MAY 2011 - Inter

 UNINVITED
GUEST SHOWS UP
CRAWLING AROUND THE RAILCARS
AND PUTTING THE CREW ON HIGH
ALERT .…... 7
 C ONGRATULATIONS TO
SHREVEPORT TEAM ON THEIR
1 YEAR SAFETY AWARD ! KEEP
THAT STREAK ALIVE …… 11
AN EF-4
TORNADO MADE
CONTACT NEAR ST. L OUIS ,
MO, BARELY MISSING
W ENTZVILLE GROUNDS .. 15
MAY 2011 Inter-Rail
Express
Team Phoenix enjoyed some fun time
together in celebration of their AAR score of
99.97% and were treated by UP to a
luncheon and baseball game at the Arizona
Diamondbacks Stadium.
Join us in congratulating General Manager
Francisco Oliver’s 15 year anniversary with
Inter-Rail! We appreciate all of your hard
work and dedication!
Keep up the good work guys!
Click for
more info
There is much to
celebrate in
Commerce as the
crew gets together
for birthdays, AAR
scores, celebrations
and even concerts!
CSX / TDSi
Congratulations to
Betsy Soto from
Tampa on being
awarded the
clerical award for
the 1st quarter of
2011!
MAY 2011 Page 2 2011 Core Contractor of the Year Meetings
Left to Right: Brooke Ricketts, Seth Ricketts, Jack Jones
Francisco Oliver, Tony Chacon and Mike Kelley
The Union Pacific Railroad held it’s 2011 Core Contractor’s Meeting March 29-31st in Rockwall,
Texas. Under the leadership of Tony Chacon the Vice President of Mexico and Automotive
Operations and Jack Jones the Director of Automotive Operations, we were inspired and taught
about the direction that the Union Pacific Automotive Group is going. The events got started with the
introduction and Safety Briefing by Shawn Cook and an overview of the new PSM Contract Plan with
Brian Snyder followed by an evening of bowling competition between the contractors, Intermodal
Group, and the Automotive Group. We won’t say who won! Day 2 started off with a welcome and a
review of the 2010 goals and facility updates by Jack Jones and an update of the UP Automotive
Market by Tony Chacon including a video from Jim Young, the President of the Union Pacific and a
reminder that we need to get back to the daily fundamentals of doing the job right each and every
day. Dale Spier talked about the customer’s perspective and Eric Stumpf updated us on upcoming
computer and handheld changes. Dwayne Florence of the AAR/Rail Inc. then reviewed the latest
AAR Scores and updated us on changes within the industry. Kevin Merten and Keith Lee highlighted
the damage prevention and inspection process and claims. Jack then gave the closing remarks
before everyone broke for lunch and the team building events.
MAY 2011 Page 3 2011 Core Contractor of the Year Meetings
Later that evening we all reconvened for dinner and awards for the team building activities. Rumor
has it that both Raul Correa and Larry Calkin won fishing poles and Carlos Gallegos a special
award, but you will have to ask them what for!
The night then concluded with the 2011 Core Contractor Awards. Each UP Manager then passed out
awards for their region with Inter-Rail walking away with many of these awards including awards for
their AAR Audits going to Larry Calkin, Larry Holmquist, and Luis Michel from Ron Denis and the
Pacific North West Region, Ann Lewis and Tara West for going above and beyond in railcar tracking
and Jim Gallagher and Team Phoenix received the Pacific Southwest Ramp of the Year honors from
Chris Schinderwolf, Raul Correa was highlighted for his help in tracking and improving the spotting
at Salt Lake City while Tim Parker and the Muncie Team won the Ramp of the Year for the third
straight year in the Central Region from Rick Neumann. The individual contractor awards were then
given out with Inter-Rail winning the Vendor Evaluation and AAR Audit Awards. The final award of
the night was the 2011 Union Pacific Core Contractor of the Year Award that was presented by Tony
Chacon and Jack Jones to Inter-Rail for the 2nd year in a row!! This is quite an honor and we would
like to CONGRATULATE Francisco Oliver and his entire team and THANK the Union Pacific for their
support and partnership that enabled us to reach this level of accomplishment.
