Dana Truxell - Million-dollar Handshakes

We sat down for a conversation with Dana Truxell and heard a really unique perspective on the maritime industry in Hampton Roads. Her position in this industry is delivering fuel to the vessels and the trucks that move the materials to the tradesmen that work in this industry.

You're going to hear her talk about making million-dollar deals with a handshake. How we got to be who we are today is based upon who we started out as in those foundational things.

The Regional Maritime Training System, RMTS, was established using a $11 million (41%) Good Jobs Challenge Grant awarded by the Economic Development Administration and is supported by $12.1 million (46%) provided through BlueForge Alliance in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Navy, and $3.5 million (13%) in funding by other sources. The Regional Maritime Training System, led by the Hampton Roads Workforce Council is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. VA Relay 711.

Visit www.maritimejobsva.com to discover what career and training opportunities are right for you in the Hampton Roads maritime industry.

Transcript

We sat down for a conversation with Dana Truxell and heard a really unique perspective on the maritime industry in Hampton Roads. Her position in this industry is delivering fuel to the vessels and the trucks that move the materials to the tradesmen that work in this industry.
You're going to hear her talk about making million -dollar deals with a handshake. How we got to be who we are today is based upon who we started out as in those foundational things.
So that your dad was in the Navy as one of the founding SEAL team members surely has shaped your outlook and your approach on things.
And we were talking a little bit before. You grew up here locally in the area. All of my junior high school and high school was here. It was here. So you're, like I keep telling my daughter.
I'm a local. Where you graduate coaching the swim team,
starting the swim team, naming the swim team, you know, getting us into the Virginia Beach Swim League, that type thing. So you've got some pretty deep roots here. You're anchored in the region. I'm anchored here. But your first job after college was not in the maritime industry.
No, first job, one of my best friends, her mother owned a staffing company, and her stepfather was the president of Metro Machine, Lou Sherman. So I went to work there for the right out of college,
and that was my first dabble in the maritime industry. And the industry then was a lot different. Transitioned from there and ended up in the trash business of all things,
the industrial sector. I ended up getting a job for a local company waste management, not local, they were Fortune 50 when I worked there.
But I worked there for a number of years and just gravitated to who was selling the most, who would be buying the most fuel, you know, because when you're in sales,
you want to hit the biggest numbers, make the most money, those type things. So I ended up kind of spending a lot of time in construction and demolition and those type things. So you mentioned Fortune 50.
That was waste management at the time. Which is a big company, not necessarily headquartered in the area, but they have a big presence here in the area. You know, what you don't realize is that a lot of these corporate companies, even though they are global or national,
you know, they have a big presence, there's still local folks that are, you know, that are working all the positions, you know, I mean, getting the job done. And you're working for another company sort of like that,
with that same sort of background, like large, for somebody of your background to be working in,
right? Sure. I mean, you tend to see more males, you know, in those type industries. But, you know, I growing up with the Sealed Dad and a mom that probably could give him a run for his money.
Has that changed in your time in the industry too? Oh, definitely. It's not so unusual anymore, seeing people from not the typical backgrounds coming into the industry, right?
Most definitely. I mean, you definitely see more women getting into different operational industrial sides of things than you ever used to. But it's still,
there's still a lot of opportunity out there. What do you think has caused that change or that shift for people from unusual or atypical backgrounds to the industry because it's not just women and that and that's not the state of the industry now we need more people to come in so it's going to be people who maybe didn't have a background in it before what what makes what makes recruiting people into the industry
successful that way being in in all businesses but especially the maritime related a lot of them are family businesses a lot of them there's a you know their grandparents their parents they're you know a lot of the vessel owners i deal a lot now being in the fuel business i fuel tugboats And through that,
networking and doing things, I currently serve on the board at the Virginia Maritime Association and just took that to another level. But all of the organizations and the associations,
a lot of our goals are combined with trying to grow workforce development. What are the goals of some of these organizations that you're part of? The Virginia Maritime Association, where I currently serve on the board.
They're active with promoting information and lobbying and doing things to try to help support their member associations,
such as workforce development, trying to tie folks into wanting to come to work and do things within the maritime sector. But they also,
networking is a part of all of these organizations, the Propeller Club, I'm also a past president. One of the things that I liked about the propeller club when I left the Navy and came into the industry was it is a social organization,
right? It's the intent is to get people to know one another. Connecting folks is a big part of what I've been able to do. You know, meeting folks and them saying, hey, you know, I'm looking for someone that can help me and just me having the,
you know, the relationships and knowing the different folks that are tied in, you definitely end up connecting folks. And we have so much fun. That's probably, you know,
right up there with how I've stayed in the maritime industry is you have folks that genuinely care about people and wanting to do a great job.
It may not hey, I'm going to connect you with this person and they're going to give you a job. But that conversation leads to another conversation leads to another conversation and somebody finds a place that they want to be. Connecting the dots,
sure. So I've worked, I'm an alumni at Cape Henry Collegiate and so I've personally worked with their alumni folks to do some career days and some different things to help high schoolers that were interested in figuring out what they wanted for the future,
