CHICAGO—June 4, 2025 (James Street Media Services)—The North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS) Annual Meeting took place May 7–9 in Chicago.

During the meeting, there were new networking events as well as informative guest speakers. NARS announced its 2025 officers and scholarship recipients and also honored industry professionals.

NARS officers for 2025–2026 are:

• President Ray Hufnagel, Plastic Express;
• First Vice President Torri Stuckey, CSX;
• Second Vice President Harry Zander, Intramotev;
• Treasurer Mona Moorman, Domtar;
• Secretary Jason Seidl, TD Cowen, (newly appointed); and
• Kate Bourgeois, Immediate Past President, Mississippi Export Railroad.

John Meyers, DM Bowman, is leaving the Board after many years of dedicated service. 

In addition to the officers above, the Board is served by the following returning directors:

• Jeff Moller, Association of American Railroads;
• Bradon Smith, Fletcher & Sippel; and
• Todd Tranausky, AmSty, (newly appointed).

According to incoming President Hufnagel, “NARS provides an essential forum for railroads and shippers to work collaboratively. We are grateful to John Meyers’ dedication as a Board member, and we welcome Jason Seidl and Todd Tranausky to the NARS Board of Directors. Jason is our newest officer filling the Secretary role for 2025–2026. Jason is a well-respected industry analyst with TD Cowen and an exceptional leader of the Northeast Association of Rail Shippers (NEARS). Jason also served a year on our Regional Advisory Council. Todd Tranausky is familiar to many of us for his insightful presentations at our meetings and his dedicated service to the board of the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS). I look forward to serving with our Board of Directors to keep NARS and the railroad industry strong and growing.” 

During the annual meeting, NARS also announced its 2025 class scholarship recipients. The 2025 scholarship winners were selected based on their academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and community service. They are a blend of traditional undergraduate students as well as some working on advanced degrees in fields associated with the transportation industry.

The recipients of the NARS scholarships are:

• Naman Agarwal, The University of Texas at Dallas
• Jackson Alvey, University of the Cumberlands
• Megan Holtzinger, York College of Pennsylvania
• Shawn Kowalczyk, Temple University
• Phillip Polichtchovk, Temple University
• Jacob Surma, Illinois State University

This year, two NARS awards were presented:

• The Edward R. Hamberger Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Janet H. Gilbert, Fletcher & Sippel. This award honors the outstanding contributions of a rail professional to NARS throughout their career. Gilbert has been an incredible voice on the NARS Board of Directors for many years and has also lent her talents to the regional associations.
• NARS Person of the Year was Mona Moorman, Domtar. The award recognizes recent outstanding contributions to NARS and regional associations. Moorman has had a substantial impact on the Southeast Association of Rail Shippers (SEARS) organization over the last several years serving as their President.  Last year, Moorman joined the NARS Board of Directors and will serve as the Treasurer of NARS for 2025–2026.

NARS will announce plans for their 2026 Annual Meeting later this year.

About The North American Rail Shippers Association

The North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS) is comprised of a network of five regional North American associations including the Pacific Northwest Association of Rail Shippers (PNWARS), the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS), the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS), the Northeast Association of Rail Shippers (NEARS), and the Southeast Association of Rail Shippers (SEARS). Headquartered in the Chicago area, NARS brings together representatives from this network of more than 7,000 members of the rail shipping and railroad community in an annual forum, which enables open discussion of rail transportation issues. For more information, please visit the NARS website at www.railshippers.com.

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Bill Fahrenwald
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