Railway Track & Structures - June 2008 - (Page 14)

AREMA NEWS Getting to know Glenn T. Hay Glenn T. Hay, P.E. Chairman Committee 18 Light Density and Short Line Railways Vice President, Design Nine, Inc. the original development of what is now the CREATE project and upgrading the UP line for eventual use as a high-speed rail corridor. AREMA: How did you get involved in AREMA and your committee? Hay: Originally, I got involved with AREMA and, in particular, the Light Density and Short Line Railway Committee for a strictly selfish reason; use the organization as a marketing tool to help grow our business at Design Nine. It has resulted in anything but. While it certainly has not hurt our business, it has not been exploited to generate business. Once I became a member and became involved, it was clear that this was a tremendous organization with resources, mainly people, beyond reproach. There is something to be learned from every meeting, be it committee meetings, annual conventions and the chairman’s meetings. The committee work is very satisfying in that we are providing a service to a segment of the industry that does not desire or need a facility that will see the traffic and tonnage that the Class 1 railroads do. AREMA: Outside of your job and the hard work you put into AREMA, what are your hobbies? Hay: Similar to Kevin Keller, Scouting is my life outside of railroading and yes, I am a railroading merit badge counselor. All four of my children have been involved in Scouting my daughter with Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts’ older youth program, the Venture program, and my three sons, who are all Eagle Scouts with more Eagle palms than their father. I was a Cub master for almost five years, Scout master for almost six years, Venture Crew Committee Chairman for more than five years and I am the incoming District Camping Chairman. I am certified in CPR, first aid, pioneering projects, rock climbing and rapelling and BSA Lifeguard. I have been involved with the Boy Scout National Youth Leadership Training with the Greater St. Louis Area Council mentoring youth and have been trained as a course director. This is a fantastic program for the development of leadership skills within our youth, preparing them with tools and knowledge to be successful at home, in Scouts, school, church and eventually business. The youth learn how to become leaders, how to make a successful presentation, how to communicate with others even when you know they do not agree with you. They do this in front of both small and large groups of their peers and adult leaders. I have had the opportunity to spend time canoeing the boundary waters with my oldest son and sailing a tall ship in the Bahamas (twice) with our Venture Crew that the entire family belongs to. AREMA: Tell us about your family. Hay: My greatest achievement was marrying the perfect girl who has the patience to put up with my career, my Scouting life and me and has done so for the past 29 years. Father to four terrific children, the oldest, my daughter will be 24 in October and is completing a Technical Theater degree at Columbia College in Chicago this year. My oldest son will be 22 this summer and has worked for Design Nine the past three summers completing a COOP experience with us in Shreveport, La., with KCS. He is scheduled to graduate Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo., in two years with a Civil Engineering Degree ready to work full-time in the railroad industry. Number Two son is 20 and is attending Ranken Technical College in St. Louis, Mo., with a degree in Electrical Automation Technology in December of this year. Our youngest will be 18, graduating from high school with honors and looking forward to joining his older brother at Missouri University of Science and Technology pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering. AREMA: What advice would you give to someone who is trying to pursue a career in the railway industry? Hay: Go for it; it's a terrific career and has wonderful opportunities forthcoming for young people. Attitude is everything and a great attitude with a smile on your face and an interest to learn will take you to places you have never dreamed. If someone would have told me when I was graduating from college that I would have gone to the places that I have or done the things that I have had the opportunity to do I would have told them they were crazy. Exercise your God-given talents and apply yourself, nothing is beyond your reach. This railroading thing is not just a job, but a passion. The industry is a family and every one, no matter how stiff the competition may be between parties, is willing to help out the other person. E ach month AREMA will feature one of our committee chairmen. We are pleased to announce that the June featured chairman is Glenn T. Hay, chair of Committee 18 - Light Density and Short Line Railways. AREMA: Why did you decide to choose a career in railway engineering? Hay: I was graduating in the spring of 1979 from Michigan Technological University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering with options in transportation, construction and geotechnical and not having a clue on what to do. I interviewed with everyone who came to school looking for a civil engineer from pipeline companies, ship builders, consultants, mining companies, contractors, U.S. Forest Service and railroads. I had five offers for employment, including Conrail and Missouri Pacific Railroad. MoPac was the lowest monetary offer, but provided, what I considered important, a formal 22-month training program that resulted in my ultimately being assigned to the construction department. AREMA: How did you get started? Hay: I spent 10.5 years with the Missouri Pacific and UP Railroads with time in the office working on drawings and calculations for siding extensions, piggyback facilities and auto unloading facilities and was given the opportunity to go out and perform the on-site construction management of some of these facilities. Some of the projects I worked were the reconstruction and reconfiguration of Neff Yards double hump into a single hump in Kansas City, the rehabilitation and reconfiguration of the North Little Rock Hump Yard, including the replacement of the lap switches; reconstruction and construction of piggyback and auto unloading facilities in Chicago and Dupo, Ill., Memphis, Tenn., Kansas City, Mo., New Orleans and Shreveport, La., Muncie, Kan., and Rolla, Colo. In January 1990, I began my consulting career with Design Nine, Inc., continuing with the same type of projects and work and helping grow a company from five employees to more than thirty. We only do railroad engineering and work with industries requiring rail service and the railroads themselves. We have been involved with the Illinois Department of Transportation, assisting them in June 2008 2008 Upcoming Committee Meetings June 20-22 Committee 24 - Education & Training Calgary, AB June 26 Committee 33 - Electric Energy Utilization Philadelphia, PA September 20-21 Committee Meetings in Salt Lake City, Utah, See Page 16 October 7-8 Committee 15 - Steel Structures Chicago, IL October 16-17 Committee 8 - Concrete Structures & Foundations Des Moines, IA October 28-29 Committee 30 - Ties Savannah, GA November 6 Committee 28 - Clearances Phoenix, AZ 14 Railway Track & Structures www.rtands.com http://www.arema.org http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures - June 2008

Railway Track & Structures - June 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Grade Crossings Provide Interface Between Railroads, Public Grade-Crossing Equipment & Materials Guide Fastener Suppliers Getting a Grip Grinding Plays Part in Rail Maintenance Big Picture Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Website Directory Advertisers Index Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - June 2008

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