talk to them just about my role, things that they never thought about. you know, you There's so many different positions in the maritime industry that lead to a career that people very often,
they just don't have any exposure to. It's not that they don't think about it. They have no reason to think about it because we haven't introduced them to it. Like World Fuels or Papco, that name may not automatically lend itself to being in the maritime industry,
but it's so kind of, it's what allows things to move. And there's a need, you know, when you think about it, the tugboats can't go anywhere if they don't have the fuel. So things that you wouldn't necessarily have thought of is a very important position.
Like, you know, I sell fuel and while that's okay, yeah, everybody needs fuel, but when everybody needs fuel and you need it overnight and you have, you know, we have, we work with the government,
we work with the Coast Guard, we work with, you know, all different folks and when there's an emergency job we all work in partnership to get the job done and so typical jobs that you would think of in insurance or typical jobs you would think of in some of these other trades all of them have a maritime aspect to them especially living on the coast in virginia where we live what's fun about working at world fuels
what do you wake up smiling about each day my customers the relationships, being able to help folks. I'm a problem solver. So, you know, being able to find solutions to keep everyone being able to do the job that they need to be doing in the time frames they need to be doing it is urgent.
It's not just a nine to five job. Never. And it's not just do that one job and you're, I hate to say in it but that that's the very thing that we're trying to break down is help people understand that there are careers in these jobs just because you start out in a particular position doesn't mean you stay there and you get the opportunity to grow into in the into other opportunities and for somebody that doesn't
know what they want to do to take an entry -level position at it with a company like like yours, it's just a, it should be a great opportunity for them,
but they don't, they often don't know that, well, where do I go from here? So how do they, how do they learn more about that? So I think, I think spending time,
you know, researching a little bit and maybe talking to their guidance counselors at school and maybe the guidance counselors at school are the ones that we need to task with getting out there and seeing.
who puts the deal together. Puts the deal together. All of these things are all part of the maritime fabric here that lead to careers. So if somebody starts out in one position,
the opportunity is to grow into so many others. And whether it's, you know, we've had this conversation at every company we've worked with so far has been in a different line of work. But all those stories all come back.
There's an entry level position and that grows and that branches into into other fields and other opportunities. And I just don't think we tell that story well enough or often enough.
I agree. And from the administrative end, you know, in the back office, to the operations, to the, you know, the skilled trades, you know, there's just so many different angles that you can go down and maritime is probably very similar to the construction field,
very similar to the, you know, even the military support. A lot of the military support roles are tied into directly, the maritime field, are tied into,
you know, all parts of it need back office, need operational support, need the same roles. Where you start doesn't define where you go in this career.
And it's almost unlimited. And there's the opportunity to kind of degrees and you have folks that didn't go to college and have a skilled trades and they're making as much as the folks that are doing the,
you know, that have spent the time, energy and effort in the college, you know, going that route. And so that's pretty neat to me, too. You take a look at, and that's,
there was a shift, I think, you know, for a while there, everybody needed to have a college degree. That was the thought process and now we're going back to, we need people to do the work with a direction.
I would much rather see somebody spend some time working for a good company, getting some experience, even if it's just slicing away the pie,
even if it's just deciding I don't want to go down a particular path. Sure. I think it's so unfair to tell an 18 -year -old kid, well, decide now what you want to do, spend tens of thousands or more dollars pursuing a degree and you don't really know anything about that you got to do what you love because work is work you've had a long career not too long but not too long but you've had a lot of experience in
this what would you tell somebody who's just getting ready to start out on on a career their first job, maybe their second job, what would you tell them about coming to work where you are or with one of the many companies that you deal with?
What would you tell them is a good reason to come to work in this industry? I think the relationships, the people, you know, is a big part of it. But in order to be successful in what you do,
you have to love what you do. And I don't know that you're going to love it right out of the gate, you know, but you have to have a passion for it. And I'm very passionate. to work with people that you like to be around even if the first or the second or the third job isn't the thing that you love when you're working with people that respect you that value that will continue to help you find opportunities there
you're going to find a place in this industry most folks in our industry you know, and others are willing to have that conversation. We all want to see people succeed.
We want to see the young folks. Most of us have children and do want these kids to be successful and do good. And we want to find folks to take over our positions when we're not wanting to be there anymore because we've had a long career.
We want folks to be able to do a good job taking over our positions. Those personal relationships that you build, the ability to ask people what seems like a dumb question,
but still get an answer and get help from genuine people, is one of the things that's made it fun for me to be in the industry, and it seems like it's been fun for everybody that we've talked to.
And it's a common theme. While it can be a rough industry and that it's hard work and when it's hot outside it's a hot day of work certainly but the people are all in on helping one another succeed I agree and if you're coming from a place seeking knowledge and and respect people are going to actually enjoy And I think that's a great way to wrap this up,
right? It is a welcoming industry. If you ask for help, people are going to help. Most definitely. Don't be afraid to ask. Yep. Great. Dana, thanks so much of your time today.