November 2021 – Who never turns down a request, always finds a solution, and constantly offers to help? Nadeia “Dee” Shemwell.

Shemwell’s official title at Watco’s St. Louis Gateway Transload Terminal is Customer Service Representative (CSR), but depending on your perspective, she’s also part vet tech, a bit of a pastry chef, a part-time taxi driver, and more.

She seems to find needs and fill them, and see ways to help out, be kind, or do extra.

Shortly after she was hired in 2017, Shemwell took it upon herself to learn the birthday of every teammate. She keeps track on her calendar and for each birthday brings in a cake, brownies, cupcakes, or some other treat, often homemade.

Assistant Terminal Manager Tona Townzen recalls a time when a customer changed their inventory system. “Dee monitored their orders daily. She called and reviewed orders with their CSRs to make sure that what she was seeing was what they wanted. She caught so many mistakes that saved everyone a lot of time, money, and frustration.”

Shemwell is known for stepping in whenever the parcel carrier can’t pick up a customer’s urgent shipment. “You can bet she has it in her car finding a drop off point,” says Townzen. “She takes her job very seriously and always strives to do her best.”

As a former veterinary technician, Shemwell makes “house calls” to team members’ houses to see their pets. For the annual warehouse audit, she is there for every overtime session to sweep, mop, paint, empty trash, and more. On several occasions, she’s bought teammates’ lunch or given them rides to work.

The list goes on, and Townzen says all the support Shemwell shows customers and co-workers is “from her heart. She is doing the right thing. She really is a gem.”

Read about others like Dee who are making a difference at Watco and beyond. Learn More