ASLRRA honors short lines for marketing, veteran recruitment; awards scholarship

Earlier this week, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA)  recognized short lines for success in marketing and military veteran recruitment.

The Veterans Recruitment Award was presented to Louisville & Indiana Railroad Co. (LIRC), a subsidiary of Anacostia Rail Holdings. The short line has a 30 percent ratio of veterans in its workforce, and 30 percent of its 2017 new hires are veterans, according to an ASLRRA press release. LIRC now has won the award for two straight years.

The award recognizes short lines that have demonstrated a commitment to hiring military veterans, as evidenced by the percentage of employees who are veterans.

Receiving the association's Marketing Awards were Lake State Railway Co., LIRC and Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad. The awards recognize outstanding business performance by a railroad in providing innovative service to meet customer needs.

To win a Marketing Award, a short line must demonstrate one or more of the following: using the railroad's unique operating characteristics to deliver value; partnering with other development authorities, Class Is, or companies; and delivering economic success to both the railroad and the community it serves, ASLRRA officials said.

Meanwhile, ASLRRA revealed that the Susan C. Murray Scholarship was awarded to Emma Lezberg, the daughter of Robert Lezberg, project manager at Simmons Machine Tool, an ASLRRA associate member company.

The scholarship is awarded annually to a daughter or granddaughter of an ASLRRA member in recognition of Murray's life and professional success. Murray helped launch ASLRRA's exhibit hall.

Now in its 31st year, the exhibit hall allows railroaders and suppliers to work together to build and provide innovative solutions to the short-line industry, association officials said.

The awards were distributed at the ASLRRA's four-day Connections Convention in Nashville, which wrapped up April 10.