January 2022 – What happened when a Watco office recently became short staffed? Watco team member Alina Robles came to the rescue. A supply coordinator in Clearfield, Utah, Robles traveled to the Watco office in San Antonio, Texas, not once but three separate times to lend a helping hand.

Watco’s Clearfield Branch Manager Chad Schilleman and Vice President of Operations Curtiss Hemby joined Robles to help the Texas office after four team members unexpectedly took leave due to a family emergency and health reasons. Despite COVID-19 numbers soaring at the time, Robles never turned back from a chance to assist team members in need.

Hemby said, “Despite the threat of COVID, not once did Alina question helping out. On each of her visits, she traveled on Sunday so she could be at the San Antonio office first thing Monday morning.”

On their initial trip to the Lone Star State, they were greeted with a backlog of more than 190 intermodal containers waiting to be transported. While Schilleman, Hemby, and Senior Director of Sales Michelle Bowling put together a strategy to move these containers, Robles assisted operators with managing freight.

Her role quickly transformed from supporting to training operators in San Antonio on the intermodal board, an automated program that the Clearfield office uses to efficiently manage incoming and outgoing freight.

After two trips to San Antonio she returned for a final time to train returning team members on using the intermodal board.

“She sat with each operator and trained them,” Hemby said. “She still supports them to this day. Whenever the team has questions, she’s the first person they call.”

On top of helping the San Antonio office during this time, Robles also worked at night to ensure Watco operations kept moving forward in Utah.

Hemby said, “What’s amazing to me is that not one time has Alina asked for anything in return. That’s mind-blowing in today’s world where so many people have a ‘what’s in it for me’ attitude. To me, this sets her apart from others.”

Read about others like Alina who are making a difference at Watco and beyond. See more stories