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.
We extend trust, build confidence, and hold each other accountable.
We win when we all win together. We create mutual success and build trusting, lasting relationships.
We are never content with "that's how it's always been done." We question to understand, learn, continuously improve, and innovate.
We ambitiously turn challenges into successes through perseverance, resilience, and a will to win.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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."
Cody joined the team at the Pineville plant more than 10 years ago, and his supervisor, Shawn Dabbs, says that Cody is a true leader at DIS-TRAN. “Cody has proven his leadership abilities by always showing support to his team and helping others to succeed. He is reliable and dependable and leads with confidence. He is passionate about the work he does and the success of the teams who work with him.”
Before moving to his new position, Scotty was a Senior Estimator for the team where he supported Beta’s growing proposal requests and headcount. Last year, the Proposal group at Beta underwent substantial growth, and his then collogue, now supervisor Chris Lohman, shared that without Scotty's mentoring, the team wouldn’t be where they are today. “Scotty [took three new estimators] under his wing and has been a major part of their growth and learning.”
Renee’s supervisor and nominator, David Ducote, shares how she has taken on new responsibilities while working remotely from North Dakota and how she rises to the challenge every day. Recent supply chain issues and the development of Epicor have created some large challenges over the past year, and Renee has managed the changes very well. David says, “Renee approaches every situation with a positive energy and see's things through to the end.”
Susan has been with our team for 5 years, but she has risen to the challenge over the last few months in her new position. She welcomed the opportunity and has excelled in her role supporting our teams at Optimal both in the hiring office, in the field, and our offices in both Texas and Louisiana. She lives the Optimal values "we take care of our people" and "we value relationships" through the work she does and the strong support she brings to our team.