Safety Anniversaries
October 1 – Arkansas Southern Railroad (AR, OK) – 20 years
October 1 – Southwest Brooklyn MTS Dedicated Terminal (NY) – 7 years
October 1 – Houston Track Maintenance (TX) – 2 years
October 5 – Tioga Dedicated Terminal (ND) – 1 year
October 15 – Omaha Repair and Maintenance Terminal (NE) – 1 year
October 28 – Autauga Northern Railroad (AL) – 5 years
KN W YOU
Safely Improve Every Day
Search for deals on the Access Perks app
Access Perks offers team members discounts on travel, shopping, and more
Open Enrollment Ends Nov. 12
Time is running out to enroll in benefits for 2026. If you haven’t already, log in to the Benefitplace app or go.watco.com and select the Benefitplace tile to make your selections by Nov. 12.
Here are a few reminders to keep in mind during open enrollment:
• You must reelect FSA and HSA contributions
• Unless you make updates, your other benefit selections will roll over to 2026
• Now is a good time to review your beneficiaries
Open enrollment is the only time during the year that you can update benefit elections unless you have a qualifying life event, such as marriage or the birth of a child. Please contact the Benefits team within 30 days of a qualifying life event to make updates.
There’s still time to register for upcoming open enrollment webinars this month. Mark your calendars for Nov. 3, 6, or 12 at 10 a.m. CST; or Nov. 5 or 10 at 3 p.m. CST. To join, use the link emailed to your Watco or personal account from the Benefits team. Also check with your people services manager for on-site meeting details.
Scan the code to enroll in benefits
CSR Helps Terminal Transition
When the Wood River Transload Terminal found itself without a terminal manager in May, Marge Miles stepped up to ensure nothing fell through the cracks while the new manager was learning the ropes.
Miles serves as the Illinois terminal’s customer service representative, so she’s familiar with its day-to-day operations. The experience she’s gained over the years and her attention to detail meant she knew exactly what needed to be done in the meantime.
“The terminal was dealing with new customers, bigger workloads, and now this turnover,” said Revenue Accounting Specialist Mariah Kohl, who works closely with Miles. “No ball was dropped. She was doing everything that needed to be done without anyone asking her to.”
Miles made sure the team’s purchase cards were balanced correctly and on time, ordered new fire-resistant uniforms, checked each department’s volume numbers for accuracy, and proactively reached out to customers about any issues. All of this was on top of her normal duties and helping the new terminal manager learn more about the administrative side of operations. Miles even helped with a team member’s safety training.
“Marge had a coworker who was struggling with a safety training course,” Kohl said. “She sat down with him, went through all the materials, and helped him study. He was able to pass the class. She had all this going on and was still thinking about her team members. Her willingness to help is unmatched.”
Wood River has settled back into business as usual. Miles has returned to her normal role. But Kohl and David Callan, the new terminal manager, say the transition wouldn’t have been nearly as smooth without Miles’ initiative and experience.
“Marge has been my right hand during this process. She never complained about any of the extra work and did her normal job as always,” Callan said. “She also helped a lot with the team’s morale during the transition. Marge is an asset to this team, and I deeply appreciate all of her help.”
Team Members Win with Watco Rewards
Now through the end of the year, team members can win when they use Watco Rewards. Up to $55 in e-gift card(s) of your choice is up for grabs by completing certain actions on the Watco Benefitplace app or website including:
• Complete an annual wellness visit
• Get a preventive screening
• Get the flu shot
• Explore First Stop Health
• Review your beneficiaries
Remember to move actions from pending to complete to receive credit. When you’re ready to cash in, select redeem on Watco Rewards and select one or multiple e-gift card(s) of your choice.
While you’re logged in to Watco Rewards, be sure to complete entries for a chance to win $200. Winners are selected monthly.
To get started, log into Benefitplace on the mobile app or website. Under the Quick Links tab, select Watco Rewards. For app users, please note you may need to delete and reinstall it on your mobile device.
Railway Age Selects Watco’s Rebekah Garner
Watco’s Rebekah Garner recently received some great news from the executive editor of Railway Age magazine: She’s been named to the latest list of Women in Rail honorees.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be selected as one of the Women in Rail award winners for 2025,” said Garner, who is with the Service Assurance team that provides rail support. “It’s truly humbling to be recognized alongside so many outstanding women in the rail industry, and I’m excited to be a part of such a prestigious group.”
Honorees were selected based on factors such as leadership, community service, and accomplishments. For over a decade, Garner has served on several industry sub-committees that are part of the Interline Revenue Committee (IRC). Among other roles, the IRC helps maintain the accurate data and timely transactions that are critical to North American freight railroads in areas such as cost control, streamlined payments, and operational efficiency. Garner’s involvement included a two-year role as chair of the Waybill Accuracy Task Force.
