From the editor: Rising Stars and rail's next narrative

By Pat Foran, Editor

For six years now, we’ve asked our readers to help us identify individuals under the age of 40 who are making a difference in this industry. As ever, readers responded to this year’s call and nominated more than 150 people. From that group, we selected 20.

This month, we’re pleased to present the Rising Stars Class of 2018. You can read their complete profiles — written by Senior Associate Editor Julie Sneider and Associate Editor Daniel Niepow — on progressiverailroading.com.

Honored at a July 22 recognition dinner in Chicago, the Class of ‘18 is an eclectic group with diverse backgrounds and skill sets. But there are common threads in their stories. They’re raising questions about service, about growth, about the future, and they’re helping their organizations revisit practices accordingly. They’re reconsidering rail transportation through a fresh prism. They’re nimble — they’re focusing on the forest and the trees. And they’re intent on making a difference not by themselves but as part of a team.

Although he was talking about something specific to his railroad, this quote from Central Maine & Quebec Railway Vice President of Operations and 2018 Rising Star Chad Mowery struck a chord in this context:

“Rebuilding this property and the trust lost with our employees, communities, customers, government agencies and our industry in general has been one of the most unique challenges I have been fortunate enough to be a part of. While you will always have to live with the past, the future is wide open to create the new narrative that people will remember.”

Here’s to the Rising Stars of 2018 and the narratives they’re writing and already sharing.

Rising Stars participate on AARS panel

Speaking of narratives and the writing of same: The day after our Rising Stars recognition dinner, two Rising Stars participated on a panel at the American Association of Railroad Superintendents (AARS) annual meeting in Chicago.

The panel featured 2018 Rising Star Amy Rice, who recently was promoted to vice president of intermodal operations at CSX, and 2016 Rising Star Jeremy Kramer, director of transportation at the Louisville & Indiana Railroad. The two shared tips about achieving success in this industry, as my colleague Dan Niepow reported in a meeting recap story.

Rice told AARS attendees she “didn’t even know what intermodal was” before she started at CSX. But making a lateral move from sales/marketing to finance at CSX “ultimately opened the door” for future opportunities such as, well, intermodal, as she’d previously told us.

Kramer exhorted attendees to search for new ways to solve operations issues: “If you don’t go out and look for the opportunities to change things, you’re not going to improve. You’re not going to broaden yourself. You’re not going to make a significant impact to the bottom line.”