Power Player Award
Road & Rail Services is fortunate to have an abundance of talented team members who work hard every day to support one another and our clients. The Power Player Award was created to recognize exceptional achievement among our team members. Nominations come from leadership as well as co-workers, and honor accomplishments both on the job and outside of work.
Power Player of the Month
Tamara Brakebill
Manager at East Chicago, IN
This month’s Power Player is Tamara Brakebill! Tamara has worked at the East Chicago facility since November of 2015. On July 1, 2017, Tamara and East Chicago became part of the Road & Rail Services family. As a CSR (Customer Services Representative) at the facility, her primary role involved processing loads with truck drivers and customers — ensuring that the correct product was delivered to the correct customers’ facility, and that DOT paperwork and weights were correct. She also assisted with scheduling Road & Rail Services Associates to handle various trans-loads.
Let’s let Derek W. Carter, who nominated Tamara as a Power Player, take it from here. “During her time with Road & Rail Services, Tamara worked for four different Managers. She was able to observe and learn from their success and failures. It was during this period that Tamara expressed her desire to become a Manager at the site. She took this time to learn how the facility worked outside of the office trailer. From the boiler operations to handling the various trans-loads at the site, she learned their intricate details while keeping up with her own responsibilities. On July 20, 2022, Ms. Brakebill was promoted to Manager at East Chicago.
She took over an operation that was seeking a new manager to help point it in the right direction — a manager who cared and wanted to take ownership of the operation. She inherited an operation that scored an 83% on their ISA, and a facility that required out of town help from Road & Rail Services to help manage.
In just two years, she was able to turn the operation around. The facility has recently scored a 100% on their ISA audit. She has improved the overall retention rate at the site to an 87.5% in a very competitive labor market by selecting the right people.
Through her hard work and dedication to both the site and her team, she has already created a legacy. On June 7, 2024, Mr. James Mills was promoted from a Loader at East Chicago to the position of Terminal Manager in Grand Rapids. Mr. Mills was hired and trained by Ms. Brakebill. Ms. Brakebill prepared Mr. Mills to advance his career at Road and Rail.”
Derek concludes, “The 100% ISA score on August 14 is indicative of the cultural change that Tamara has made at East Chicago. Her unselfishness towards training and developing others has increased the talent pool at Road and Rail and improved retention. Her superpower of Leadership is truly a beacon of light that we all can follow.”
