FirstLook 2021 Less Than a Month Away

NRC Announces More FirstLook 2021 Program Speakers and Panelists

We are less than a month away from kicking-off the first webcast for NRC FirstLook 2021. Mr. James A. Squires will be the featured keynote executive for the fireside chat webcast on January 6, 2021 at 2:00pm ET, and will be hosted by NRC Chairman Jim Hansen, Chief Commercial Officer at Herzog, and NRC Vice Chairman Steve Bolte, Vice President of Business Development North America at Danella.

In addition, we are thrilled to share that more panelists have been confirmed, including a representative from all seven of the Class I railroads for our finale webcast titled Class 1 Capital Program and Opportunities for Contractors and Suppliers Panel. To see the FirstLook 2021 Program, please see below:

Title: Signal and Communications Opportunities for Contractors and Suppliers Panel

Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 2:00pm ET

Moderated by: Carl Walker, Chief Engineer Communications and Signals, CSX

Panelists:

-Tom Hilliard, Chief S&C, Canadian National Railway

-Jim LeVere, Vice President Eng-Signal and NCS, BNSF

-Jay McAndrew, General Director Signal Design & Construction, Union Pacific

More panelists/speakers will be announced as we receive confirmation.

Title: Freight Procurement Opportunities for Contractors and Suppliers Panel

Date: Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 2:00pm ET

Moderated by: Evan Bell, Head of Procurement, CSX

Panelists:

-Paul Bischler, VP Controller and Chief Sourcing Officer, BNSF

-Wendy Whalen, AVP Supply Chain, Union Pacific

-Jon Zillioux, AVP Sourcing, Norfolk Southern

More panelists/speakers will be announced as we receive confirmation.

Title: Class 1 Capital Program and Opportunities for Contractors and Suppliers Panel

Date: Wednesday January 27, 2021 at 2:00pm ET

Moderated by: NRC Board Member David Ferryman, VP Sales, EVRAZ North America

Panelists:

-Ed Boyle, VP Engineering, Norfolk Southern

-Tod Echler, Chief Engineer M of W, CSX

-Raj Gupta, Vice President - Engineering, Canadian National Railway

-Shane Keller, VP-Engineering, Union Pacific

-Manny Loureiro, Vice President and Chief Engineer, Kansas City Southern

-Justin Meyer, VP of Engineering, Canadian Pacific

-Craig Rasmussen, AVP Engineering, BNSF

More panelists/speakers will be announced as we receive confirmation.

Thank you to our Fireside Chat NRC FirstLook 2021 Sponsors!

Announcing the 2020 Scholarship Winners!

The NRC is proud to announce the recipients of our 2020 educational scholarships.

The NRC awards scholarships each year to provide higher-education tuition assistance for children or grandchildren of employees of NRC member companies. Applicants must be enrolled as full-time students at an accredited two-year college offering an associate’s degree or an accredited four-year college or university offering a bachelor’s degree. Scholarship funds are sent directly to the student at the beginning of the next term of study. Award winners must attend school for a full year following receipt of the award.

Congratulations to this year’s scholarship winners:

First Place Winner - Albert Hotzel of Kansas State University ($12,000) who was sponsored by Stella-Jones

Second Place Winner - Matthew Chalon of the University of Connecticut ($6,000) who was sponsored by Simmons Boardman

Third Place Winners - Andrew Ramm of Purdue University ($3,000) who was sponsored by Progress Rail Services

Since the NRC began awarding educational scholarships in 2013, we have provided nearly $200,000 in tuition assistance to the children and grandchildren of NRC members,” says Joe Daloisio, Track Division Manager at Railroad Construction Co. and former Chairman of the NRC Scholarship Committee. “It is really gratifying to invest in the futures of these promising students and to consistently hear how much they appreciate this assistance.”

For questions regarding the awards or any of the applications, please reach out to NRC staff at [email protected] or by phone at 202-975-0365.

Want early access to reserve your booth for the 2022 NRC-REMSA Exhibition?

Are you interested in early access to booth reservation for the premier railroad networking event in the industry? If so, please be sure to register (information below) for the NRC FirstLook 2021 Program in order to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity! Registered FirstLook 2021 attendees will receive a special link with early access to the 2022 floor plan in early January.

The exhibition will take place January 5-6, 2022 at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, AZ in conjunction with the 2022 NRC Conference, which will run January 5-8, 2022. As a reminder, each 8’x10’ exhibit space comes with one complimentary conference registration to the 2022 NRC Conference.

FirstLook 2021 Registration:

To register, please click here. You will have the opportunity to register for individual events or take advantage of the discounted bundle price for all four events if you’re an NRC member. Not a member and want to join to get the discounted bundle, access to early booth registration for the 2022 conference, and more? Join now by clicking here.

Questions:

For questions regarding the agenda, registration, sponsorships, the awards or anything else please reach out to NRC staff at [email protected] or by phone at 202-975-0365.

Many Thanks to our Primary Track and General Sponsors!

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The NRC is a trade association representing businesses from across the nation in the rail construction and maintenance field. NRC members range in size from small family businesses to the largest companies in the industry. NRC members perform work for transit, commuter, intercity passenger, industrial, and freight rail customers, with services including track construction and maintenance, grade crossings, signal and communications installation, bridge construction and repair, rail yard work, and many more. The NRC strives to put an emphasis on rail safety and quality while proudly serving the rail industry