The meetings concluded the following morning with one on one sessions with each of the
contractors and the opportunity to review the previous year and our rankings in each category as
well as discuss our goals for the current year and a review of the individuals facilities.
On a “sad note” we would like to off Bob Jumbeck our sincere condolences as he had to leave the
meetings early due to an emergency phone call that his brother was gravely ill and that he passed
away shortly after the meeting. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bob and his family on their loss
as it is with the McDonalds of FreMac and Rail Unlimited as their father Bill McDonald who was one
of the pioneers in the automotive loading and unloading business had recently passed away as well.
As the UP Meetings came to a close, all of the managers that work at our Union Pacific Facilities
along with Jordan Glasmacher, Greg Farmer, Brooke and Seth Ricketts from the Home Office, then
took an extra day and reviewed what was said and action plans were put into place as Francisco and
his team reviewed our corporate theme of “Improvement and Accountability” for the year by
outlining his plan for “Getting Back to the Basics” as they strive to meet and exceed our customer’s
needs and requirements.
Everyone had a great time and really enjoyed the opportunity to get together and meet not only
those that they have only talked to on the telephone, but also to intermingle with their competitors!
Thanks to Shawn Cook and the entire Union Pacific Team for putting this activity together. We are
already looking forward to next year’s event.
MAY 2011 Page 4 BNSF Joins in Celebration and Recognition
On Wednesday, April 13ththe leadership team of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway’s
Automotive Group, Karen Burchfield the AVP of Automotive, Dan Meyers, Director of Automotive,
and Dave Stangl, Regional Manager Automotive Ramp Operations, PSW, joined the entire Richmond
Automotive Team led by Ramp Manager, Olegario (Ole’) Veles of Inter-Rail and Jose Michel and
Ricardo Llamas of Northern California Rail Services, Inc. as they celebrated their recent AAR Audit
score of 98.35% by having dinner along the waterfront. Karen, Dan, and Dave mingled and talked
one on one with almost every member of the crew and their spouses or guest as they came in and
then following dinner each one took the opportunity to share their thoughts on the industry and to
“Thank” the crews for their efforts before passing out bonuses for their performances. It was
exciting to watch as they related to the crews and made it a point to show each one that they were
important and that they truly cared for the individuals as well as the company overall. Karen noted
how happy she was to be part of a railroad that puts the SAFETY of their employees and that of their
contractors first. In addition to recognizing our own crews, we were able to congratulate Dan
Meyers as he was recently named one of the Employees of the Year for the entire BNSF in 2010. Dan
noted that the Richmond Team and the successful startup of the Richmond Port Operation was a big
part of this award. Francisco Oliver and Mike Kelley of Inter-Rail were also present for the
festivities.
Earlier in the day, Karen, Dan, Dave, Francisco, Ole’, and Mike were able to walk the facility and get
in some auditing of their own prior to Francisco taking us on a detailed tour of the Port of Richmond
and the whole operation from the docks where the vessels deliver new Honda vehicles imported
from Japan for outbound loading, to the Richmond Yard where railcars are delivered to and
received from the BNSF for delivery by NoCal.
Left to Right: Ole Veles, Dan Meyers, Karen Burchfield,
Dave Stangl, Francisco Oliver
MAY 2011 Page 5 Then on the evening of April 27th Dan Meyers and Dave Stangl hosted a recognition dinner for the
whole El Mirage Team at Flemings in Peoria, Arizona to celebrate their AAR Audit Score of 99.29%.
Brooke Ricketts, Francisco Oliver, and Mike Kelley joined Dan and Dave as they greeted the whole
El Mirage Team, their spouses, and guests led by Jon Lawrence and his wife. Dave Stangl kicked
things off as he welcomed everyone and congratulated the whole team, not only for their audit
score, but for the job that they do each and every day. Dan talked briefly but stressed that SAFETY
must be first and foremost and that we can never sacrifice SAFETY for productivity. Brooke then
noted that El Mirage was a special location for him personally and that he took great pride in the
success of Jon Lawrence as he was the first manager that he had personally hired and helped to
develop. Following these comments and others, the bonuses were passed out to each employee in
attendance.
