Jackson Offshore Pays It Forward in the Gulf Coast
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Title: JACKSON OFFSHORE PAYS IT FORWARD IN THE GULF COAST
Duration: 3:57 minutes
Description:
This video features Lee Jackson, a river pilot and CEO of Jackson Offshore who has been supplying Shell’s Gulf of Mexico platforms since 2007.
Supplier Diversity - cut 3b - 120512 Transcript
[Background music plays]
Country-style instrumental music, featuring electric guitar, alternating between a rock style and single guitar notes and mouth organ notes ala a Western movie theme.
Lee Jackson
I like to say what a trucker does on land, we do on water.
[Video footage]
We open on drone footage of an empty platform supply vessel coming into port. Lee Jackson steps out to stand at the navigation deck railing of the vessel. Drone footage shows Lee on the navigation deck, then a wider view of port.
Crewman
The cargo is ready.
[Video footage]
A series of footage shows port operations overseen by Lee, as his crew secure a container in port.
[Text displays]
Lee Jackson has been supplying Shell’s platforms in the Gulf of Mexico since 2007.
From groceries, to pipes, to helicopter fuel – anything the offshore facilities need.
[Graphic]
Dark grey text transitions in to display against a white background.
Crewman
Good to go.
Lee Jackson
Understood.
[Video footage]
We see more footage of crew operations as a container is lifted in port.
Lee Jackson
I started off, back in 2007, with one boat, and now we're at eight vessels, and we have over 200 employees.
[Text displays]
Lee Jackson
CEO Jackson Offshore
[Video footage]
We see close-up footage of a crewmember speaking to Lee. Then we see containers being maneuvered across the platform of the vessel.
Lee Jackson
How’re you all doing? Everything is good? All right?
Crewman
All right.
Lee Jackson
How's the family? Family good?
Crewman
Family’s good. I’m working [?].
[Video footage]
Close-up footage shows Lee approaching crewmembers and having a jovial conversation with them.
Lee Jackson
If someone were to share with me as a young kid that I would own a fleet of ships, I wouldn't have believed them.
[Video footage]
We see close-up footage of Lee on the vessel, speaking to the off-camera interviewer, then we see him seated at the controls on the navigation deck.
[Text displays]
Lee grew up in Franklin, Louisiana.
One in four families here struggle below the poverty line.
[Graphic]
Dark grey text transitions in to display against a white background.
Lee Jackson
So the black families would live on this side, and the white families would live on this side right here.
[Video footage]
Low-angle footage shows an old water tower bearing the city name, Franklin, Louisiana. We see a car moving down a tree-lined street, away from the shot, and then see close-up footage of Lee speaking to the off-camera interviewer as he drives the car down the street. He gestures towards various areas as the car passes them.
Lee Jackson
Prospects here, they were minimal. As a child, your vision was very limited. Either you would be working in the sugarcane fields or you would be working in a factory, making undergarments. But I knew that there was a higher calling for me.
[Video footage]
We see footage, through overgrown vegetation, of an old house. A series of footage shows Lee walking across a green lawn, then on a sugarcane field, and then along the paving outside a vast old building. He leans against one of the building’s rusted, old posts and pensively looks ahead.
Lee Jackson
Coming up as a young lad, you weren’t taught to swim. My mom would always say, boy, stay away from the water. And so when the opportunity presented itself for me to go work offshore, that was the one time I did not listen to her. And so I went and I worked offshore that summer, and I began to like it.
[Video footage]
A series of footage shows a quiet river lined with green vegetation. We see Lee holding a fishing rod, casting, and reeling his line in. Then close-up footage of Lee shows him speaking to the off-camera interviewer against the green background.
Lee Jackson
When I first started, there weren’t a lot of blacks in the maritime industry. I had to learn the hard way. There were many adversities, racism, all those things. But regardless, I persevered and believed in what I set out to do.
[Video footage]
Drone footage shows a water tower bearing the port’s name, Port Fourchon, as well as the port area, the boats moored there, and Lee walking at harborside. Briefly, we again see close-up footage of Lee speaking to the off-camera interviewer against the green riverside background. Drone footage of Lee at harborside shows him looking out over the water.
[Text displays]
Lee was only the seventh black person in the country to become a river pilot.
He started looking for opportunities to supply platforms in the Gulf.
[Graphic]
Dark grey text transitions in to display against a white background.
Lee Jackson
These vessels here, they're millions of dollars. They're very capital intense. And in order to purchase one of these vessels or build them, you need a partner.