Garner is credited for helping develop Watco’s Roam, Track Master, and CrewConnect applications. Aaron Coester, her supervisor and VP of Service Assurance for Rail Support, said her success in part comes from taking initiative and being tenacious. He praised her research with Watco railroaders to learn what was needed for the applications, saying that she worked “to understand the ‘why’ of what they’re doing. When you’re asking them good questions and they understand that you’re truly trying to learn from them, they’ll tell you everything.”
Besides up-front fact-finding about current processes and federal requirements that would apply to the apps, Garner was involved in app testing and rollout. And she still gets requests for post-rollout tweaks. Vice President of Operations Keith Collier is someone who has sought Garner’s help with changes to an app. He said that “It’s just amazing that I can sketch something out on paper and say, ‘Hey, I’d like to have a form uploaded in CrewConnect that looks like this,’ and a week later, it’s a masterpiece.”
Garner is among 25 who received the 2025 Women in Rail honor. They will be featured in the November issue of Railway Age.
Honoring America’s Heroes
At Watco, we’re proud to have veterans representing all service branches as valued members of our team. Currently, more than 8% of our team members are military veterans, which is higher than the 5% average of the total U.S. civilian workforce. In honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 11, we recognize and thank each of them for their unwavering service, dedication, and sacrifice for our country. Your commitment inspires us all, and we are grateful for the leadership and integrity you bring to our organization every day.
This year, we’re proud to spotlight two veterans who are members of the Watco family: Judson Coleman and Kenny Morgan.
After serving 23 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, Judson Coleman brought his commitment to safety and leadership to Watco. Beginning his service in 2000, he had assignments across the country, ending as a commanding officer (CO) of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Texas City, Texas.
As a CO, Coleman led teams that enforced maritime safety, security, and environmental protection regulations. This work focused on protecting the maritime public, ensuring that they were following the regulations that were set to keep them safe. He said, “That mindset transitions directly to what our Safety team is focused on daily in order to keep our team members operating safely.”
When a Watco team member learned Coleman was nearing retirement, they encouraged him to apply for an open safety position. He joined the Watco team in 2023 as a safety director, where his attention to detail and questioning safety practices made the transition seamless.
He credits that familiarity with the shared values between the Coast Guard and Watco. The Coast Guard’s core values comprised of honor, respect, and devotion to duty closely match Watco’s Foundation Principles of valuing customers, valuing people, and safely improving every day.
Coleman said, “The culture felt familiar and comfortable from the start. Everyone works as a team and is ready to help make the company better together.”
Judson Coleman, Safety Director for Watco Division A
Kenny Morgan, General Manager at the Ann Arbor Railroad and the Great Lakes Central Railroad
When Kenny Morgan joined the U.S. Marines in 2004, he didn’t realize how much the experience would shape the rest of his life. He started as an infantry rifleman and soon became a squad leader, sharpening his leadership and responsibility. He said, “Infantry is where I learned most of my leadership skills. You learn to lead by example, and that’s something that’s stuck with me ever since.”
His eight years of service included a move to work in a military prison as a duty brig supervisor. There he was responsible for an entire platoon where he managed schedules, oversaw supplies, and ensured the welfare of both his team and the prisoners. The long shifts and responsibilities taught him discipline and compassion, traits that would carry into civilian life after he retired from the Marines in 2012.
Transitioning to civilian work wasn’t easy. He first took a job at a wire and cable company in Texas before deciding to move back to California to be closer to family. His son’s love for trains sparked his curiosity about the rail industry, and after applying to several companies, he found his way to Watco. “I didn’t know much about Watco at first,” he admitted, “but once I joined, I loved it instantly.”
The sense of teamwork and camaraderie he found at Watco reminded him of his time in the Marines. Morgan said, “Looking back, I don’t know that I could have done anything else. I needed that camaraderie that Watco offered because it reminded me of what I had in the Marines.” He’s since focused on bringing those same values to his team every day.
His journey from a Marine to Watco leader stands as a testament to resilience, purpose, and the power of belonging. “I love this company and appreciate all that they do for us vets,” he said. “They’ve really given us a shot at normalcy.”
Watco recognizes the special dedication that it takes to be a member of the military, and we appreciate the sacrifices veterans have made to serve our country.
In conjunction with the observance of Veterans Day, we send out Challenger Coins to honor our team members’ service to our country and their commitment to Watco.
If you’ve joined the team since last Veterans Day, you should receive one of these coins if you identified yourself as a veteran on your new hire paperwork or during the onboarding process. If you’re a veteran who did not receive or did not indicate your veteran status, but would like to receive the coin, please contact your People Services manager.
