40 Under 40 Awards: Carbary, Chacon, Craig, Craycraft

For the seventh year, 40 of the industry’s future leaders were honored at the Inland Marine Expo with the “40 Under 40” award, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions to the inland marine transportation industry in a variety of fields. All 40 honorees were nominated by executives and peers for their hard work and dedication to the industry.

Over the course of 10 weeks, The Waterways Journal is featuring recipients. This week we recognize Bridget Carbary, David Chacon, Michael Craig and Nick Craycraft.

Bridget Carbary

Bridget Carbary, 33, is associate general counsel for Upper River Services in St. Paul, Minn.

Nominator Paul Tobin of Ash Group LLC noted that, as Upper River Services is a small company, Carbary has had the opportunity to become involved in every aspect of the company.

“On a daily basis, she can touch on almost all facets of the company, including, but not limited to, all HR issues, safety and compliance, claims, environmental issues, reviews contracts and certificates of insurance, managing litigation, etc.”
Carbary was also a keynote speaker at the 2023 Greater New Orleans Barge Fleeting Association (GNOBFA) seminar discussing contracts and the avoidance of liability.

David Chacon

David Chacon, 36, is director-new construction for Southwest Shipyard LP in Channelview, Texas.

Chetan Kumaria, president of Marine Solutions Inc., said Chacon has shown exceptional leadership ability.

“He has a very good sense of solving complex business problems while keeping the customer happy,” Kumaria said. “His dealings with vendors and other team members are very respectable and practical. Mr. Chacon took his current responsibility at a critical stage and has constantly shown an acumen to grow the business in difficult market conditions.”

Michael Craig

Michael Craig, 39, is river superintendent for Shamblin Stone Inc. in Dunbar, W.Va.

Trey Mattox, sales manager for Shamblin Stone, said Craig is an integral part of the company’s team, both on and off the river.

“His years of expertise and understanding of marine transportation is a huge asset to the company,” Mattox said. “He’s a leader in river innovation and safety performance for our company. I am proud to call Mike a team member. His understanding of the river, the unloading and the schedules is an important role to our day-to-day operations.”

Nick Craycraft

Nick Craycraft, 39, is port captain for Hines Furlong Line in Nashville, Tenn.

Craycraft grew up in southern Ohio watching boats go up and down the river. Soon after graduating from high school, he got a job as a deckhand, then quickly moved up the ranks and got his pilot’s license, said Glenn Hendon, chief operating officer of Hines Furlong Line.

“Nick has run most of the inland rivers and spent some time running tugs on the West Coast during his 18 years in the industry,” Hendon said.

Craycraft settled in middle Tennessee with his wife and four children. 

“In his role as port captain, Nick looks forward to the opportunity to teach and mentor our next generation of mariners,” Hendon said.