When Keith LaCaze graduated from high school, he needed a summer job. He found one sweeping out boxcars for Watco in DeRidder, Louisiana.
And he never left.
Today, LaCaze, is senior vice president of operations for Division 3 and 4.
“I truly believe today, you get back out of Watco what you put into it. I truly believe if you work hard, you’re honest, you have a good work ethic, you treat people like you want to be treated, you’ll get back 10 times that.”
Born and raised in Louisiana, LaCaze thought he’d one day follow in the footsteps of his dad and grandpa, both of whom worked at the Boise Cascade paper mill.
“I guess I kind of did — just on the other end. Instead of making paper, I helped ship it,” LaCaze said.
As the assistant shipping supervisor at Boise Cascade, LaCaze’s dad participated in Watco’s very first contract at the DeRidder switching operation in 1983. The elder LaCaze asked Watco founder Dick Webb if he’d have an opening for Keith the summer of 1985.
“I’m a month out of high school, I didn’t know anything out of anything. I went out to Boise, spoke to Mr. Webb,” he recalled. “I walked in there, scared to death, and he looked at me and said ‘No.’ About the time I got home, I got a call, and he laughed and said he was just messing with me — to come on back and he’d hire me.”
As cars came in from their routes, LaCaze emptied them of debris, hauled it to the dump, and made sure they were ready for the next Customer. It was not glamorous.
“You open those doors in Louisiana, it’s 100 degrees outside, it’s 105 inside,” he said.
But it was important.
Time passed, and with the satisfaction of earning a living came the desire to stay with the company. Watco added him to the payroll full time and trained him to be a switchman, then an engineer. Eventually, he was promoted to assistant manager at the Boise plant, followed by location manager.
And now, at age 50, LaCaze has the perspective of coming through the ranks, working through all the levels.
“Hopefully I can still relate to everyone out there helping me earn my living today,” said LaCaze, who has seven direct-reports, many of whom have been with Watco nearly as long as he has.
Any success he’s had, he said, is a direct result of those people.
“I’m only as good as my Team,” he said.
That includes Tony Clark, who runs Division 4 on the switching side, and Brian Cosby, who runs Division 3 on the railroad side. It also includes Douglas Marshall, the GM of Timber Rock, and Danny Barrington, operational assistant. Now a father of four, he has no plans for retirement.
“From that day to this day, I still enjoy what I do every single day,” he said. “I have faith in our owners, in Watco, and I like getting up and coming to work. I’ve never earned a paycheck anywhere else, and have no plans to.”
#