We would like to “THANK” Karen, Dan, and Dave, and the entire BNSF Railway for taking the
time out of their busy schedules and making these trips to recognize our crews and their AAR Audit
Scores, but more importantly for showing that they care about each individual and their family. We
are looking forward to more of these celebrations in the future, but we really want to be the first to
get a 100% AAR Audit Score on the BNSF!
MAY 2011 Page 6 Phoenix, AZ
This article is well over due. I would like to congratulate
TEAM Phoenix for their outstanding AAR Audit back in
February 26, 2011. They scored and tied for the best
AAR score in North America, a 99.97%. Jim does an
outstanding job managing his crew and he is always on
top of things to make sure his crew and facility is always
looking top notch.
On April 27. 2011 the Union Pacific invited all of Team
Rodrigo Molina, Richard Palma, Rodney Bernal Phoenix to a baseball game and lunch at the Arizona
and Phillip Cusumano sport their Arizona jerseys Diamondbacks stadium for their outstanding AAR score.
while having lunch at the Arizona Diamondbacks Even though the Diamondbacks lost the game to the
Phillies, we all had a blast. We would like to thank Tony
Stadium as their AAR score appreciation.
Chacon, Jack Jones, Chris Schinderwolf and the entire
Great job, guys!
Union Pacific Railroad for all of their help and support to
make such a great score possible. Jim has his sights on that elusive 100%, with his work ethic and
drive for success he can achieve this goal with his team at Phoenix.
Keep up the Excellent Work Team Phoenix!
—Francisco Oliver, General Manager
Team Phoenix is very grateful to Chris
Schinderwolf, Jack Jones and Tony Chacon for the
awesome luncheon, Baseball game and the
awards given out. Thank you, Thank you, Thank
you!
The team really enjoyed themselves.
—Jim Gallagher, Operations Manager
L to R: Mike Kelley, Francisco Oliver, Jack Jones, Jim
Gallagher and Chris Schinderwolf show off the Arizona
Diamondback jerseys they received to go along with their
visit to the Stadium on Apr. 27, 2011
MAY 2011 Page 7 Kent, WA
Living in the Pacific Northwest is amazing. From the beautiful views
of Mount Rainier near us, to the exciting skyline of Seattle that
opens up with the sunsets and sunrises. We get a breath of fresh
air unloading out here, even though Mother Nature can be very
bipolar and turn ugly with a snap of a finger. Some of our
employees enjoy sports, and with the summer coming up, we look
forward to enjoying them in the sun. Others enjoy playing music
and look forward to playing live shows outside at festivals. I love to go fishing and I am waiting
patiently to go out on the boat. A huge thanks goes to John of the U.P switch crew and Ron Denis for
putting a wash station in our building. It makes our work a lot easier.
—Larry Calkin, Operations Manager
Salt Lake City, UT
Congratulations to Team Salt Lake City for reaching the first stage of the safety award program. We
have gone 124 days without an accident or injury. I would also like to thank the crew for all the hard
work and long days they have put in over the last month. GREAT JOB, GUYS.
—Raul Correa, Operations Manager
Port Allen, LA
You ever heard of the movie "Snakes on a Plane"? Well how
about “Snake on a Train"? Scene 1: An employee is removing
chocks on A-deck of a bi-level. He sees what he thinks is a
piece of rubber insulation just up ahead off to the right side of
him. He moves a step forward and hears a noise. He dismisses
it. As he begins to take another step forward he hears it again.
He looks and off to the side of him is a snake about 3 to 4 feet
long coiled and ready to strike. He calls the manager, we
assemble a team to hunt it down and dispose of it. Another
safe day ends well in Port Allen. THE END. (Yes, in case
you're wondering, I've written scripts before.)
—Berkeley Redmon, Operations Manager
MAY 2011 Page 8 Francisco Oliver
Recognized for 15 Years of Service
Francisco Oliver with wife
Christine and son Anthony
Francisco Oliver, General Manager, was recently recognized for
15 years of dedicated service and was presented with an award
plaque and check for $250. Francisco, affectionately known as
‘Pancho’, started as an Unloader in Mira Loma. He became Office
Manager in December, 1998 and by August, 2001 he was the
Assistant Manager at our Benicia facility. Shortly thereafter he was
named Operations Manager at Benicia, then transferred to
Richmond in April, 2006. He continued to take on more
responsibility in 2008 as Regional Manager in Northern California
and most recently was promoted to General Manager with
responsibility for overseeing our Union Pacific locations. Francisco
has come a long way since his Mira Loma days and we thank him
for his 15 years of loyal service!
