – something he employs to this day when confronting adversity.

“When dealing with others, you have to always look at a given situation with empathy for that person’s position and try very hard to work out a win-win situation,” he explained. “Sometimes circumstances don’t allow this, but if I try hard to understand the other person’s issues and challenges, they know I had their best interests in mind and that I dealt with them honestly and fairly.”

Robello’s father went to war in Korea, in addition to three tours in Vietnam.

“If you asked him what he did during those tours, he would only say that he was glad to be home knowing his family and fellow Americans were safe.”

After landing the 7-Eleven cashier job when he was 18, Robello was soon promoted to Store Manager. He “took a beating” during his first management stint and decided to step back to learn more about the industry. After a year as an assistant manager, he was again promoted to a store manager position at 7-Eleven when he was 19. Then a training manager. After 10 years with the company, he left to join Pacific Resources, now known as Tesoro, where he worked as a supervisor for just 10 days before he was awarded the position of Convenience Store Coordinator. He later accepted the position of Operations/Marketing Manager, and took over marketing as his full-time position after the company acquired an additional 33 stores.

“I always wanted to live on a neighbor island, and when given the chance by my old boss from Tesoro, along with Jim and Kimo Haynes (former owners of Minit Stop), I jumped at the chance to work for Minit Stop on beautiful Maui as the Marketing Manager. I’ve been at my current position for 16 years. When Saltchuk purchased Minit Stop, I was a little hesitant, as working for the Haynes family was wonderful, but the change to Saltchuk turned out to be equally wonderful, albeit a bigger family operation.”

Minit Stop was awarded top honors amongst all of Hawai`i’s advertising and designs for their new logo and carry-out food boxes.

“We’re a small, but feisty group,” he said. “When the bigger companies try to match up with us, they know we’re all-in and ready to rumble. My biggest challenge is not to miss opportunities when they present themselves, simply because I’m not watching. I don’t want to fail my team. But the Minit Stop team sees what I can’t, and together we don’t miss much.”

Robello regrets not attending college after high school, but believes that everything happens for a reason.

“My school counselors thought college would be wasted on me, and I believed them,” he said. “I wish hadn’t taken their advice and had gone to college, if not for the experience than for the education and leg-up it would have provided me. That said, the ‘school of hard knocks’ worked for me, though I met and received help from a lot of good folks. I’m proud to have made my parents proud, and blessed that my children have done the same for me.”

Robello is close to his brother, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran and Federal fireman; his sister, a loan officer; and another sister, the “free spirit.” He and his wife of 37 years are the proud parents of a son who works as a hospice care management nurse, and a daughter, the mother of Robello’s three grandchildren.

“I also have five Chihuahuas, who are a pain,” he laughed. “Really, my family is my hobby, along with my reason for living. By family, I mean my immediate family in addition to all the people I’ve met in my life, who are my ‘Hanai’ family. If they’re happy, I’m happy.”

Robello’s latest claim to fame was starring as the voice of the Saltchuk Hawaii video. He said he hopes to finish his career at Minit Stop.

“I hope to continue to make Minit Stop a profitable entity, and retire from the company with good memories, knowing I have it 110 percent,” he added. “Minit Stop was built on family values, and continues to be successful because Saltchuk operates with the same train of thought. Hawaii folks in general are welcoming, compassionate, and generally want you to be part of the Hawaiian Ohana. You can’t just say ‘Aloha,’ you have to live it.

“I’ve been very blessed in my life,” he concluded. “I have a wonderful immediate and Hanai family; I live in peace and tranquility in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I have my health, and I’m gainfully employed at a very good company. If other folks had half the blessings I have, they would have a lot.”

Robello as the “Voice of Saltchuk Hawaii”!

