3 minute read
Brown Retires After 22 Years at Watco
by OneWatco
He’s been called Watco’s air-traffic controller, a rock star, and a blackjack dealer of railcars. Whatever you call him, Johnnie Brown will be missed.
After 22 years, the senior equipment control coordinator retired in late April. He joined the team after having a 30-year career in the paper forms industry. When it was time for a fresh start, he found opportunities in Wisconsin and Texas, but his family was located near Watco’s main office in Pittsburg, Kansas.
“I’d interviewed with Watco twice, but didn’t hear back. It was December 15. Christmas was coming, and I thought I was going to have to leave my family here to take a job,” Brown said. “Then, I got a call, and they asked me if I could start immediately. I thanked (Watco founder) Dick Webb for the opportunity, and I’m still grateful today.”
Brown started overseeing Watco’s Customer Service and helping with fleet operations. After a short time, doing both was too much for one person, and he moved permanently to fleet. This team manages Watco’s railcar fleet and its movement across several Watco short lines. At the time of his retirement, his responsibilities were primarily the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL) and Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (KO), but over the years, he had managed and helped with several others.
“He always knew where every railcar was on the railroad and what each customer needed. I described Johnnie as a blackjack dealer, but he was dealing cars out to customers,” said Jimmy Patterson, senior vice president of rail operations. “He’s leaving big shoes to fill. Johnnie’s biggest ability was his reliability. He’ll be missed.”
The relationships Brown built with customers, operations, and other team members throughout his career were notable.
“Johnnie’s knowledge was invaluable between his relationships with everyone at the elevators and operations teams. I always joke he’s the air traffic controller of the grain fleet,” said Casey Harbour, sales director. “He knows where every railcar is at every minute, and that makes our operations teams more efficient and provides better service to our customers. He’ll be missed on a personal and professional level. He’s just a good, good man.”
The operations teams across the railroads he helped all agreed that his ability to combine data with customer needs and communicate them made their jobs easier.
“I can’t say enough good things about Johnnie,” said Jerry Waun, SKOL general manager. “I don’t know how he does it, but he’s a rock star when it comes to filtering all the information from the customers down to the trainmasters. We’re going to miss him, and hope he enjoys retirement.”
Brown says he’ll miss the relationships and the challenge of keeping the fleet moving every day. But he says he’ll still be busy with projects around the house, and there are some vacations that have been delayed for the past several years.
“I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of piecing that puzzle together every day. I’ve learned a lot from our customers and team members,” Brown said. “It’s all about building those relationships and trust. It’s what makes Watco a success, and I’ve enjoyed being a part of that.”