[Video footage]
We see drone footage of port and of Lee’s vessels, including Blizzard. Close-up footage of Lee at harborside shows him speaking to the off-camera interviewer, followed by more drone footage of Blizzard.
[Background music plays]
Upbeat Sound of Shell adaptation.
Lee Jackson
So I approached Shell, and I said, listen, I can do this work, but I need your help. And they gave me a roadmap.
[Video footage]
We see a crewman securing a mooring line as Lee looks on, then Lee walks up a short flight of steps. We see close-up footage of Lee speaking to the off-camera interviewer against the green riverside background.
Lee Jackson
And at that particular time, it was a $7 million loan that I needed to get for a boat. And Shell stepped up, and they gave me a long-term contract. That was the turning point.
[Video footage]
More drone footage of the port and the many vessels moored there. We see Lee walking up another metal stairway on a vessel and opening and moving through a doorway. Close-up footage again shows Lee speaking to the off-camera interviewer against the green riverside background, with a brief cutaway to Lee entering a cabin onboard the vessel and removing his safety hat.
Lee Jackson
So, Captain Ryan, where are we headed?
Captain Ryan
Right now, we're just waiting for traffic to clear up, and then we'll be backing out of slip B.
[Video footage]
Close-up footage shows Lee speaking to the Captain, who gestures towards data displayed on a screen.
Lee Jackson
I am living the American Dream right now. Everyone, everyone deserves an opportunity and a chance.
[Video footage]
Panning footage shows Lee looking out of the windows of the navigation deck. Then we see close-up footage of Lee speaking to the off-camera interviewer against the green riverside background.
Lee Jackson
And it’s my job to do it.
Lee Jackson
These guys really eat well, I tell you.
Lee Jackson
We’re donating to scholarship funds to help young black males to really go to school, to go to college, to see different environments, to go abroad. And I just hope to just make it a little bit easier for the next person that comes.
[Video footage]
We see footage of a smiling Lee standing in the galley’s doorway as crew members file past him. Hands roll back the foil covering trays of food, and as Lee makes a lighthearted comment to the off-camera interviewer, we see the crew dishing food onto their plates. Lee and the crew sit around the table, eating and interacting. Finally, we pull back on drone footage of Blizzard in port, with Lee standing at the railing of the navigation deck, and we see the vessel leaving port.
[Video footage and animated sequence]
We end on a yellow background sequence where we see various people, including Lee, successively posing against the yellow background, and smiling into the camera. An animated Pecten shape displays at frame-center over the flashing images, neon light appearing to move around the outline in a chasing effect.
[Audio]
Shell brand mnemonic played on keys.
[Text displays]
#PoweringProgress
[Animated sequence]
Successively larger Pecten shapes pulsate out from the original shape, which ultimately expands to fill the frame and dissolves out. The small classic red and yellow Pecten transitions in to display at frame-center against a white background. Text is displayed below this.
Everybody deserves a chance to participate and benefit from the changing energy system, including historically under-represented business owners who want to build their businesses and, in turn, invest back into their communities.
That’s true in communities across the country, and it’s true for Lee Jackson who grew up in Franklin, Louisiana.
Lee’s mother told him to stay away from the water. He did, until he found an opportunity to work offshore one summer – in the Gulf of Mexico, no less.That summer job ultimately propelled Lee into a successful maritime career. He now owns maritime supply company Jackson Offshore Operators LLC, which operates six ships with 200 employees and a combined 57,650 square feet of deck capacity – the size of a football field.
Getting there seemed like a Hail Mary at first, but Lee’s efforts over the years landed a contract with Shell to supply its offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico
I approached Shell and I said, ‘Listen, I can do this work, but I need your help,’ and they gave me a roadmap. Shell stepped up, and they gave me a long-term contract. That was the turning point.
Lee Jackson, Owner, Jackson Offshore Operators LLC
Programs that help entrepreneurs like Lee build business capacity, industry knowledge and access capital to expand their businesses can support entry to the energy supply chain.
Jackson Offshore Operators has supplied Shell since 2007 and today, Lee is paying that forward. He’s returned to Franklin, visiting schools to serve as a mentor and help change young mindsets. It’s a concerted effort to invest in the community he calls home.
Shell continues to help develop capable, historically under-represented businesses into supplier partners to diversify its supply chain and better reflect and uplift the communities in which it works.
“Including and developing diverse suppliers drives innovation and competitiveness both of which are essential for delivering the energy needed today and into the future,” said Gretchen Watkins, President of Shell USA, Inc.
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