WASHINGTON, DC – Chuck Bundrant was a man of contrasts: A young man from southern Indiana who partnered with a Norwegian to build a seafood company spanning the globe; a dreamer who took a 130-foot boat and from it built an enterprise that included reshaping a mountain to build a fish processing plant that fed millions of families, and; a man of few words, but who, when he did speak through that gravelly voice, was listened to from Cordova to Capitol Hill.
Those that knew him well will relay the stories of his fierce competitiveness in building Trident Seafoods. But the same competitors will share the stories of Chuck flying a helicopter to bring to safety and medical care crew members from a stranded competitor’s boat. And they are likely to remind us all of the special attention Chuck paid to the communities in Alaska in which he built or operated his seafood plants.
Few women or men can know that they bettered the lives of thousands of people, by creating livelihoods for families around the world. Chuck Bundrant could say that.
NFI sends its prayers to the fishermen that Chuck Bundrant reminded us the seafood community starts with, to the full Trident family, the gentle men that cared for him, and to Diane, Joe, Jill, and Julie and their spouses and children. May they be comforted knowing that Chuck Bundrant shaped so many lives for the better.
John Connelly
President
