Between the Levees

Captain Chuck Galer joins me on the show to chat through a career that's lasted over four decades. His career began in the early 80s at the National River Academy in Arkansas, landed a job on deck with Dravo Mechling in the northeast, followed his parents to Mobile, AL, found himself working for Compass Marine, and has been working in the Gulf ever since. A few changes over the years landed him at Ingram where we first met.

In this episode of Between the Levees, I'm joined by Ms. Taylor O'Brien, a SUNY grad that found her way across the Atlantic. With educational and professional tracks well outside the levees, she found herself in the barging world with a shoreside job that began in mid-2021. Her developing appreciation for the inland and western rivers has been supplemented, thankfully, by this very podcast.

A glance into Charlie's life these days and some of the effects of the adverse health conditions he's facing

Mr. Walter Lee Morris Jr. joins me on the show to talk through his career on the water, time shoreside, his academic journeys, and a recent health scare that he is working to overcome. He discusses his time on deck, his jump shoreside rubbing elbows with executives, a move to the Gulf, law school, legal implications for mariners these days, and beyond.

Captain David Shirah Jr., a NOBRA Ship Pilot whose family has been working on the water for centuries, followed his father into the towboat and barge world after a short stint in college. He's followed a fair amount of career opportunities over the years, but it all started in Cairo, IL with ACBL. David landed in the Pilots Association in the mid-90s and never looked back.

Mr. Anton Posner, the CEO of The Mercury Group, joins me on the show to discuss a few issues facing global supply chains that directly affect U.S. imports and exports, topics of discussion for which he recently appeared for a fourth time on Bloomberg TV to address. We talk through a journey that began at SUNY Maritime, his time as a Navy Reservist, time aboard ocean-going vessels, and a blossoming shoreside career in global logistics and supply chain management focused on minimizing costs and identifying efficiencies for clients and their respective commodities.

Captain Brandon Phillips, the first openly gay guest to appear on the show, joins me to chat through his career and the challenges faced in his life personally and professionally. He takes us on a meandering tour down the river from St. Paul, Minnesota to Cairo, Illinois and touches on the best spots to grab a bite along the way. Our conversation closes with his perspective on a few of the more contentious social issues of our time.

"Chaps" Baldridge and Kempton D., Jr., join me on the show to discuss their family's rich history on the waters of the United States and across the world. Chaps discusses his time with the military, chaplaincy, a sincere interest and appreciation for the industry we all know and love, and a personal project with which he found himself occupied over Covid. Kempton Jr. shares stories and insights of a life exposed to waterborne commerce and history, his academic exploits, and a budding maritime career on the Great Lakes and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.