ASLRRA acknowledges efforts of individuals, short lines with annual awards
5/27/2022
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) leaders were busy handing out the organization’s top awards May 2 during ASLRRA's annual conference in St. Louis.
Winners were announced for the 2022 Safety Person of the Year, Safety Professional of the Year, Thomas L. Schlosser Distinguished Service Award and Business Development Awards. In addition, the association honored the latest Short Line Hall of Fame inductees.
The 2022 Safety Person of the Year is Nathaniel Mazo, the general manager of OmniTRAX Inc.’s Ohio Division. He oversees the Cleveland & Cuyahoga, Cleveland Harbor Belt, Northern Ohio & Western and Newburg & South Shore railroads.
The award recognizes a non-management employee of an ASLRRA member railroad who helps implement successful safety programs, exhibits a high degree of safety awareness and contributes off-duty time to activities that promote safety awareness in a community.
Mazo has exhibited a high degree of safety awareness, understanding that while safety compliance is paramount, a strong safety culture driven from the top is imperative, ASLRRA officials said in an online post. He instituted regional safety programs designed to ensure employees understand OmniTRAX’s safety goals. The programs focus on training employees on work rules compliance, defining and implementing new worker training, supporting locomotive engineer certification and training, and expanding operational testing for all employees.
Mazo also established a regional safety committee that focuses on maintaining safe operations and helps determine ways to improve safety. Last year, the four short lines under his management exceeded OmniTRAX's key metrics in operations, safety and finance, ASLRRA officials said.
“[Nathaniel] has developed an operating philosophy of open and constant communications in the workplace, including conducting daily safety meetings. He is a hands-on type of person who takes a personal interest in the well-being of the associates on his team, and leads by example,” said OmniTRAX CEO Dean Piacente.
The 2022 Safety Professional of the Year is Ross Grantham, the chief operating officer for short-line holding company Pioneer Lines. The award recognizes exemplary performance by an individual who’s responsible for safety and training.
Pioneer Lines COO Ross Grantham (at right) received the 2022 Safety Professional of the Year Award, which recognizes exemplary performance by an individual who’s responsible for safety and training. ASLRRA Grantham aimed to improve Pioneer Lines’ safety culture after joining the company in 2019. He led a team that emphasized empowerment, communication and accountability, and encouraged employees to recognize and report unsafe conditions, communicate quickly and transparently, and commit to excellence in safety practices, ASLRRA officials said.
Grantham helped develop a safety statement and implement safety action plans. He displayed an unwavering focus on mentoring talent and placing the needs of employees first, empowering Pioneer managers to perform at their best, ASLRRA officials said.
In his first year as COO, Pioneer's reportable incidents decreased 50% and the company had no reportable human-factor incidents.
Meanwhile, the 2022 Thomas L. Schlosser Distinguished Service Award was presented to former ASLRRA President Richard Timmons. He led the association from 2002 until 2014, when he retired.
Many of the ASLRRA’s key initiatives were instituted during Timmons’ tenure, including the Short Line Rehabilitation Tax Credit (45G), the establishment of the Short Line Safety Institute, and the creation of training programs and compliance templates for member railroads.
ASLRRA’s president from 2002 to 2014, Richard Timmons (second from right) earned the 2022 Thomas L. Schlosser Distinguished Service Award for his many contributions to the association. Also pictured (from left): ASLRRA Chair Doc Claussen, longtime association contributor Mike Ogborn and ASLRRA President Chuck Baker. ASLRRA He was a tireless and highly respected advocate for the short-line industry, ASLRRA officials said. Timmons represented the industry’s interests while testifying before Congress and federal and state regulatory agencies, and participating in rail industry policy and technical committees.
“He regularly provided key testimony before Congress, the Federal Railroad Administration and Surface Transportation Board, highlighting the benefits of short-line service to shippers and the small town and rural communities they serve,” ASLRRA officials said.
Prior to joining the ASLRRA in 2002, Timmons was Norfolk Southern Corp.’s chief political liaison to the states of Pennsylvania and New York. He served in the U.S. Army for 32 years and retired as a lieutenant general.
In addition to the individual honors, the ASLRRA handed out 2022 Business Development Awards to the Allegheny Valley Railroad, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway (CRANDIC) and Union County Industrial Railroad. The awards recognize short lines for creatively using their operations to deliver value to shippers; utilizing partnerships with development authorities, Class Is and shippers to capture business opportunities; and driving economic success for shippers and the communities they serve.
The Allegheny Valley Railroad identified an opportunity for a transload facility in the Pittsburgh area to serve the local steel industry; CRANDIC focused on using its logistics park in Cedar Rapids to divert 750-mile-plus truck shipments into the city that were affected by supply-chain disruptions; and Union County Industrial Railroad grew its traffic 300% over a 10-year period by creating new and innovative methods of providing customer service, fostering trust with shippers and deepening customer relationships.
“The Business Development Award honors the hallmarks of short line railroading — having a keen understanding of customer needs, relentlessly seeking opportunities to grow customer business, and executing creative customer service solutions to benefit their customers and the communities they serve,” said ASLRRA President Chuck Baker. “Our three awardees have each taken a challenging national supply chain disruption and made lemonade out of lemons, finding significant new opportunities to move freight to rail, taking thousands of truckloads off the road.”
The ASLRRA also inducted Farmrail Systems Inc. Chairman George Betke and the late Walter Rich — who formerly chaired Delaware Otsego Corp. — into the Short Line Hall of Fame.
The Short Line Hall of Fame now includes Farmrail Systems Inc. Chair George Betke (second from right), who helped grow his company from a 35-mile joint-venture railroad into a 347-mile network. Farmrail Systems President and GM Judy Petry is shown at right. ASLRRAColleagues, employees, customers and friends often characterize Betke as a legend, inspiration, visionary and dedicated steward, ASLRRA officials said. Under his leadership, Farmrail evolved from a 35-mile joint venture into a 347-mile network covering 12 Oklahoma counties and became the first short line to establish a formal employee stock ownership plan as a foundation for teamwork, ASLRRA officials said.
Betke also designed the public-private financial structure for Finger Lakes Railway, a joint venture involving Farmrail and five county industrial development authorities in upstate New York.
Rich — who died in 2007 — served as chairman, president and CEO of Delaware Otsego for more than 30 years, and held leadership roles at its New York Susquehanna & Western Railway and Central New York Railroad subsidiaries. He was an influential and dynamic spokesman for the short-line industry during the 1980s and 1990s, when the number and reach of short lines grew rapidly, ASLRRA officials said.
“It’s often recognized that today’s short-line leaders stand on the shoulders of giants. We are fortunate to enjoy the mentorship and leadership of the generations who have gone before us,” said Baker. “George Betke and Walter Rich have not only led successful short-line enterprises, but they have also challenged the industry to do ever-better, and contributed their talents to the growth and development of our Association and its members.”
The association decided to not bestow a Veterans Engagement Award this year, said ASLRRA Vice President of Communications Amy Krouse in an email. The award honors a short line that demonstrates sound policies for U.S. veterans, and implements programs or practices aimed at hiring, supporting and engaging veterans in the workplace and in communities. The ASLRRA now is considering whether to tweak the award’s requirements for next year.
The association’s annual Jake Awards that recognize small roads’ safety efforts will be announced in June and annual President’s Awards — which honor the best safety records among small roads in various manhour categories per region — will be announced in September, Krouse said.
