41 MARCH 2026 It’s weird because in a small river town everything you did functioned around the river. I delivered newspapers and went to sell them to towboat people. I ended up working towboats in summers to help pay for college, majored in ge- ology, and immediately went to work on an old steamboat. I ended up going in the engine room and stayed there, pur- suing my chief engineer’s license, worked boats for many years, and then moved into management. My first PVA meeting was on the Cotton Blossom. I was work- ing for New Orleans Steamboat Company, and Bill Dow had set up a meeting with Admiral Joel Sykes. I remember it was a big deal. I was like, “This guy’s an admiral. Holy crap.” My observations early on, not being an owner, we were lucky as employees to be able to attend stuff. There were people that felt like, “Why do I want employees involved in making decisions about my business, knowing all this?” Or “Why would I have a forum like this to share information, to give business tips to my competitor?” I’m so thankful that culture eroded rather quickly. I wouldn’t be here today if it wouldn’t be for PVA and all the great people I’ve worked for. There’s such a spirit of gener- osity to share information. We may be in the same court as competitors, but what affects one of us affects all of us. We’re here to support each other, learn from each other, and that information is invaluable. I was PVA president in 2003, a founding member of the Safety and Security Committee. It was quite an honor and a little bit intimidating. In my time early on, it was, I felt— you can refute this, Terry—a bit of a good old boys club. Wirginis: It was definitely a good old boys club. Frommelt: It’s amazing how the association has grown and really become a great functioning machine. Very few staff at that time, and now an incredible staff that does so much work, which is really a benefit. 24/7 support at every turn. ZF W340 Transmission indicates a ZF location indicates a ZF dealer 1.833.ZFWRENCH ZF Marine App Available on App Store & Google Play Visit the Global Dealer Network
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