1st Issue 2012 - NASPD Convention San Diego, CA

23 Pipeline(RALPH CASTILLE - contd. from pg.22)an MBAin finance, to positions as CFO andExecutive Vice President. During Ralph'stransportation career he has always workedfor oil field trucking companies where ofcourse, pipe was a large part of the cargohauled.Ralph's business philosophy stems from therecognition that most of his career has beenin a service industry and the understandingthat he must add value to be needed by acustomer. Ralph relayed, “Though not aglamorous business, the transportation andlogistics industry will generate over $ 670billion dollars in economic activity for 2012which is more than the budgeted CAPEX ofthe entire worldwide Oil and GasExploration planned for the same year. Tomy customers logistics is a necessity, usingme to handle their logistic needs is not.Consequently I am all about service. I workwith the philosophy that I must earn theirbusiness every day, one load at a time.”Ralph has had the same interests andhobbies that he had as a boy and is atestament to his upbringing in thesportsman's paradise of SouthernLouisiana. He has always enjoyed fishingand camping. Many of his and Vicki'sfondest memories revolved around loadingtheir children into the family camper andstriking out for the Rockies and SmokeyMountain Ranges. Ralph quipped “There isnothing like fly fishing for rainbow trout ina cold Rocky Mountain stream.” Ralphrecalled one trip that he hired a guide to takehim and his son Ryan on a fly fishingexpedition. They had an exceptional dayand the trout were hitting hard. However,much to his disappointment the guideinformed the pair that they were fishing in acatch and release area. Remember, Ralph isfrom a large family in South Louisiana,where everything revolved around food andits preparation. Ralph stated, “There is nosadder picture than watching a Cajun beingforced to release his lunch without a fight.”Another more passive hobby of Ralph's isthe pursuit of knowledge. In college hemajored in History and planned onbecoming a history professor. Hecompleted graduate studies in the samediscipline but life would call him on adifferent career path. To this day, his questfor knowledge on a variety of subjects isunwavering. Ralph credits his children forhelping to keep the research fire stoked ashe was happy to lend his skills when it cametime to help them research term papers.(RALPH CASTILLE - contd. on pg.24)Thanks to a suggestion from Joe Bergfeld, Pittsburgh Pipe, Pipeline has a new feature - Blastfrom the Past. We’ll be bringing you photos from past NASPD events. Your part is toidentify the people in the photos. This is a contest - be the first to email the correct guess toinfo@naspd.com. We’ll announce the winner in the next issue of Pipeline.The first photo below was snapped in SanAntonio in 1991. Name the four people.The above photo was taken in 1982. Name the four people in the front and as a bonus, tell usin what town the NASPD event was held.