Richmond, CA
Would like to congratulate Team Richmond for going the 1st quarter without an Injury or Accident.
Great Work Olegario Veles and Team Richmond. Volumes have been up and down all year but
they have been able to handle the high volumes days without any issues. Let’s make sure we stay
FOCUSED all year and continue this trend. Thank You for all of you dedication and hard work.
—Francisco Oliver, General Manager
Amarillo, TX
March and April have been pretty busy for us and we would like to thank Gary Gutierrez and Carlos
Gallegos from Santa Rosa for helping us out when we needed it. Also I would like to welcome Joshua
Heath to my team, he has been with us for a little over a month now. Keep up the good work!
—Chris Gallegos, Operations Manager
Congratulations to Mike Kelley and his family on their 12th
grandchild! Troy Allen Kelley was recently welcomed into the
Inter-Rail family and boy oh boy is he going to be spoiled!
MAY 2011 Page 9 Team El Mirage would like to welcome on board three new
additions to the team! Ramon Navarrete, Alejandro Perez and
Erick Broin were hired as unloaders in March. They have
become a great part of our team and we are glad to have them
with us!
Also, Melody Delgado celebrated 2 years with the company on
April 3rd. This Easter, Melody spent some time with her family.
The Easter bunny had his work cut out for him because Melody
has 12 nieces and nephews! There sure were a lot of eggs to
hide this year! The kiddos had a great time!
—Jonathan Lawrence, Operations Manager
Kansas City, KS
Kansas City Argentine would like to shine the spotlight on Antonio
“Nelson” Rivera. Nelson has been with us for a little more than 6 months
and continues to work hard and be a crucial team player. His past
management skills shine through as an unloader. He is always willing to
come in on his days off and help out at the Muncie yard if needed. He is
married and has one daughter. When he’s not working, Nelson enjoys
extreme sports or riding his motorcycle. We look forward to working
alongside him for many years.
—Heather Magenheimer
I know we've been having trouble getting railcar doors open in the
past. The new Toyota seals and the wiring of the doors have been a
challenge for us, but how do we fix this next problem? We have some
new eyes in the sky, so how do you open a railcar that is guarded by
geese?
—Tim Parker, Regional Manager
Page 10 MAY 2011 Santa Rosa, NM
Busy, busy, busy! This year is looking very promising; we have seen an increase in volumes for both
of the manufacturers that we handle, GM and Chrysler. In April, the facility has been going into
overflow. Due to the increase, I have been conducting more safety briefings throughout the day
with the crew to ensure that we stay focused. The crew has been doing a good job in following
company policies and safety procedures.
In the past few months we have also been receiving new
models, which the crew gets excited about. Models like the
Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac CTS-V, Fiat 500, 2011 Chrysler 300, and
2011 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 392. These new models could be
the reason for the increase in demand for the two automakers.
The increase in safety briefings, in addition to higher volumes,
is also due to the change in weather experienced in March.
Record high temperatures for this time of year, plus it being the
windy season, can cause employees to take short cuts.
However, the crew has been following the rules and are being
safe. They are also proud to have reached Level 2 of Inter-Rail’s Safety Award Incentive program
once again. So, Congrats guys: Gary Gutierrez, Zachery Beck, and Fermin Gutierrez. Keep up the
great, SAFE work!
—Carlos M. Gallegos, Operations Manager
Do you have a Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep on your wish list? Inter-Rail has joined the
Chrysler supplier discount program which will allow our employees and their spouses to
participate in Chrysler’s Affiliate Rewards Preferred Pricing Program. Employees and spouses
are eligible for 1% below factory invoice on a new Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicle purchase
or lease. The discount program can be combined with current incentives.
First, visit www.chrysleraffiliates.com and enter the Company Code to obtain a Control
Number. Contact your Manager or the Home Office for the Company Code.
