When American Hoist closed its St. Paul operation, Rick Rolfson found himself looking for a new job. This time, he thought, it should be one that didn’t come with the risk of being laid off. So he applied for a job at Metro Transit, a company he believed would offer the kind of stability he was looking for. A year later, he was asked to work in what was then known as the Storage Department. It was the start of a career that would eventually span nearly 32 years and bring him to nearly every Metro Transit work site.

When Rolfson began, he was asked to help the department transition from a loosely-organized, paper-based inventory system to a computer program (TxBase) that would make it easier to organize and track the thousands of parts Metro Transit needed to have on hand. “I didn’t really want to do it but the older guys didn’t want to either so I was kind of forced into it,” he said. Despite his initial hesitancy, Rolfson proved more than up to the task. He created a step-by-step guidebook and taught others how to use the system throughout his career. The initiative he showed early on would become one of the hallmarks of Rolfson’s career.

Rolfson was the first stockkeeper to work a second shift (at the Martin J. Ruter Garage) and he helped setup materials areas at several locations, including the newly-remodeled Nicollet Garage Radioshop and each of the light rail facilities. Toward the end of his career, he also led efforts to keep better track of more parts, assigning serial numbers that could be used to make effective warranty claims. “A lot of my job has been filling holes – figuring out the need and appeasing it,” Rolfson said.

Throughout his career, Rolfson was also looked at as a trusted and knowledgeable resource who saw a direct connection between his work and the company’s success. “Goal number one has always been to have vehicles there when people need them to be, no excuses,” he said. The dedication he showed came from enjoying the work, and from recognizing he’d found the peace of mind he’d been seeking when he applied. “I never lost the idea of how good a job this was,” he said. 

In retirement, Rolfson planned to work on his home, travel and spend more time fishing, hunting and riding his motorcycle.