Allen Tappan

Allen is the President and CEO of Waterfront Services Co.  Originally from Arkansas, Allen came to work at Waterfront in 2012 where he was promoted to President in 2017 and CEO in 2021.  With over 20 years of management and organizational leadership experience, he thrives in creating an environment that fosters creativity, collaboration, and personal development.

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Allen has helped lead the company through substantial growth including expansion of services, territory expansion and multiple acquisitions.  

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Allen has a passion for traveling and the martial arts.  He has trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing and MMA for about 20 years and currently teaches classes in no gi grappling.  He loves to attend live UFC events.

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Allen, his wife and son live in Paducah KY.

David Jackson

David serves the role of Operations Manager for CGB Waterfront Services Co. and brings over 30 years of experience in the river and tow boat industry.  David began his career as a deckhand in 1991 with M/G Transport and soon made the transition to CGB Waterfront Services in 1995.

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David worked all areas of operations from deckhand to dispatch before achieving his Merchant Mariner Credentials for the western rivers.  In 2002 he was elected to join the Board of Directors at Waterfront Services Co. and continues to serve there to this day.  David applies his skill to oversee daily safe fleeting and harbor operations, coordinate logistics, and manage the daily function and crewing of the harbor vessels.

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David and his wife Leilia live in East Prairie, MO.  They enjoy traveling and spending time with their family.

Lewis Williams

Lewis serves the role of Crew Manager & Vessel Compliance Manager. Lewis, a Cairo native, began his 24yr+ river career at Waterfront Services in October 1997 as a deckhand and soon made the transition to shoreside in February 2002 as a Dispatcher.

Years later, he was promoted to oversee dispatch and handle vessel compliance of all boats. In 2017, his impact on the organization continued to flourish and then was promoted to Facility Security Officer, as well as, becoming an accredited internal auditor through TVIB. In 2021, he recently accepted a promotion of crew manager where he handles all operations for both Cairo and Cape Girardeau fleets. 

Lewis and his wife, Casey and kids live in Metropolis, IL . He enjoys serving as Scoutmaster of Troop 101 since 2017 and is involved in Massac County youth football league.

Jerrod George

Jerrod George is the Shipyard Manager for CGB Waterfront Services Co. and brings over 25 years of experience in marine repair division. Jerrod began his marine repair career in 1996 at Fitzgerald Marine Repair after attending Shawnee Community College’s welding program. Jerrod soon made the transition to CGB Waterfront Services Co. in July of 1997. 

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Jerrod has experience in all areas of WFS’s marine repair division from washing barges to crane operations. In 2007, he began leading a crew that handles large scale barge repair then transitioned to assistant shipyard manager for several years before taking over shipyard manager in February 2017. To this day Jerrod applies his skills to oversee daily safe marine repair operations and manage daily functions of WFS’s marine repair division.

He and his wife and kids live in Villa Ridge, IL. He enjoys the outdoors, socializing, and coaching softball.

Dayna Tappan

Dayna Tappan, is Human Resources Director for Waterfront Services Co..  As a Cairo native, she has had involvement with WFS at different capacities from a very young age. "I actually cleaned the office for years before being hired in 2010!"

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While constantly looking for ways to improve the organization and improve the engagement of our employees. She implemented a company-wide recognition program as well as a service award program to recognize outstanding performance and service.

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Dayna also serves as the secretary and treasurer on WFS's Board of Directors.  She works along side the Tri-State departments of labor, US Coast Guard, and Department of Transportation, and Jones Act to ensure compliance for Waterfront Services Co.

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Along with payroll processing and reporting; she leads benefit administration, compliance and billing, including the group health plan; disability; worker's compensation and 401(k) Plan.

Drew Kelley

Drew joined Waterfront Services Co. in April of 2016. In his role of Safety & Compliance Manager, he applies his technical skills in enhancing Waterfront Services Co’s Safety Management System, and cultivating the Company’s safety culture. His area of responsibility includes compliance with all State and Federal regulations relating to occupational safety and health and our operations, and provides leadership, training, information, resources, policy development, and consultation services to all Waterfront Services Co. employees and departments. 