Next, take your Control Number, with proof of eligibility (company badge, recent pay stub) to
any participating U.S. Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep dealership to purchase or lease your new vehicle
If you have any questions regarding Affiliate Rewards, please call Affiliate Rewards Program
Headquarters at 888-444-4321
MAY 2011 Page 11 Orillia, WA
With the increase in volume and business, we have had the opportunity to expand our work force.
Randy Spencer and Richard Milton, our two newest employees, have made a great start to their
careers with Inter-Rail. They both show that they enjoy the job and their attention to safety and
detail has strengthened our team here in Orillia.
—Ryan Knoke, Operations Manager
Dilworth, MN
It is the end of April, and we are finally seeing SPRING! The only bad thing is that our rivers are high
and there has been some flooding along the river. Since we are talking about rivers and flooding,
the Mississippi River flooded Dayton's Bluff. That flooding has caused Hyundai and Kia to reroute
their business to Dilworth. It has been a busy month with all of the new cars coming in as result of
this flood. From March 28th-April 20th, 90 railcars were unloaded. For Dilworth, that is A LOT of
business in that time frame. We just saw snow last week, so we are hoping that was the last bit of
snow and we can enjoy this warm weather for a long time. Have a SAFE SPRING!
—Jamie Manning, Operations Manager
Shreveport, LA
In March, the Shreveport Ramp Services Team celebrated their safety streak with new Port
Authority jackets embroidered with the company logo. The Shreveport office has been injury free
since it opened, and the last accident was in October of 2009. The safety of our team, and quality
handling of our customer’s product is the top priority at our facility.
We are very focused on safety at our facility. It can be hazardous
sometimes, however the team always wears protective gear. They are
especially cautious of their surroundings even with units constantly
moving, and employees and plant personnel walking the yard. We strive
for safety, and receiving awards like this keeps our team focused on
continuing our safety streak.
As for the team, they were very excited to receive the jackets. Though it is
starting to warm up here in Louisiana, they have been spotted across the
yard keeping everyone warm and dry. They are sure to be something they
can wear with pride when it cools off again!
—JD Hughes
Page 12 MAY 2011 Oklahoma City, OK
Good day to all of you! I’ve received some very positive feedback from a lot of my articles and
wanted to take a moment to say thanks for the kind words and for reading my silly stories. I have to
admit that the increase in demand of articles has caused my creative genius to wane a little. If you
find yourself a little less amused, I apologize ahead of time. If you have any ideas or topics you’d
like me to try and use, email me at drgriffin@interrail-transport.com. Anyway, I hope everyone has
had a wonderful year so far. Remember to be safe as you work and go about your daily routine.
Look for ways to make a positive impact on those around you.
As most of you know, we recently celebrated Easter. I had a wonderful opportunity to help a church
in my state with an Easter event. They basically take a local park and set up different fields for
different age groups. They have a Special Needs field for those who are mentally and physically
handicapped. Other fields are divided into 2 year divisions up to age 10. They have a helicopter
that hovers over these fields and drops plastic eggs for the kids to run out and pick up as many as
possible before they are all gone. These fields are taped off until the helicopter is gone and the field
leader lets everyone rush the field. There is a great moment of intensity as the kids and parents wait
behind the tape watching the helicopter circle around and drop eggs onto the ground. They look to
the field leader waiting for the signal to “release the hounds.”
To give you an idea of how chaotic this can be, there are at least 4,000 eggs on the field at this time.
Some were scattered already by volunteers and others were dropped from the chopper. The field
leader’s hand drops and the caution tape breaks quicker than a lawn chair under an elephant. In a
matter of minutes, children sweep the field and pick it clean. There is nothing left, not even the
volunteers. They are swept away in the madness of getting an egg. Only devastation remains.
