A farewell message from former Progressive Railroading Publisher Steve Bolte

June 30 was my last day at Progressive Railroading — I have left the magazine for a new opportunity with Harsco Rail.

Over the past 16 years, I have been lucky enough to work for a fantastic company, Trade Press Media Group Inc., which owns the magazine. During that time, our team was able to accomplish many great things.

We've taken Progressive Railroading to new levels in terms of our print products and led the rail industry into the digital advertising world. We were first to the market with our popular Daily News, the first to create and host webcasts, and the first to hold virtual tradeshows and other digital products designed to get our customers' message to the market. The growth of our RailTrends® conference in New York City — from the first one in 2005 at the Cornell Club to this year's 10th annual event in November at The W New York Hotel — has been a real pleasure to be a part of. Progressive Railroading is truly the leading industry media outlet.

It has been a great ride with some incredible people. And it's those people who will continue to make Trade Press/Progressive Railroading the outstanding organization it is. Those same people will continue to take the company and magazine to new levels.

These people will be what I miss the most. Over the past 16 years, they have become family and I owe them so much. I will truly miss them. But I will be around. I'm a customer now, and I'll see them at industry events. I will watch as the organization continues to grow and succeed.

I am looking forward to my new opportunity as senior director of North American sales with another great company, Harsco Rail. It, too, is made up of some great, hard-working people, some of whom I've known since I was 14. Harsco has a great reputation in the industry and manufactures a quality product. With a top-notch team in place, the company has a bright future.

I look forward to seeing you in my new role with Harsco at upcoming industry events, including the AARS Annual Meeting, Progressive Railroading's Rising Stars Recognition Dinner, The RSI/CMA Annual Conference, AREMA Annual Meeting and Expo, and the RailTrends 2014 summit.

Thank you, Progressive Railroading, for the many wonderful years.

— Steve Bolte