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Prior to joining Waterfront Services Co., he worked as a Safety Manager in the construction industry where he implemented and managed a safety management system across 3 divisions and 30+ job-sites. He is a current member American Society of Safety Professionals and currently holds a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) accreditation. Drew is a graduate of Murray State University, where he received his undergraduate degree while playing four years of college football as left tackle on the offensive line.

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He is an active member within his church and loves spending time with his family, building and woodworking projects, and anything outdoors.

Shane Irby

Shane joined Waterfront Services in April of 2011 as a deckhand. Through the years, he moved from the deck to work in dispatch and customer service. While working dispatch, he found potential needs for a short haul line service for WFS customers. Through that service, WFS has been able to assist customers towing needs. One thing he loves about WFS is that they want to see you grow with the company and they alway give you the opportunity to better yourself.

In his role as Sales and Logistics Manager, Shane is one of the primary contacts between the business and WFS customer base. He assists customers with billing and provides quotes for upcoming work. He also oversees the Dispatch department to make sure things run smoothly and that WFS customers receive excellent service.

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Prior to joining Waterfront Services Co., he spent a short time working for line boats on the Tennessee river before leaving to do construction. With the river always calling his name, he returned to working for a fleeting service on the Ohio River. Shane says "that once the river life gets in your blood it's there for life."

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Shane is an avid hunter and fisherman. He likes to think he's a jack of all trades. Shane also enjoys camping and spending time outdoors with his wife and children.

Barry Kelley

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Dave Simpson

Dave serves as Consolidated Grain & Barge “CGB” Marine Manager for the joint venture CGB Waterfront Services Co. He has nearly 40 years of service with CGB and has worked in many locations, as well as different divisions of CGB. 

Dave started his career in 1981, working feed pellet operations in the Mt. Vernon, IN area, then over the course of 8 years transferred to other feed pellet operations located in North Bend, OH and Granite City, IL. In December 1991 Dave accepted the offer of Asst. Superintendent, of Operations at CGB Jeffersonville, IN. 1995 became manager of CTLC Jeffersonville, & Manager of MG Rail, Short Line Railroad within the ports of Indiana Jeffersonville. 2007 moved again when accepted a Manager position at CC Stevedoring in LaPlace, LA where loading and discharging various commodities from vessel to barge through Mid-Stream operations occurred. Then finally moved back to the mid-west when accepting the position of manager at CGBWFS in Cairo, IL in 2017 which he currently holds today. Dave shows his commitment to CGB and its growth over 40 years and continues to work to grow the company as the joint venture CGBWFS.

Dave and his wife live in Kevil, KY and when he is not working, he enjoys fishing and spending time outdoors. One of Dave’s past personal achievements was spent coaching youth runners in cross country and track for 17 years. Two of those years, he led 17/18-year-old men team to a bronze metal position and 17/18-year-old women team to a silver metal position in the AAU National Championship. 

Jordan Sanders

Jordan Sanders serves the role of Dispatch Manager for Waterfront Services Co. and brings over 15 years of experience in the industry.

Jordan began his career at WFS as a deckhand in 2007. He worked his way up to dispatch before achieving his Merchant Mariner Credentials in 2012. After receiving his pilot license, Jordan operated a boat for 7 years before officially making the jump to full-time dispatch, then into his role today.

In his role as Dispatch Manager, Jordan is one of the primary contacts between operations and our customers. His main goal is to oversee the Dispatch department and make sure that WFS customer base receives excellent service.

Late 2018, his willingness to grow and develop allowed him to achieve an accreditation through TVIB to be one of our internal surveyors.

Jordan played 3 years of college basketball for Missouri Valley College and enjoys spending time with his lovely wife Nitisha and his son Pierce. In his free time, he enjoys golfing and playing pool.