Where there was once green grass and colorful eggs, lies the trampled bodies of volunteers and
parents who weren’t smart enough to get out of the way of the stampede of toddlers. To see this
once is tragic enough, but it doesn’t end there. This event brings so many people that they have to
schedule 2 drops for each field at different times during the day. They dropped a total of 50,000
eggs. Volunteers only get an hour to go to the medic tent, get bandaged up and grab a bit to eat
before it all starts again. In all seriousness, it was a fun experience to watch the children have so
much fun. No volunteers were actually harmed. There was
one volunteer who brought his son and told me that his
son’s favorite colors are red and orange and only wanted to
get eggs that were his favorite colors. When he was told he
could get any of the colors, he was completely surprised
and immediately dove for more. Naturally, I was
disappointed there wasn’t an adult field for people my age,
but I’ll have to be happy with a free t-shirt, free food and
water.
—Daine Griffin, Supervisor
MAY 2011 Page 13 New Boston, MI
There is an up and coming event at New Boston that I would like to share with everyone. IRT was
awarded the New Boston site contract in June of 2001 and we have been providing switching
support here ever since. The New Boston team has come a long way and can be very proud of their
accomplishments. Not only will we be celebrating our 10th year anniversary here at New Boston, I
would also like to congratulate two individuals that were here from the start up. Much of our success
can be attributed to their longevity and expertise.
Dave Thompson is currently the Assistant Terminal Manager at New Boston and is a driving force of
our daily operations. Dave is one of the smartest people I know when it comes to the mechanics of
our locomotives. He has worked his way up to doing his own
92 day inspections on both of our locomotives. He first became
certified through F & M Car and Locomotive to meet FRA
qualifications and worked hand in hand with their mechanic to
become an outstanding mechanic himself. F & M was confident
enough with Dave’s abilities to allow us to take on the 92 day
inspection ourselves. Dave is also the acting terminal manager
when I travel and he does not miss a beat.
Butch Prush will be sharing the 10 year anniversary with Dave.
Butch is our senior yard master, a jack of all trades and
capable of running the whole show. His dedication and
Butch Prush (left) and
professionalism show in his daily performance. When it comes
Dave Thompson (right)
to leading a switch crew, Butch is second to none. He is one of
the most flexible people I know, has a memory like an elephant, and can be relied on to get things
done.
Both Dave and Butch have gained much respect in my eyes and
those of their peers and crew members. We all look forward to
celebrating our 10th year anniversary here at New Boston and a
huge congratulations go to Dave and Butch for their outstanding
dedication, longevity, and all around professionalism. Keep up the
great work gentlemen, your attributes and contributions to New
Boston Rail Services do not go unnoticed. From the whole team,
thank you for your support!!
—Ken Howes, Operations Manager
Tony Smith (left) and Jon Noble (right) wearing our
latest uniform. We have gotten away from the
orange coveralls for the operations department.
MAY 2011 Page 14 Tampa, FL
Team Tampa is proud to announce Betsaida (Betsy) Soto has won the first
quarter Clerical Award of 2011. Betsy joined our team last August and has been
doing a great job. Her attention to detail, organization and willingness to learn
make Betsy a great candidate for this award. Melinda wrote an email and the
words ‘professional’ and ‘takes initiative’ were mentioned when the home
office selected Betsy for this award. We think it is well deserved!
We are also proud to announce another addition to
the Inter-Rail family. Selene Evelyen Pagan Apunte was born on 4/7/11 at
9:45 AM weighing in at 6 pounds 2 ounces. Best wishes for a bright future
and may all your dreams come true.
—Mike Staycoff, Operations Manager
Palm Center, FL
Palm Center is RISING! Everyone in the south already knows that the
temperature is rising, but that’s not all. What they may not know is that
the business, staffing and safety culture is RISING as well. Over the past
few weeks our outbound traffic has increased immensely. We are
currently loading for Enterprise, Ford - Remarket, GM -Remarket, and
ShipCarsNow.com. This increase has spawned new IRT staff. I would like
to welcome Ramey Ayala, Joel Rodriguez and Juan Perez to the team.
They have only been a part of the team for a short period but they have
already proven they have what it takes to hang with the team here. As for
safety culture rising; Palm Center has proudly operated 1,682 days
injury free. Let’s keep the streak alive TEAM! Congratulations!!
—Will Cording, Operations Manager
View from Locomotive with Autoracks in the side view mirror.
The Florida Sun finds a way to break through the gorgeous
palms that surround a very calm retention pond.
