“Wait! I’ve met you before!” a young man in the front row exclaimed as I introduced myself to the class of new hires. It took me a beat and then I was brought right back to where we met for the first time. It was a few months ago that we sat around the table in the galley when he worked for a different company. Back then, he had just performed CPR on his captain after he collapsed from a heart attack. A Chaplain Associate and I were there to provide a Critical Incident Stress Management debrief in the aftermath. It was an encounter that got me thinking.

However, sometimes, I meet mariners who have transferred from another company. I always invite them to share with their classmates about SCI and how we have connected with them in the past. From this, I have noticed that hearing from their peers’ experience with SCI Chaplains carries more weight than just hearing from me. But what has surprised me the most is that at those new hire orientations, I am running into mariners I have met elsewhere.

Just the other day at a NHO, I recognized a mariner who looked familiar. We soon realized we had met the year before while he was working for another company; a company where I regularly connected with crews during crew changes. At the time, I had made it a goal to meet every mariner before they headed out to their vessels, helping establish a consistent presence and support system for those crews. Now, here we were meeting again, this time as he began a new chapter with a different company.

And again, last week, as I was leaving the training barge after giving my presentation to the new hires, someone called out my name from the dock. “Chaps! Hey! I saw you the other week in Houston!” I turned, and there was another mariner whom I had met when I was in Houston for just a couple of days. He was preparing crawfish for a boil on shore when I was getting on a vessel to visit with his captain. I stopped and chatted with him for a few minutes, now marveling at how interconnected the maritime industry is.

Reconnecting with mariners in different places and at different stages of their careers highlights just how interwoven the inland maritime industry truly is, and how important it is for SCI to maintain a visible and consistent presence. After all, if a mariner remembers me enough to call out and say hello when our paths cross again, there’s a good chance they’ll also remember to reach out in moments of real need or crisis. These recurring encounters are not only encouraging, but deeply meaningful. Our consistency in meeting mariners where they are truly matters. There may be twelve thousand miles of river to cover, but hearing a simple “Hello again” is a reminder that SCI Chaplains have become familiar and trusted presences in the lives of mariners.