CHICAGO—October 24, 2024 (James Street Media Services)—The North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS) has scheduled its 2025 Annual Meeting for May 7-9 at the Swissotel Chicago.

At its 2024 Annual Meeting earlier this year, NARS honored industry professionals with two major awards and announced its 2024 scholarship recipients.

NARS officers for 2024–2025 are:

• President Kate Bourgeois, Mississippi Export Railroad;
• First Vice President Ray Hufnagel, Plastic Express;
• Second Vice President Torri Stuckey, CSX;
• Treasurer Harry Zander, Patriot Rail;
• Secretary Mona Moorman, Domtar; and
• Immediate Past President John Meyers, DM Bowman Company.

In addition to the officers above, the Board is served by the following directors:

• Jeff Moller, Association of American Railroads; and
• Bradon Smith, Fletcher & Sippel.

NARS also announced the newly created NARS Regional Advisory Council and the inaugural members are:

• PL Cartier, Interfor Corp. and President of Pacific Northwest Association of Rail Shippers (PNWARS);
• Kim Gennarelli, Executive Director of Southeast Association of Rail Shippers (SEARS);
• ​​Matt O'Kray, Transtar LLC and President of Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS);
• ​Jason Seidl, TD Cowen and Past President of North East Association of Rail Shippers (NEARS); and
• ​Linda Turner, Executive Director of Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS).

According to incoming President Bourgeois, “NARS provides an essential forum for railroads and shippers to work collaboratively. I look forward to serving with our Board of Directors to keep the railroad industry strong and growing.” 

Bruce Mann of Port Houston ends his time on the board after many years of important service to NARS. His leadership was integral to the success of NARS during his time in various board roles—especially when the association had to cancel and reschedule meetings in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID.

This year, two Edward R. Hamberger Lifetime Achievement Awards recipients were named:

• Martin Oberman, recent U.S. Surface Transportation Board Chairman, who retired after three years at the helm, and is considered by many to have been the most influential chair in the board’s history. ​
• Linda Turner, Formerly of Americas Styrenics and current Executive Director of the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS), who has been a strong supporter of various transportation associations throughout her career including many years as a valued contributor to both SWARS and in her role on the NARS Board of Directors. 

During the annual meeting, NARS also announced its 2024 class scholarship recipients. The 2024 scholarship winners were selected based on their academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and community service. They are a blend of traditional undergraduate students as well as some working on advanced degrees in fields associated with the transportation industry.

The recipients of the NARS scholarships are:

• Oforiwaa Pee Agyei-Boakye, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Labrini Balafoutas, Penn State University
• Alec Cousino, Wayne State University
• Ethan Crates, The Pennsylvania State University, Altoona
• Samantha Freire, Rutgers University
• Adrian Hernandez, Northwestern University
• David Hinkle, Lehigh University
• Erin Hulti, California State University Maritime Academy
• Caleb Keilen, Michigan State University
• Chase Marquis, University of Akron
• Sarah Roman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Maddock Thomas, Brown University
• Teleri Wilt, Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Late this summer, after the untimely passing of former CPKCS and Kansas City Southern executive Pat Ottensmeyer, the NARS Board of Directors voted to rename their annual scholarship program in Pat’s memory to honor the significance of his many contributions to the railroad industry and to all rail shipping industry associations. The first scholarships in the Pat Ottensmeyer Memorial Scholarship Fund will be awarded in 2025.

About The North American Rail Shippers Association
The North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS) is comprised of a network of five regional North American associations including the Pacific Northwest Association of Rail Shippers (PNWARS), the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS), the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS), the Northeast Association of Rail Shippers (NEARS), and the Southeast Association of Rail Shippers (SEARS). Headquartered in the Chicago area, NARS brings together representatives from this network of more than 7,000 members of the rail shipping and railroad community in an annual forum, which enables open discussion of rail transportation issues. For more information, please visit the NARS website at www.railshippers.com.

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Bill Fahrenwald
James Street Associates
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bill@jamesstreet.net