Lawrenceville, GA
On Friday evening April 15th, we spotted the 1st track of the new BP unit train of Ethanol here in
Lawrenceville . Late evening spots were the norm but by Wednesday evening all of the 80 car train
had been spotted and unloaded incident free. Thanks goes out to all my switching crew as well as
the great cooperation between KAG, RSI Logistics and Inter-Rail Transport. This train was a test run
for BP so we are all very hopeful that they were impressed with how we handled their product.
—Sean Rider, Operations Manager
MAY 2011 Page 15 Wentzville, MO
We just can’t catch a break here in Wentzville! After one of the worst
winters on record, we survived the disastrous tornado that hit the St.
Louis area on Good Friday.
The National Weather Service has
ranked the tornado as an EF4, which
means it reached the speed of 200 mph! Luckily, the tornado
passed over Wentzville, but it touched down about 7 miles from us
and stayed on the ground for 30 min. ripping through the St Louis
area. It’s estimated it damaged about 2000 buildings, including
Lambert Airport, and around 100 homes. This is the biggest
tornado to hit St. Louis in 44 years! Stay safe everyone!
—Tim White, Operations Manager
Titusville, FL
This month has brought us a couple of new things: on March 31st 2011 at
11:47am Mike Attard’s wife, Tasha Attard, gave birth to a healthy 7lb 12oz
baby boy, so congratulations to them! I would also like to thank the two
senior men on my crew, Wayne Jones and Josh Lopez. Wayne and Josh
have been teaching the newer guys everything they can and I am confident
that I could put anyone on this crew into any situation and they would come
out on top. Thanks again for all the hard work guys and keep it up!
On to the business side of things, earlier this month we found out that we were going to start loading
cars for ShipCarsNow. On April 8th 2011 Will Cording came to our facility and gave us a hands-on
lesson in loading railcars and we loaded our first two Auto Racks. Thanks again Will for taking time
out of your busy schedule and coming down to help us out! I would like to add that I am now a
member of the Switching Committee and thank Ken Howes and the rest of the guys for making this
decision. I hope my knowledge and experience can help the company out and I know I will learn a
lot from the Committee.
So with the addition of loading being added to our daily routine of switching and unloading we will
be staying busy and focusing on SAFETY while getting the job done.
—Chip Rountree, Operations Manager
MAY 2011 Page 16 Commerce, GA
First off we celebrated two birthdays
this month with Tracy Dooley
celebrating on 4/1 and Danny Freeland
on 4/20. The crew enjoyed cake,
cookies, and treats for both. Happy
Birthday guys!
We were invited by Southeast Toyota to
attend the ‘Rock to Save’ concert to
support the March of Dimes. We had a
great night as we listened to 80’s music
and enjoyed good company. We also were able to wish Southeast Toyota
Director Cindy Patterson a Happy Birthday. Craig was happy to make off
with some artwork that he won in the silent auction of which all proceeds benefited the March of
Dimes. We now have a large picture of UGA the University of Georgia Bulldog Mascot hanging in
our break room office area. Seth Ricketts also contributed by purchasing a framed poster from the
movie Caddyshack.
During the week of April 18th we were happy to welcome both Jordan Glasmacher & Seth Ricketts
as well as Mark Derickson and Steve Thomas of Toyota. They had the opportunity to spend a few
days with us to review our on rail inspection process and get to know the crew. I’m happy to say the
week was a success as the guys did what they always do and set a great example of teamwork and
dedication to our work here with Toyota. Thank You Team Commerce for a great visit.
Finally on Monday April 25, 2011 the crew received their NS award for our AAR audit on 2/8/11 in
which we scored a 99.24%. Thank you to everyone involved in the successful audit and Thank You
to Jennifer Knighton for making the trip to Commerce to hand out the very nice Norfolk Southern
knives.
—Christina Nierenberg
New Orleans, LA
Going into April volume’s are up 12.82 % over last year. We are currently 535 days accident free
and 914 days injury free. Pretty good start for the first quarter of the year.
The weather has turned toward the warm side now that spring is here and the summer days are not
too far away. Easter has come and gone so now all us Catholic’s can look forward to meat again, not
that seafood in New Orleans is anything to shy away from!
