June 2003 Texas Rail Advocates Newsletter

June 2003 Newsletter

Newsletter Articles

About Texas Rail Advocates

Mission Statement
Membership
Board of Directors and Contacts
Publication

During our late April trip to Washington for the National Corridor Initiative Conference, John Radovich and I also sat in on two different hearings dealing with rail transportation. The first hearing was chaired by Senator John McCain of Arizona and the second one was chaired by Congressman Don Quinn of Buffallo, New York. My main focus was meeting with aids to Senators Hutchison and Cornyn as well as aids to those congressional representatives whose districts are along the south central high speed rail corridor. We met with Jim Coston was at the NCI conference. Jim's article in this months newsletter is a speach he gave to the Amtrak Reform Council and it will give you a better understanding of the challenges to be faced in establishing a rail trust fund. Again, we appreciate your interest and support.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to accelerate Texas's economic growth and enhance the quality of life enjoyed by its people by advancing the development of rail service to its full potential as a carrier of freight and passengers.

Membership

You may join as a non-contributing member in good standing by sending Taylor Sharpe (Taylor@TexasRailAdvocates.org) your name, e-mail, address and phone. Members in good standing will receive periodic e–mails about our activities.

Contributing members receive additional benefits and mailings. TRA is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and donations are tax deductible. Contributing members should send an e-mail to Taylor Sharpe (Taylor@TexasRailAdvocates.org) and then send your donations to the attention of:

Mr. Beau Smith
Texas Rail Advocates
Attn: Membership
203 Cedar Street
Mansfield, Texas 76063

Sustaining Members are contributing members that donate at least $50 annually. Corporate and Municipal members are requested to contribute an annual minimum of $200. Membership donations can be made with credit cards through PayPal by clicking on the PayPal logo below. For Membership Information, contact Mr. