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Gordie Keenan interview conducted by Anthony G. Potoczniak, 2012-08-29

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Gordie Keenan interview conducted by Anthony G. Potoczniak, 2012-08-29

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Gordie Keenan was born in 1954, in Norfolk, Virginia. He was educated in Rochester, New York, and later attended the State University of New York Maritime College. He moved to Houston in 1991 and has worked for Higman Marine Services, Inc. since 2005, where he was asked to run the personnel side of the business. Keenan describes his maritime career working different roles at Exxon and in several privately-owned towboat companies. He provides insight into ways the towboat industry has reformed itself to become more professional over the last few decades. This interview was accompanied by two photographs of employees: Douglas Dunn, pilot (with Gordie Keenan); Randall Spann, steersman; and Sean McDonald, steersman, of Higman Marine Services, Inc.
Recorded at the Regional offices of Higman Marine Services, Inc., Channelview, Texas, August 29, 2012.
Interviewer's note: The interviewee provides a broad perspective of an industry that has been undergoing an important transformational process over the last two decades since the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989. In particular, there is an industry-wide effort to create and sustain a culture of professionalism across all maritime areas and professions that centers around organizations' efforts to learn from the lessons of the past and focus on long term strategies to improve maritime services and its overall image in the community. Gordie Keenan's story is reflective of this effort to reinforce this culture of professionalism by 1) attracting youth and raising awareness about the range of work opportunities in an aging industry, and 2) creating programs and activities that encourage career development and stability; 3) rewarding employees for their important contributions. The interview also shows how the towboat industry reflects generally how new practices are being implemented at the local level to improve the industry as a whole.
Working the port of Houston: Archie Green Fellows Project, 2011-2012 (AFC 2012/006: 00334) Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Gordon Keenan, Vice President, Training and Credentialing at Higman Barge Lines, Channelview, Texas.
To honor the memory of Archie Green (1917-2009), a fellowship program was established at the American Folklife Center in 2010. Archie Green Fellowships support new research in the contemporary culture and traditions of American workers.
In English.

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2000 - 2020
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Library of Congress
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