Living Our Values

The culture corps

The Crest Industries Culture Corps is a group of team members nominated and recognized by their peers as examples of our Values in action. Each month, one member of the Culture Corps is recognized as a Culture Champion for their outstanding efforts of living our Values and helping our teams, customers and communities grow beyond what we believe is possible. These Culture Champions receive the “Walkie-Talkie Award” for their commitment to walking the talk and living our our Values every day.

Nominate a team member

our core values

we own doing the right thing

We extend trust, build confidence, and hold each other accountable.

we win together

We win when we all win together. We create mutual success and build trusting, lasting relationships.

we question the status quo

We are never content with "that's how it's always been done." We question to understand, learn, continuously improve, and innovate.

we rise to the challenge

We ambitiously turn challenges into successes through perseverance, resilience, and a will to win.

Nominate a team member

Trey Stokes

Welder II

June 1, 2022

Trey joined our team in February of 2020 – just a few short weeks before we began to feel the full impact and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past two years his teammates have noticed his dedication despite that uncertainty, and they’ve recognized his eye for continuous improvement. His nominator, Jemelle Sanders, says that Trey is always looking for a more efficient way and order of doing things. Trey – thanks for all you do and for helping us all to stay made for the challenge!

Trey Stokes

DIS-TRAN Steel

Chaz Cannova

Corporate Counsel

May 5, 2022

Each month, we recognize a member of the Culture Corps as CULTURE CHAMPION for their outstanding efforts of living our Values and helping our teams, customers and communities grow beyond what they believe is possible. Our Culture Champion for the month of May 2022 is Chaz Cannova – Corporate Counsel at Crest Operations. Chaz is an incredible example of integrity and doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. He goes out of his way to help and support our teams - doing the hard or unpopular jobs when others are hesitant to step up to the plate. And he does it all with a great attitude and a fun spirit. For example, he is dressed up like the Easter Bunny at our Family Easter Egg Hunt. He was inside a hot costume on a hot day – all so that our little ones could have a special Easter. And he does so much more than this! Like the rest of our legal team, he rises to the daily complex and robust challenges they face while serving all 9 of our companies. Together they build that culture of honesty, accountability, and winning together.

Chaz Cannova

Crest Operations

Esther Long

Courrier

May 4, 2022

Congratulations to Esther Long, Courier at Crest Operations. Esther is a fantastic team member and part of our Crest Community. She interacts with all our teams in Cenla and is always there with a smile, a cheerful hello, and a helping hand. Her nominator shared that Esther “is never afraid to question the status quo and look for ways to make herself, Crest Properties, and our company better. Her dedication to continuous improvement has helped to modernize processes and policies at Properties and made them more accessible and easier to understand for all our team members.” We are so glad to have her as part of our team.

Esther Long

Crest Operations

Sean Jones

Training Supervisor

May 3, 2022

Congratulations to Sean Jones. Sean is the Training Supervisor at DIS-TRAN Steel, and he’s been an integral part of the team for over 20 years. Sean has left an impact on our teams and communities in central Louisiana and across the country. His nominator, Dylan Huffman, Quality Assurance Inspector from Steel’s remote team, shared how Sean was incredibly helpful and intentional during his training in Louisiana – not only for safety and procedural training but also as a representative of the culture and values of our team. Sean is one-of-a-kind - a man of true loyalty and integrity, and we are incredibly lucky to have him on our team.

Sean Jones

DIS-TRAN Steel

Robert Keady

Crest Natural Resources

Robert Keady

GIS Manager

Rob has been with our teams for more than fifteen years, and he is an excellent example of our values in action. He is constantly looking for ways to improve and think outside of the box to create solutions that benefit his team and Crest as a whole. Rob’s nominator said that his dedication to CNR and Crest is “truly impressive” as he values collaboration, is willing to engage in healthy conflict, and holds himself and others accountable to deadlines and commitments. Rob’s approach to challenges, dedication to learning new skills and stretching his technical knowledge are perfect examples of rising to the challenge and questioning the status quo.