Challenger Coin
Team Members Recognized for Safety
Congratulations to the Q3 safety award winners! Their suggestions and near misses are instrumental in helping the Watco team safely improve every day. For their efforts, they’ll receive a Watco-branded product of their choice and a pair of Pit Viper or Heat Wave Visual safety glasses.*
There’s still time to enter the Q4 safety contest. It’s easy to enter. Share a safety suggestion or near miss with your supervisor and they’ll enter it into Watco’s safety tracking system on your behalf.
*Some exclusions apply.
Rail
Scott Ayers, Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (KS)
Shawn Clark, Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (IL)
Bobby Baker, Great Northwest Railroad (ID)
Laramie Gahman, Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (KS)
Michael Garza, Galena Park Switching (TX)
Alex Grandsko, Memphis Switching (TN)
David Holt, Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WI)
Talia Keyton, Agawa Canyon Railroad (Canada)
Danny Kucej, Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WI)
Casey Thrall, Eastern Idaho Railroad (ID)
Joshua Riddle, Baton Rouge Southern Railroad (LA)
Matthew Rosalie, Bayway Switching (NJ)
Miguel Rodriguez, Toledo Switching (OR)
Tyler Roshong, Timber Rock Railroad (LA)
Pam Ridenour, Mission Mountain Railroad (MT)
Sal Sanchez, Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (KS)
Arnoldo Sandoval, Galena Park Switching (TX)
Jordan Westerman, Agawa Canyon Railroad (Canada)
Leon Williams, Freeport Industrial Rail Services (TX)
Travis Worth, Prentiss Industrial Rail Services (Canada)
Michael Yocum, Freeport Industrial Rail Services (TX)
Lloyd Young, Baton Rouge Southern Railroad (LA)
Terminals and Ports
Eduardo Abarca, Omaha Repair and Maintenance Terminal (NE)
Brian Collier, Pittsburg Transload Terminal (KS)
Travis Hutchinson, Tulsa Port of Catoosa Marine Terminal (OK)
Cody Kyle, Omaha Repair and Maintenance Terminal (NE)
Enrique Mercado, Watco Greens Port (TX)
Michael Moore, Cincinnati Marine Terminal (OH)
Omar Reyes, Watco Greens Port (TX)
Callum Robertson, Ghent Marine Terminal (KY)
Marco Trejo-Hernandez, Omaha Repair and Maintenance Terminal (NE)
Ethan Wheatley, New Johnsonville Dedicated Terminal (TN)
Donovan White, Wellington Transload Terminal (UT)
Justin Wooten, Port of Vicksburg (MS)
Logistics
Shane Potts, Watco Logistics (MO)
Team Member Anniversaries
Congratulations to the following team members celebrating November anniversaries:
1 Year:
John Adams, Martin Allen, Arnold Alviar, Brandon Armstrong, Kyler Barker, Patrick Baugh, Hunter Beachner, Alec Bobbe, Bryen Bosworth, Cameron Bradley, Antonio Bratsch, Marvella Butler, Courtney Collins, Kyle Cooper, Shawn Cox, Joshua Dunham, Hayden Floyd, Thomas Franka, Tyler Frederick, Aaron Garcia, Tyriq Gatson, Artavian Gilliam, Steven Guined, Gabriel Haas, Jacob Harmon, Morris Hill, Muranda Ingram, David Jackson, David Jastrzab, Christopher Johnson, Brian Kovarik, Rikki Levi, Matthew Lewis, Ryan Littlepage, John Luis, Sade Maness, Chris McGrath, Crystal Moctezuma, Daniel Moffitt, Timothy Monk, Dan Morgan, Shin Ng, Adrian Piceno, Grant Rains, Brayden Ralston, Rufus Rhymer, Freddy Roberts, Franchez Shell, Dequeon Thomas, Victoria Uhme, Matthew Vaughn, Casey Walker, Richard Whiteman, Corey Williams, Kiley Williamson, Raquel Wilson, Trey Wilson
2 Years: Arron Brunskill, Taylor Carson, John Carver, Chad Coleman, James Czarnocki, Dylan Duff, Kevin Knight, Tandish Kuzvinzwa, Daniel Lancaster, Benjimen Langdon, Edgar Martinez, Martin Martinez, Donald Mason, Dustin McCormick, Justin McElhaney, Matthew Meehan, Rene Morquecho, Daniel Nelson, Amanda Nielsen, Jarrot Norris, James Nunnery, James O’Donnell, Monica Oljace, Jason Poage, Brock Prestholt, Ricky Richards, Miguel Rodriguez, Austin Rose, Hayden Sarenich, Donald Savage,
