Railroading's Best Women

Well, it's that time of year again. Time to think about the many talented women we work with and for and consider nominating one of them as Outstanding Woman of the Year. The League of Railway Industry Women honors one woman every year for having made outstanding contributions to the industry. Some years, it is more of a lifetime achievement award, honoring someone for their contributions to the industry over their career. Other times, the award recognizes that woman's leadership or unique contributions to particular events or projects that took place that year.The nominees can be involved in any aspect of railroading in North America and work for a railroad, rail supplier, contractor, rail shipper, rail regulatory authority or rail trade association. Past honorees have included Deb Butler from Norfolk Southern, Jo Strang from the FRA (now at ASLRRA), Lupe Valdez from Union Pacific, Judy Petry from Farmrail, Donna Acors from CSX, Murphy Krajenta from BNSF Railway, and Connie Sumara from Chicago Freight Car Leasing.The award will be presented at the Plenary Session on Sept. 22 of RSI/CMA 2014 + Canadian Rail Summit in Montreal. Submit your nominations by July 31 to the LRIW’s Sally Boven (sally.boven@reflectiveapparel.com).This is a great opportunity to show appreciation for our industry colleagues, some of whom may truly be unsung heroes of railroading. ---By Kathy Keeney

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Kathy Keeney is Publisher of the Rail Group. The granddaughter of a railroader, she has been writing about railroads for more than 25 years. She is a past president of The League of Railway Industry Women and served on the board of directors for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and for the Washington Chapter of WTS.