Chuck Wegener – Retiring After 43 Years with OAKH

On June 14^th, 1979, Chuck Wegener walked through the doors of Oak Harbor for the very first time. The 25-year-old truck driver made some of his first deliveries to the now-defunct Western Electric in a late-afternoon delivery group called the “Night Fliers”.  This group had him driving in the afternoon and working the dock in the evening.  Quite a few things have changed since then.

Hired by Oak Harbor Freight Lines founder Henry Vander Pol, Chuck began when the company operated their first four terminals in Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Oak Harbor and Seattle.  Over the years the company expanded to now include 38 terminals in 7 western states, and after 43 years of serving Oak Harbor Freight Lines, Chuck has decided to retire.

Being raised in Bellingham, Wa., Chuck is a Washingtonian for life.  After graduating from high school, he moved to Seattle, attended Seattle Pacific University, and obtained a degree in English. During his time at SPU, Chuck met his wife, Dee Dee, who was a communications major. The couple were married in 1977 and spent the early years of their marriage traveling.  Chuck and Dee Dee settled down in Kent and had their two daughters.  Their travel remained closer to home after starting their family enjoying vacations to such places as Mt. Baker on ski trips or beachside getaways to the Oregon Coast.

Chuck served a multitude of roles at Oak Harbor during his decades of service. He sat in the cab making deliveries for close to 11 years before moving to dispatch where he worked for 5 years. From there, Chuck served in a variety of departments including training and development for nearly 13 years until settling down in his final role in the Information Technology department where he’s worked the longest for 14 years. The ability to move from role to role played a major part in  Chuck’s 43-year tenure at Oak Harbor. “The constant learning of different jobs and different things is much more stimulating to me than doing the same thing over and over again,” Chuck said. “That’s the biggest reason I enjoyed working here.”

The other sources of fulfillment are the many special relationships he’s built over the years.  Throughout each department Chuck has worked in, he developed strong relationships with his co-workers. B2B Integration Manager, Laura Parkinson, has worked closely with Chuck for the past 2 years. “Chuck visits my office daily.  There truly isn’t a day that passes that we don’t share stories about our families, friends or just catch up on life,” Laura said.

Chuck reflects on the many relationships he’s created that are the most memorable experiences of his time with Oak Harbor and what he’ll miss most after he retires. From connecting with truck drivers to building relationships with management and cross functional teams, Chuck connected with people in nearly every role at the company. Specifically near and dear to his heart were his chats with Henry Vander Pol, “I always appreciated Henry because he was the one who hired me. We always got along well,” Chuck said.

As for advice to the next generation of employees, Chuck emphasized that it is important to hold to your end of the deal. “If you come in and do your job and the things you were hired to do, Oak Harbor takes care of their employees,” Chuck remarked.

His manager, Rick Potter, calls him “Mr. Dependable” as well as being an encyclopedia of company history. “He takes a lot of knowledge with him and there will be a lot of history leaving with him,” Rick said. “That’s one of those things that’s hard to place a value on and you don’t realize how important it is until it’s gone.”

Upon retirement, Chuck plans to spend his time travelling, particularly cruising around the world.  He is also looking forward to the extra time with his daughters and 7 grandchildren. “I’m excited to spend quality with them and take care of them a bit more,” Chuck said.

Chuck’s final work-day at Oak Harbor is July 21, 2022.  Please join us as we wish Chuck the very best in his future endeavors. Retirement will surely offer him many new opportunities, which we all know he will embrace wholeheartedly, just as Chuck did at Oak Harbor.