Left, Gordy Sant, center, Fred Fick and right, Roxie Barnes.
Gordy Sant, Fred Fick, and Roxie Barnes retired this year after long careers with Lynden.
Gordy started working for Lynden as a casual driver in 1985. “Ed Maleng had high expectations for the LTI, Inc. drivers,” Gordy says. “You will learn how to do everything if you’re going to drive there. I ran belly dump, flatbed, food grade and chemical tanker, refrigerated trailers, containers and end dump with every type of product they hauled, until moving to a bid spot on the Skagit milk board for over 20 years.”
At retirement, Gordy was Idaho Operations Manager, but over his long career, he also served as a dispatcher, developed the Idaho location into a successful operation, worked in HSSE and was instrumental in developing training programs and recruitment programs for LTI, Inc. “For seven years in Idaho, I was given the chance to work with great people and cultivate the One Lynden culture,” he says.
His memories include starting the first Train the Trainers program with Anthony Knapp and a water haul in the middle of one of the worst winter storms on record. “We just finished our shifts when we got an emergency call to haul water. I ran the first loads that night, and Jeff Smith set up coverage for the next morning.” He also recalls training with Jason Jansen on a program to route Darigold’s milk to plants and their customers. “We took their dispatch from colored pencils to Lynden’s IT-developed planning tool,” he says. “It gave us the ability to handle over 300 loads a day and schedule out several days to weeks in advance.”
Other memories include working with Brad Williamson on storm events. “We would call all the area dispatchers together and build a plan to move loads around pass closures. If a terminal dispatcher said he could cover one extra load in the planning, Brad would say did I hear two? We always got it done!” Gordy was also involved in writing the first Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and developing the first chain of custody food safety program for milk.
“I have always worked in a team environment,” Gordy says. “Most of the projects were opportunities to work with the best of the best while meeting the needs of a customer, project or goal. The projects or outcome always improved as they grew into maturity, with or without me.” Gordy’s plans for retirement are spending time with family and grandkids, campaign with his wife Linda, dirt bike riding, landscaping and community and volunteer work.
“Over the 40 years of my career, I've come to know and love the people I've had the pleasure to work with. When you work for a great company with great people and have first class resources, it equals a good life. I’ve been blessed with all three,” Gordy says.
Roxie started her Lynden Transport career in 2008. “I started as an over-the-road driver mainly running between Houston and Edmonton. Most of my first eight years, I ran solo but started running team most of the time in 2016,” she says. She started training new drivers in the dock-to-driver program in 2019. “I was reluctant to train at first, but it was a rewarding experience getting to know many of the younger generations and seeing that there are ambitious and dedicated young people to carry on,” she says.
Over her career she noted the changes she has seen including a switch from manual transmission to automatic, using computer logs, less paperwork (good, she says) but also less human interaction (bad, in her opinion), and too much traffic. In retirement Roxie is spending more time with her two cats and volunteering for a foster kitten program. She is also rebuilding an old house, gardening and has travel plans to go to Maine, the only state in the U.S. that she has not visited.
Over Fred’s 34-year career as a Dockhand, Local Driver and Night Foreman with Lynden Transport he earned the nickname ‘Fred of All Trades.’ According to Lynden Transport Vice President of Operations Jered Post, from line haul to heavy haul, to managing projects in and out of Anchorage, Fred could always be relied on. “He could operate any piece of equipment and was always great with our customers,” Jered says. Fred’s contributions to Lynden included noteworthy projects like securing and tarping thousands of pipe spools from Nana in Big Lake, AK for transport to the North Slope, and hauling oversized modules from Anchorage, Wasilla, and Big Lake with zero accidents or issues.
“I am proud of my safe driving record for 33 years, and I took pride in keeping maintenance costs down, while keeping my equipment in top operating order. I like to make things last. I drove one truck for 17 years. It was a great truck, so I hung on to it until it aged out,” Fred explains.
According to Anchorage Service Center Manager Justus Uphus, Fred was involved in any big or complex project that Lynden Transport was involved in. “If Fred said that he was going to do something you knew it was going to get done safely and correctly. He took pride in his work and was always willing to help anyone,” he says. “Fred was the epitome of professionalism.”
“I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to spend a large part of my career working for a Jim Jansen company as I am set up for a great retirement,” Fred says. “Now I spend a lot of time outdoors, biking, hiking, hunting, fishing, collecting and splitting firewood, building natural furniture, gardening and traveling. I have a hobby job and remain on the on-call list at Lynden.”
Fred will also be remembered as one of Lynden’s annual Green and Fit winners, riding his bike to work in 10-below-zero weather in Anchorage and logging 2,000 miles in one summer.
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