The Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced the 2018 recipients of the Holden-Proefrock Award and the 2017 Non-Accident Release (NAR) Grand Slam Awards. The awards are given annually to individuals, shippers and railroads operating in hazardous material fields.
David Schoendorfer, System Manager Hazardous Materials for Norfolk Southern, is the 2018 Holden-Proefrock Award recipient. With 33 years of rail experience, Schoendorfer has played a key role in the safe transportation of hazardous materials and community outreach for both his railroad and the industry. In his current role, he oversees all aspects of Norfolk Southern’s hazardous materials compliance, risk management, safety training and emergency preparedness and response across the railroad’s 22-state system. Additionally, Schoendorfer has served for 27 years and currently chairs the AAR’s Hazardous Material Committee, which establishes standards and best practices for the safe transportation of hazardous materials. During his tenure at Norfolk Southern, he has played a key role in his railroad and the industry’s community outreach efforts including the acquisition of his railroad’s HazMat Safety Train that provides hands-on training to first responders and played a key role in the development of the rail industry’s AskRail app.
The Holden-Proefrock Award is named in honor of Roy Holden, a former AAR employee and an innovator in tank car design and safety, and Art Proefrock, a former Hulcher Emergency Services employee who pioneered hazardous materials transportation emergency response.
The NAR Grand Slam Award is presented annually to companies that are exemplary shippers of hazardous materials. An award winner must have been recognized by at least four Class I railroads and have had zero non-accident releases involving their shipments the previous calendar year. A hazardous materials non-accident release is an unintentional release of a hazardous material while in transportation, but not involving an accident.
The 2017 NAR Grand Slam Award was bestowed upon 42 companies. They are: Akzo Nobel Specialty Chemicals, Archer Daniels Midland Co., BASF Corporation, BP Products North America, Cenovus Energy, Centennial Energy, LLC, Chevron Products Company, CHS Inc., Dow Chemical, Elbow River Marketing Ltd., ExxonMobil, Gibson Energy ULC, Green Plains Inc., Huntsman International LLC, Husky Energy Inc., INEOS, Kemira, Keyera Corp., Kinder Morgan, Koppers Inc., Lansing Trade Group LLC, The Linde Group, Marathon Petroleum, Methanex Corporation, NGL Supply Co. Ltd., NGL Supply Wholesale, NorFalco (A Glencore Company), Nova Chemicals, Olin Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls, Pembina Resource Services, Petrogas Energy Corp., Philadelphia Energy Solutions, Phillips 66, Plains Midstream Canada ULC, Reagent Chemical & Research, Inc., RPMG Inc., Shell Chemical LP, Suncor Energy, The Chemours Company, Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc., Valero Energy Corp. and Westlake Chemical.