Aaron Polk

Optimal

Aaron Polk

Shop Foreman

Aaron joined the team at Optimal in 2017, and his team shares that he is about as close to an ideal team member as you can get. Darnell Gremillion says that “Aaron is always making sure everyone has what [we] need to be successful.” Jacob Fontenot shares that Aaron “truly embraces the values of “we win together” and “we rise to the challenge.” He is always working diligently to be sure we’re ready for the next job."

Terry Gaspard

Terry Gaspard

PFB Team Lead

Terry joined the DTPS team at the central Louisiana port eight years ago, and he is an incredible example of our values in action – especially when it comes to rising to the challenge and the DTPS core values of “Say it, do it, own it” and “Give.” His nominator says one example of this was in 2022. "we had a bus pipe issue when a vendor was late shipping us a piece for a high-profile project. The customer was going to be at our facility in a few days to inspect their structure, so we were under a major time crunch. Terry helped us come up with a solution and then came in on a Saturday to make sure the job was done before our customer arrived. This affected 2 things: (ONE) Our customer arrived and the bus was up on the structure and they didn't know any different (and TWO) the structure was able to ship on the scheduled date and deliver on time - all thanks to Terry!"

Richard Emberly

Crest Operations

Richard Emberly

Senior Treasury Analyst

Richard has been on our team for 5 years, and more than 7 team members nominated him to the Culture Corps. "Richard has gone above and beyond in his support of our teams," says Gaylene Davis. "His work ethic is exemplary, and he takes on challenges with intense determination and without complaint. Although he has high demand on his time, he is always courteous, kind, and willing to help others. Richard is a good example to all of us. I appreciate and respect him more than he knows." "When I started at Crest as an intern, Richard helped me develop professionally by always taking the time to explain things to me," says Graham Pearson. "Through his selflessness and dedication to his work, Richard has inspired me and helped me grow beyond what I believed was possible. He truly embodies all of Crest Industries' core values."

Chandra Barrient

Accounting Clerk

Chandra has been a part of Optimal and Crest Industries for almost 2 years, and she has made a great impact on the OFS crew in Geismar since joining the team there. Her nominator, Darnell Gremillion, Purchasing Agent at Optimal, shares that “Chandra deserves a huge shout out for all she does for the team. She works hard every day to make a difference and rise to the challenge, and she’s a big part of all we do.” Chandra, thank you for everything you do to support our teams and live our values every day – Congratulations!

Chandra Barrient

Optimal

Lisa Wise

Accounting Clerk

Congratulations to Lisa Wise for being inducted into our Culture Corps for the month of July! Lisa goes above and beyond for her teams across Crest Industries. During her 36-year tenure at Crest, Lisa’s left made an incredible impact. Her teammates describe her as reliable, hardworking, and always on top of her game. Lisa also has a great can-do attitude and takes an incredible level of ownership and pride in her work.

Lisa Wise

Crest Operations

Justin Dickerson

Factory-Built Substation Technician

Congratulations to Justin Dickerson on being inducted into the Culture Corps for the month of July! Justin is a Factory-Built Substation Technician at DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations’ Project Support Services Center. He is a great example of both Crest and DIS-TRAN’s culture and values. His teammates say he lives out DIS-TRAN’s value of ‘Be Who You Are’ and ‘Give’ every day. Even when it is not his responsibility or no one is looking, he goes above and beyond to take care of his teammates.

Justin Dickerson

DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations

James Shamblin

Construction Manager

Congratulations to James Shamblin for being inducted into the Crest Culture Corps for the month of July! James is a Construction Manager for Beta Engineering. James has a safety-first mindset and puts our values in action at Beta and across Crest. He gives it his all every day. His teammates say that his work ethic, moral character, and dedication to safety are essential aspects of upholding our value of “doing the right thing.” James has strong tactful skill when dealing with others. He never fails to help educate teammates on the job site, and he always goes above and beyond for everyone.

James Shamblin

Beta

living our values