NARS Annual Meeting: Elections, Honors and Scholarship Winners
NARS comprises a network of five regional North American associations: the Pacific Northwest Association of Rail Shippers (PNWARS), Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS), Southwest Association of Rail Shippers (SWARS), Northeast Association of Rail Shippers (NEARS), and 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.
NARS on June 4 reported that the following officers will serve on the 2025-26 Board: 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; also serves as Railway Age’s Wall Street Contributing Editor); and Immediate Past President Kate Bourgeois, Mississippi Export Railroad (one of Railway Age’s Women in Rail award honorees for 2022).
According to NARS, John Meyers of DM Bowman is leaving the Board after many years of dedicated service; he was Immediate Past President, 2024-25.
In addition to the officers, the Board is served by returning directors Jeff Moller, Association of American Railroads, and Bradon Smith, Fletcher & Sippel, as well as newly appointed director Todd Tranausky, AmSty.
“NARS provides an essential forum for railroads and shippers to work collaboratively,” incoming President Hufnagel said. “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 2025-26. Jason is a well-respected industry analyst with TD Cowen and an exceptional leader of 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 SWARS. I look forward to serving with our Board of Directors to keep NARS and the railroad industry strong and growing.”
At the 2025 meeting, held May 7-9, NARS recognized two members with special awards. The Edward R. Hamberger Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Janet H. Gilbert of Fletcher & Sippel. This award honors “the outstanding contributions of a rail professional to NARS throughout their career.” According to the association, 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.”
The NARS Person of the Year award, which recognizes “recent outstanding contributions to NARS and regional associations,” went to Mona Moorman of Domtar. “Moorman has had a substantial impact on the SEARS organization over the last several years serving as their President,” NARS reported. Moorman joined the NARS Board of Directors last year and will now serve as the Treasurer for 2025-26.
Also during the meeting, NARS announced its 2025 Patrick J. Ottensmeyer Memorial Scholarship recipients. Selected based on their academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and community service, the association said 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 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
Click here to read Railway Age Contributing Editor and RSE Consulting Principal Ron Sucik’s article covering meeting highlights.
