by logisticsplus | Jun 13, 2017 | News
A life lesson in how to always say YES, regardless if it is “your job” or not and what friends are made of.
It was your usual beautiful Charleston morning and I was starting my daily routine of getting up, feeding the dogs and getting that first hot cup of coffee to start my morning before sitting down to watch the news. This was how I started every day, little did I know that today was no ordinary day. Today was the day I would walk out of my bedroom and be greeted by a snake in my living room. Apparently he too was just as surprised as I was when my 2 German Shepherds and I crossed his path. Curled up in front of the bookcase as if he had been invited for a hot cup of Joe, I didn’t even notice him till the dogs stopped to see what was on the floor and I saw strange striking movement from around their feet.
Please keep in mind that I have only been awake for 60 seconds, so my reflexes are not quite cat like yet and my 10 year old prescription eye glasses aren’t up to sniper regulations. Even though I am a good ole southern girl, I still haven’t ever had to even give one moment of thought about what to do if you find yourself face to face with a poisonous snake IN YOUR HOUSE at 5:30 in the morning. I feel I was pretty impressive with my banshee like screams to get the dogs away in an effort to see what was on the floor and to be able to make an assessment what was going on. I flipped on the lights and see this snake looking back at me. Great. Now what? They never covered this while I was in college. The class on snake removal must have been an elective I missed.
Now that I am very awake, I remember the large mixing bowl sitting in the drying rack that I used to mix the salad in the night before. I grabbed it. Thinking every good Knight or even a damsel in distress needs a good long jousting lance, mine is now the broom that I grabbed next. This creature will not get away from me so easily. I place the bowl at the end of the broom and try to cover the snake while extending as far as I dare without losing balance and sending the snake scattering for cover. Luckily I was able to capture the uninvited guest.
With the weight of 15 large hardback books on top of the bowl, I am able to take a breath and say, once again, now what? This is where you call upon your friends. Who better to prove themselves as a true friend than one that will pick up the phone on a Tuesday morning before 6 AM? I called a family friend who owned his own business, granted it was a Termite exterminating business, but I was in dire need of an “exterminator” and thought this would be the answer to my dilemma. He had never been asked to remove a snake in all of his years of operating his business, but thankfully NO was not in his vocabulary.
Shortly after 8:30 AM, I was answering the door to find 2 nice gentlemen dressed in their Termite Exterminator shirts coming into my house to help me with a snake removal. They never hesitated to take on the challenge and together we all managed to get the snake outside and into a large bucket safely (thanks Home Depot for the great bucket). The gentlemen rode off with the snake into the sunrise while I waved goodbye and gave thanks for friends who answer the phone and for the average guy who will go out of their way to help even though it wasn’t their job.
Thank you,
Kimberly D. Marchand, LCB
Branch Manager
Logistics Plus Charleston
1605 Central Ave.
Suite 6, # 247
Summerville, SC 29483 USA
Office: 814.746.4675
Mobile: 843.568.3381
Fax: 814.217.0500
by logisticsplus | Jun 7, 2017 | News
Here are some new WP$E radio interview audio clips from vice president of marketing, Scott Frederick, as well as three millennial Logistics Plus employees – Kelly Dempsey, Emily Grein and Garrett Bowden. Kelly, Emily and Garrett discuss their internships and jobs in Erie working for a cool, global company (click the images below to listen to the audio replays).
WP$E AM 1450/FM 107.1 airs Logistics Plus audio clips as part of its WP$E Partners for Business™ interview series. This is an ongoing schedule of comments by northwestern Pennsylvania CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business leaders aired throughout the day. It includes news, information, and profiles of companies, industries, and professions directed to WP$E’s business and financial audience.
Creating local jobs and opportunities within the Erie community
Kelly Dempsey from Mercyhurst leads air and ocean import team
Emily Grein from Kent State leads air exports (and even deliver herself)
Garrett Bowden from PSU Behrend works on dedicated 4PL team
Engaging local students and universities through research projects
by logisticsplus | Apr 11, 2017 | News
Congratulations to Jeremy Chaffee for being mentioned in the Penn State Behrend Project and Supply Chain Management (PSCM) newsletter. Jeremy is the director of domestic operations for Logistics Plus, and also an appointed PSCM board member. The newsletter article, shown below, recapped a visit and presentation that Jeremy made to PSCM students on January 11.
by logisticsplus | Jan 6, 2017 | News
Logistics Plus CIO, Emile Zafirov, recently participated in an online article from CIO Outlook focused on “Big Data” with the headline Big Data: Changing the Way Logistic Companies Function Today. A clipping of the article is shown below.
by logisticsplus | Nov 9, 2016 | News
Since July 2014, Alex Wagner has been serving as the head personal fitness trainer for Logistics Plus employees (see video below). Having a fully-equipped fitness center at the Logistics Plus global headquarters at the historic Union Station in Erie, PA is a nice perk for the company’s 100+ employees that work at this location (one of more than 40 around the world). But having a fitness center is of little value if there is no one on-site with the expertise to coach and inspire employees to work out correctly and safely.
That’s where Alex comes in. Five-days a week, and just about every hour throughout the day, Alex works one-on-one with Logistics Plus employees to develop and execute personalized training plans using a variety exercises modeled after the CrossFit fitness regime. Prior to joining Logistic Plus, Alex was a member of the United States Air Force (USAF). Having completed his full-time tour-of-duty in February 2014, Alex has remained a member of the armed force reserves ever since.
A few weeks ago, Jim Berlin, founder and CEO of Logistics Plus, allowed Alex an excused leave-of-absence to pursue a new level of service to our country: Enrollment in the USAF “Phoenix RAVEN” Special Armed Forces Program, which Alex successfully completed this past week! The intensive two-week, 12-hour-a-day Phoenix RAVEN program qualifies selected Security Forces personnel to perform as members of a force protection team assigned to deploy with DoD aircraft to austere environments. Students are trained to perform as teams to detect, deter, and counter threats to personnel and aircraft at deployed locations by performing close-in aircraft security and advising aircrew on force protection measures. In addition, the program prepares students to perform anti-hijacking duties on select missions.
After program completion, unit program managers sustain a high level of preparedness for the Ravens through intense physical training, realistic use-of-force scenarios and written and practical evaluations. Additional courses in geographic/cultural orientation offered by the Air Force Special Operations Command are provided to increase members’ awareness of cultural areas they frequently transit on missions. Combat survival and additional aircrew-specific training have been recently added to meet theater aircrew requirements.
The first Ravens graduated in February 1997. Since then, more than 2,200 USAF security forces have graduated from the Phoenix Raven program. Graduates from the program also include members of the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Federal Air Marshal Service. Upon graduation, Air Force Ravens are issued a lifetime numeric identifier for their accomplishment.
Congratulations Alex! We are very proud of your accomplishment and your ongoing service to our country!