Growing the methanol marketplace

This article was originally published on People of Saltchuk on November 4, 2015

Don Stone, Delta Western, and the capital plan to shorten the methanol supply chain to Alaska

By Hilary Reeves

Don Stone moved to Seattle from California in 2006 in search of a new adventure. After years as a tax consultant, first with PricewaterhouseCoopers and then the accounting software company Sage Software – Stone joined Seattle biodiesel startup Imperium Renewables where he began researching methanol, a commodity market he continued to pursue after joining Delta Western in 2008. Now Vice President of Supply and Logistics, Stone has spent the better part of a decade helping the company grow its share of the methanol marketplace, culminating with the May groundbreaking of a terminal at the Port of Anchorage. The facility is the largest new terminal Delta Western has built since it was purchased by Saltchuk Resources fifteen years ago.

Stone grew up in Chino, Calif. After graduating from nearby University of California, Riverside with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, he moved west.  “When you grow up inland, all you want to do is live on the coast,” he said.

Stone, whose father is an accountant, enrolled in graduate school and earned a Masters of Business Taxation from the University of Southern California. He moved to Newport Beach and began work at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Irvine, where he had interned while in graduate school.

“There’s a misconception out there that tax professionals just sit around and do people’s taxes,” he explained. “I came into PricewaterhouseCoopers as a federal tax consultant, creating corporate structures to limit tax liabilities. It was really interesting work, and I was definitely on the partner track, but then I got an offer from my client I could not refuse.”

The offer, he explained, was from The Sage Group, also known as Sage Software, one of his clients. He left for Sage in 2003. At the time, the company was growing at a rapid pace.

“Sage was acquiring companies at a pace of about one a quarter,” he said. “I was involved in all the tax structuring of those acquisitions, doing Mergers & Acquisitions work and finding Research & Development tax credits.”

Stone said he loved the job, but his wife wanted to move to the Seattle area where she grew up. He visited the city for the first time during the summer of 2006.   “We did downtown Seattle, Chelan, and the Oregon Coast, all in a two-week span. I thought it was beautiful; it was actually a really warm summer. But as soon as we moved up here it turned into the worst weather. That December, I think the power was out for about 17 days. I was totally tricked,” he laughed. “It’s taken me about eight years to get used to it, but I like it now. I don’t think I’d move back to California.”

Imperium Renewables

Stone left Sage and moved to Seattle in September of 2006, without a set career path in mind.  He wanted to get into a new field, somewhere he could take calculated risks and reap the rewards. He was among the first wave hired at Imperium Renewables, then a new biodiesel startup that was run, Stone said, like a tech company.  “We were like a bunch of tech guys trying to do fuel.”  In the biodiesel industry, Stone explained, the creation of production facilities is largely dependent on the tax incentives available, and finding them was one of Stone’s responsibilities. The company built the largest biodiesel facility in the country, one that could produce 100 million gallons, in the Port of Grays Harbor, Washington. The company also proposed similar facilities in Hawaii, Argentina, and Philadelphia. The company prepped for an IPO. It was 2008.

“Just like any tech startup, we were in a bubble,” he said. “No bad news could get in. I think I was still hopeful up until the very first layoff. Even in the months leading up to the collapse, we were doing a lot of great things, a lot of very strategic things. I rode it up and then I rode it back down.”  After the company’s downturn, Stone started looking for another opportunity.  “It was a really good experience,” he said. “I met a lot of interesting contacts in the petroleum industry.”

While with Imperium, Stone had worked on a plan to build a multi-product terminal next to the biodiesel facility in Hoquiam, Washington.  “We were hoping to develop a market for methanol, sodium methylate, and a few other chemicals that no one really thinks about, but that are heavily used across all different industries,” he said. “We were pitching to raise some money to build this terminal, and we set up a meeting with Vince Godfrey (former Vice President of Global Services for Foss Maritime). He invited two other people to the meeting: Mark Tabbutt (Chairman of Saltchuk) and Brian Bogen (President and CEO of North Star Petroleum). I was able to present this terminal project and the chemical marine import concept to those three guys.”  After the failed IPO process, Stone called Godfrey, who put him in contact with Bogen, and let him know there was a finance position open at Delta Western.  He interviewed with Kirk Payne, President of Delta Western and was named VP of Finance in June of 2008.

