40 Under 40 Recipients Announced For 2026
The Waterways Journal has announced the recipients of the 2026 IMX 40 Under 40 Awards, which recognize young professionals for their hard work and dedication to the inland marine industry. The award is presented to 40 men and women under the age of 40 who have made outstanding contributions to the inland marine transportation industry in a variety of fields. The honorees will be recognized at the 2026 Inland Marine Expo, slated for May 27–29 in Nashville, Tenn.
This year’s honorees are as follows.
Taylor Abbott, executive director, Ohio River Commission; Brock Bailey, Ohio River manager, American River Transportation Company; Jace Barrios, marine maintenance manager, Enterprise Marine Services; John Best, assistant vice president, capacity planning & logistics, Ingram Barge Company; Sidney Blakemore, director of mariner development, Canal Barge Company
Mason Bland, vice president of finance, Associated Terminals and Turn Services; Chance Burge, senior director of operations, American Commercial Barge Line; Nick Burke, assistant vice president, The Cooper Group; Darren Cox, assistant facility manager, Wepfer Marine; Wayne Davis, marine tankering services Gulf supervisor, Marathon Petroleum Company
Brett Dvorachek, project manager, J.F. Brennan Company Inc.; Adam Gettys, assistant crewboat port captain, Turn Services; Jordan Gillespie, operations manager, C-River Logistics; Blake Heflin, director of deck cargo services, Canal Barge Company; Ryan Hicks, continuous improvement manager, Magnolia Marine Transport Company
Timothy Hughes, vice president, Hughes Bros. Inc.; Kris Jacobs, port captain, Golding Barge Line; Randal Lapikas, vessel manager & dispatcher, Carlisle & Bray Marine; Seth Lawson, chief operations officer, Lawson Rigging & Fabrication; Brad Lewis, senior manager of barge sales and logistics, Marquette Transportation Company LLC
Victor Lewis Lott, Gulf operations logistics coordinator, Parker Towing Company; Sean McMillan, corporate controller, Hines Furlong Line Inc.; Ross Miller, vice president sales and business development, Stevens Towing Company; Brent Morehouse, port engineer, Buffalo Marine Service Inc.; Andrew Neal, manager, A&A Riverways – CGB Waterfront Services Company
Marcus Porter, corporate sales manager, marine division, The Hiller Companies; Michael Riley, director, logistics and customer service, Ingram Barge Company; Kerrigan Robin, vice president sales, NABRICO Marine Products; Sol Salgado, commercial asset manager, Maritime Partners LLC; Joshua Sasfai, president, R.J. Brown River Towing
Tod Schmitz, dispatch / claims and maintenance, Ceres Consulting LLC; Paul Seely, operations manager, TowWorks; David Serodino, vice president, Southern Marine Construction Company; Lucy Shoulta, controller river division, Marquette Transportation Company LLC; Leslie Spicer, crewing coordinator, Southern Devall;
Adam Stephens, captain, American Commercial Barge Line; Brock Stewart, owner/operator, Alpha Marine Services LLC; Todd Stokes, river operations manager, Team Services; Thaddeus Thompson, yard superintendent, Amherst Madison; Eli Todich, operations manager, vessel services, T&T Salvage LLC
