Pantex Blog

Pantex Field Office Deputy Assistant Manager for Nuclear Safety and Engineering Reid Copelin and Pantex Industrial Hygiene Operations Supervisor Topher Garrison pose.

Nine years, one month, seven days, four hours, and eleven minutes…that’s how long Reid Copelin and Topher Garrison say they have been friends…approximately.

Their friendship started when Reid took the time to introduce himself in the uncleared room when Topher started his job at Pantex. The building they both worked in at the time was called the “lighthouse”.

“Reid was off the first few days I was at the lighthouse,” Topher said. “When he got back from his time off, he introduced himself. We quickly became friends…probably in part because we both are a little mischievous and like making other people laugh.”

Reid is the Pantex Field Office deputy assistant manager for Nuclear Safety and Engineering and Topher is the Pantex Industrial Hygiene Operations supervisor. They work in different roles, but support the same mission. Networking in the uncleared room had a positive impact on both their professional and personal lives.

“It really is crazy the number of people from the uncleared room that I work with almost every day,” Reid said. “These are some of the closest friends that I have, too. It’s great to know people from across the plant. Our mission is so big and there’s so much to learn, so it’s always great to call up a friend that has an answer to your question. In the uncleared room, you really have the time to build these connections that you don’t really get the opportunity to do compared to when you are cleared and start work in your own department.”

Topher agreed saying, “I enjoy the relationships I have built with different people all over the plant. Having those relationships is great when it’s time to come together to get work done. They are even more important for the lasting friendships that have come out of them.”

In the case of Reid and Topher, hours in the uncleared room turned into days outside of work spent hunting, disc golfing, watching The Office together, and even founding an imaginary woodworking company.

“We hang out almost every day,” Reid said. “Our families have also gone on several trips together. We are always doing something together. We work on furniture or home remodeling projects for our friends and families. We jokingly call ourselves T&R Woodworking, and our motto is ‘amateur work at professional prices.’ Our wives even made us some “company” shirts for my birthday one year.”

Putting yourself out there and making connections helps to build knowledge of the site and promotes camaraderie.

“Why not take the opportunity to strike up a conversation and look for similar interests?” Topher said. “It may lead to a fake woodworking company, bathroom remodels, being their child’s godparents, and multiple vacations together!”

Time in the uncleared room created a lasting friendship, all because of the few minutes Reid took to welcome a new member to the Pantex team. Be a good Pantex Citizen. Introduce yourself to other Pantexans, educate them on your role, and continue the legacy of supporting our nation’s nuclear deterrence together. Five minutes could turn into nine years of friendship.

Wyatt (left) and Cole Gwyn (right) pose with their dad Dennis (middle).

Most dads teach their kids to stay away from fire, but Canyon Fire Chief Dennis Gwyn isn’t most dads. During his more than 30 years as a volunteer and full-time firefighter, fire marshal, and department chief, Dennis faced fires regularly while raising his twin sons Wyatt and Cole.

“My brother and I grew up constantly around the station in Canyon,” Cole said. “In fact, some of the earliest memories I have involve sitting in dispatch during calls and running around the station.”

“Our dad had a job that every kid thought was cool,” Wyatt said. “Now as an adult, I see it is a very noble cause, especially to be a volunteer firefighter like my dad was.”

Firefighters often say the people they work with are family, but it’s literally true for the Gwyns.

“I enjoy being on scene with my dad as a volunteer firefighter,” Cole said. “I will never forget the first fire I worked with him. I arrived on scene to him being on a hose line by himself. I backed him up on the line, and remember the happy look on his face when he turned around and saw it was me.”

Cole backed up his dad on the fire hose, but there must have been something in the water, because Wyatt also chose a career using science and technology to protect people and properties from fires.

Cole works as a Pantex Emergency Services firefighter and paramedic. He responds to emergencies at the plant and in surrounding communities covered in the site’s mutual aid agreement.

Wyatt is a Pantex fire protection engineer responsible for ensuring facilities remain compliant with fire codes. This includes doing yearly walkdowns of facilities, updating the fire hazards analysis, addressing system and facility issues, and ensuring fire suppression and alarm systems will activate in the event of a fire.

Wyatt is in prevention, Cole is in response, and Dennis is a proud dad.

“I am here to make sure through analysis and codes that life, property, and the public are protected in the event of a fire,” Wyatt said. “My dad was my inspiration to get into the realm of fire safety ever since he was a deputy fire marshal for Amarillo.”

“There is not a workday that I wake up and dread going to work,” Cole said. “I enjoy working here at Pantex and volunteering in Canyon. It is great getting to serve with those who watched me grow up, and getting to know the newer members of the department.”

Cole and Wyatt not only followed in their dad’s professional footsteps, but also in their personal lives as caring fathers to their own children. Dennis said he and his wife are thankful for the successful men Wyatt and Cole are, but more so their ability to be loving fathers to their own families. Growing up, Dennis encouraged his sons to put family first and find a career they enjoyed.

“We all hope our children find a career that they enjoy and are successful at,” Dennis said. “With both sons choosing fire services, it does give me a sense of pride that they followed in my footsteps — but we would feel the same no matter what careers they chose.”