—Tony Chatelain, Operations Manager
MAY 2011 Page 17 Home Office, MD
The New Voice:
Sarah Turano has joined the Home Office staff as Human
Resources Generalist. Sarah lives in Oxford, MD and enjoys
reading, gardening, biking, and listening to music. She keeps
busy with her four children and is an ice hockey fan… The
Washington Capitals of course! Welcome aboard Sarah.
Has It Been A Decade?
Amanda Bloodsworth, Payroll Administrator, began her career at
Inter-Rail as a 20-year old college intern. Greg Farmer, CFO,
recalls when Amanda first started she would mistakenly write the
accounting notation ‘sb’ (should be) in reverse so it came out ‘bs’
instead! Now married with a son, we have watched Amanda
grow personally and professionally. We surprised Amanda with
an award certificate and Lone Star restaurant gift card in
recognition of her 10 years of dedicated service. Thank you Amanda and enjoy the steak dinner!
—Melinda Biehl, V.P. Human Resources
Happy Mother’s Day
“A mother understands what a child does not say.” – Jewish proverb
“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother” – Abraham Lincoln
“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she
never did care for pie.” – Tenneva Jordan
“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think
twice, once for herself and once for her child” – Sophia Loren
The greatest officially recorded number of children born to one mother is 69, to the wife of Feodor Vassiyev
(b. 1707-c.1782), a peasant from Shuya, Russia. She gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 set
of quadruplets. —Guinness World Records
MAY 2011 Page 18 Jordan’s Jargon
As we approach the Summer driving season, gas prices are once again on the rise
- on average, about a buck more than a year ago. Seems that everywhere I go, the
subject of over-inflated fuel prices comes up. Some folks say it’s the weak dollar or
troubles in the Middle East. Others claim that market speculation or wide-spread
price-gouging is to blame. Whatever the reasons, the end result is that most of us
have less money in our pockets each month even though we’re not doing anything differently.
But it was only about three years ago that gas prices got up this high, and the same nefarious
explanations were offered up. Back then, sales of trucks and SUVs suffered greatly while those of
smaller economy models quickly rose. And we’ll probably see this happening again, if it hasn’t
already started. Alas, we are a doomed species, fated to forget hard times the moment they are
behind us, for as soon as prices at the pump began to ease up, we saw a resurgence of gasguzzlers once again arriving in droves on rail cars. Today, the domestics fill our facilities with
beautiful modern day versions of their 60’s era muscle cars, all larger than their predecessors and
with fuel consumption scarcely improved. And there have never so many full-size 4-door pickup
trucks and duallies to contend with.
Regardless of the car you drive, making the most of each tank of gas has become a bigger
priority. With many of us commuting to work and taking kids to school, we just simply can’t stop
driving. All of this got me thinking that now may be a good time to review a few tips I recall from
the last time fuel prices soared that could help you get an extra mile or two out of each gallon you
consume:
• Slow it down! Driving 65 mph rather than 75 mph can increase your mileage by about 10
percent • Avoid using the air-conditioning whenever possible. When you use the a/c, fuel
efficiency is increased by as much as 10 percent • Avoid extra weight. For each additional 100
pounds of weight, fuel economy decreases by about 0.5 miles per gallon. Empty all that junk out of
your trunk! • Avoid idling • Accelerate modestly. Constant rapid acceleration can lower your
mileage by up to 33 percent on the highway and up to 5 percent during city driving • Drive at a
consistent speed. Use cruise control whenever possible • Avoid rush hour traffic, if at all
possible • Get regular tune-ups to ensure that your filters and spark plugs are functioning
properly to maximize engine performance • Ensure that your tires are properly inflated. Gas
mileage improves by around 3.3 percent when tires are inflated to the correct pressure • Plan
your trips better. Several short trips to run errands may use twice as much fuel as a single, longer
trip that encompasses the same destinations.
Following these simple tips may help to make things just a little easier on our wallets during this
period of sky-rocketing fuel prices. Or I suppose we can elect to simply not worry about it and
suck it up for a while. It’s possible these high prices will eventually go away - along with our
recollections of them! But seriously, I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf and start driving less. And
I’ll change my poor driving practices for good. No, really. I mean it this time.
—Jordan P. Glasmacher