About Us
In 2014, Jamie Wankum founded Rubber Dockie in North Sioux City, South Dakota because he saw a need. He founded Rubber Dockie to provide families and friends with fun and connection on the water.
Flash forward to a seemingly unrelated day - the day of Dr. Curt Farrell’s celebration of life in South Dakota. Dr. Farrell had a medical family practice and also delivered a lot of babies in his day. Katie and her husband John were at Katie’s father’s service. John was sharing with a family friend that they currently resided in California, where John was a firefighter and Katie managed a small business. John felt pulled to share on a deeper level. He wasn’t sure when, or how, or why, but John and Katie had a larger purpose to be business owners and had been searching for the right fit for years. The friend replied, “I know a guy.”
Later that day, John and Katie agree to meet at the Rubber Dockie warehouse. John and Katie meet Jamie, who enthusiastically shares about the Rubber Dockie brand, products, and story. John and Katie spend the afternoon and evening with them, talking about life, business, and reminiscing on shared stories about “Doc Farrell”. As fate would have it, Katie’s dad had delivered Jamie’s boys, was their family physician, and Jamie’s wife, Chris, was one of Katie’s kindergarten teachers.
John and Katie soon after became the proud new owners of Rubber Dockie after spending time with Jamie, relocating to South Dakota, and learning about how special the Rubber Dockie brand is. Jamie is still actively involved as a legacy advisor. John and Katie love the mission of Rubber Dockie - to connect people on the water. Something they both learned from a young age, and hope to create for others.
Looking back on the journey of Rubber Dockie, fate and legacy have a way of showing up in the most unexpected of ways. No one could have foreseen that Doc Farrell delivering Jamie’s boys would result in Jamie delivering his legacy to John and Katie - Rubber Dockie.