Amandeep Singh, James Sullivan, Dakotah Tucker, Artavious Turner, Taj Van Heekeren, Chance Winterbourne
3 Years:
Daniel Alioto, Lionel Batiste, Blake Burgess, James Clevenstine, Austin Cope, Tyler Davis, Nicholas DelSignore, Reginald Dickens, Garrett Ferree, Jason Gaskin, Brett Hargis, Ryden Hastie, Joe Herbert, Katherine Humbird, Timothy Johnson, Kirstin Kirsch, Bernell Leblanc, Ryan LeBrun, Jason Martinez, Micheal Meerdink, Deandre Minniefield, Benjamin Reams, Noah Reeves, Trevor Rice, Robert Rodrigo, Charles Scheriger, Todd Sears, Alexander Staheli, Pakira Tata, Jordan Van Ark, Jonathan Van Maanen, Garrett Wouldridge
4 Years:
Ervin Adams, Ansil Antoine, Bea Baranano, Justin Boatright, Enrique Cortes, Holly Donathan, Zachary Ergle, Andrea Graham, Jordan Green, Roberto Guajardo, Luis Gutierrez Mejias, Devon Gutowski, Terry Hipp, Joseph Hubbard, Michael Hull, Graham Job, Gary Johnson, Harley Kay, Jason King, Seth Kirsch, Craig Lee, Joshua Medina, Bryan Mueller, Benjamin Parsons, Kourtney Roberson, Heriberto Rubio Villalva, Hector Saenz, Aleksandar Stevanovic, Julien Stower, Tyler Strange, Azavier Vara, Christopher Washington, Michael Yocum
5 Years:
Stephen Barclay, David Barlow, Lisa Bonner, Michael Booth,
Matthew Carpenter, Alston Combs, Christopher Erickson, Nahum Garcia, Michael Garza, Sarai Garza, Nova Graves, Justin Haskins, Thomas Hinton, Sandy Keosy-Symoungphone, Rutilio Mejia, Christopher Miller, Alan Riddle, Xavier Salazar, Aaron Sessions, Paul Voss, Christopher Wiles
6 Years:
Stephanie Bunger, Graham Burgemeister, Reagan Chalupnik, Victor Cisneros, Rodney Corn, Lucas Culbertson, John Ellenburg, Anthony Endean, Hector Franco, Jason Fraser, Jason Gray, Raphael Griffin, Joseph Helire, Lisa Hogue, Chris Hunter, Henry Legg, Marlon Maldonado, Carolyne Manuel, Kevin Mayer, Patrick Mondy, Nyree Outley, Devon Rodrigue, Robert Stanley
7 Years:
Carl Britt, Drew Burns, Anthony Cooper, Jordan Davis, Mason Hoven, Dorian McGowen, Thomas Napoli, Zachary Orr, Benjamin Pike, Joshua Spude
8 Years:
Gerod Allen, Thomas Coward, Norman Fair, Drew Fitzwater, David George, Anita Grimes, Michael Lenhart, Lacie Moore, Kenneth Peters, Andres Rivera, Chad Simpkins, Charles Sizer, Jemma Turner, Robert White, Willie White, Sam Yim
9 Years:
Guy Heffington, Robert Jansson, James King, Bryan Leonard, Richard Thomas
10 Years:
Team Member Anniversaries
Shalae Bastian, Kirsty Burlinson, Fabiola Cervantes, Travis Freeman, Daniel Mavers, Zachary White
11 Years:
Andrew Beard, David Boissenin, Brad Bourbina, Nicholas Bowers, William Burns, Daniel Duron, Ryan Fayet, Marty McClendon, Anthony Oliva, John Patton, Brady Sansom, Jeremy Spates, Cameron Swaine
12 Years:
Jayson Banks, James DeGraaf, Nick Golian, Justin Mead
13 Years:
Matthew Adams, Amanda Bradbury, Dennis Burt, Timothy Humphrey, Aaron Jensen, Brian McDermott, Michael Trull
14 Years:
Gregory Bartholomew, Everts Batista, James Chinowith, Marcus Diaz, Justin Gaulrapp, Robert Hill, Lester LaCaze, Hilda Morin, Zachary Parker, Eric Turner, Brooke VanBecelaere, Gregory Wooldridge
15 Years:
Alan Cheek, Timothy Lewis, Michele Spielman, Kevin St Aubin
16 Years:
Chad Davis, Kevin Hampton, Brian Kemp, Jacob Link
17 Years:
Derek Brau, Andrea Harville, Joseph Magruder
18 Years:
Charles Chipman, Shawn Coates, Philip Roberts, David Rotz
19 Years:
Gerald Lewis
20 Years:
Dale Bright, John Dozier, Robert Godfrey, Charles McCall, Leon Norrgard
21 Years:
Joshua Braden, Zachary Henwood, Scott Holmes, Michael Marino
22 Years: Eric Slimp
26 Years:
Steven Ayala, Cyril Bangari, Steven Russelburg, Kelley Scarrow
29 Years: Paul Loper
31 Years: Julie Sanchez
32 Years: Terry Showalter
34 Years: James Belsha
37 Years: Charlie Estes, Bruce Ferrebee
40 Years: David Bidleman
42 Years: Charles Faraone