Delta Western, and the methanol marketplace

While Stone was working in finance for Delta Western (and during a subsequent four year stint at North Star Petroleum), he continued to explore ways he could connect the methanol suppliers he knew to the marketplace.  “Ultimately, one of those suppliers, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC), built the multi-product terminal we had envisioned at the Port of Grays Harbor,” he said. “Even though I was working for Delta Western, I was still connected to the chemical industry.   When MGC built the terminal, they asked if (Delta Western) would like to market methanol to customers in the Pacific Northwest.”

Methanol is a colorless liquid most commonly synthesized from natural gas. The majority of methanol production is consumed as a building block chemical in the manufacturing of formaldehyde, plastics, paints, antifreeze, solvents, and biodiesel. In 2009, Delta Western was granted a limited exclusive agreement to market MGC methanol supply out of the new methanol terminal in Hoquiam, in which they shipped to customers via truck and rail car.

“That’s how Delta Western got into the methanol business,” he said. “Methanol is used in quite a few things: formaldehyde preservative, fracking, window wash, freeze protect – there’s actually a huge market for methanol.”

Stone came back to his finance role at Delta Western from North Star in the fall of 2012, but in order to continue to grow within the company, he needed more operational experience.  In the later months of 2014, he was named Vice President of Supply and Logistics. He’s currently responsible for the refined product supply of all Delta Western terminals, and managing inventory, inventory cost, and logistics.  “The best way for someone like me to get operational experience is through supply and logistics,” he explained. “But I’m still heavily finance-based.

Connecting Alaska

Anchorage Channel 11 News segment: For the first time in 40 years, new construction at the Port of Anchorage

According to Stone, it was only a matter of time before Delta Western’s methanol business extended to the Alaskan marketplace. “There’s a huge market in Alaska for methanol,” he said. “It’s mostly used as freeze protect on the slope. If there’s no crude oil in the pipes, they fill them with methanol – the cheapest commodity there is up there – to fill the pipe so it won’t freeze and break.”

Methanol is derivative of natural gas, and is a room temperature liquid that dissipates in water, and unlike LNG, does not require pressurization. Stone said methanol is typically refined in the Far East, or Middle East, and is brought to the United States via marine transport, and then sent to Alaska via rail car from the lower 48. A new marine terminal in Alaska would allow methanol to be brought directly to Alaska via tanker vessels over the water, eliminating the need for rail transport, thus shortening the supply chain and making it less expensive for the customer.

Kirk Payne also agreed with Stone on the potential for a future methanol business line at Delta Western and three years ago, set about securing a land lease at the Port of Anchorage. Partnering with the Port, they were able to pursue large methanol sales contracts in the Alaska marketplace. “In order to win these huge contracts, you have to present something novel and new. No one wants to switch something that’s already steady and works fine, unless it’s you can provide a safer and more efficient solution.” said Stone.

In Alaska, there are two major methanol customers, ConocoPhilips Alaska (COPA) and British Petroleum Exploration Alaska (BPXA). Together, they represent 85 percent of the current demand, and both companies have communicated that demand for the product will increase as a result of their projected investments in the North Slope region.

“In 2010, ConocoPhillips put their methanol contract out to a bid,” Stone said. “We didn’t win, we didn’t even have a lease at the time, but last year, we went to them and said, ‘We have our plan solidified now. Here’s what we can offer.” Delta Western was awarded ConocoPhillips’ methanol contract in 2014 with commencement in 2015. It took about seven months to negotiate the sales contract.

“It makes a lot of sense for them,” Stone explained. “Instead of planning out a six to eight week supply chain, we’re shortening that chain, providing a safer, just-in-time inventory environment to the customer. They can just pull up a truck, fill it, and take it to the slope. We’re also reducing the carbon footprint of the whole organization.”

In May of 2015, Delta Western broke ground on a Marine Methanol Terminal in the Port of Anchorage, the only one of its kind in the state, with plans to be operational before year-end. The terminal will initially feature one 50,000 barrel methanol tank, but will eventually expand to six tanks total and may offer additional products.

Stone said he hopes to make methanol a part of Delta Western’s core business for years to come.

“It’s organic growth,” he concluded. “We didn’t have to acquire something. We built it internally; we built a business that we’d not been in before. We have it all there. Now we just have to grow it into what we want it to be.”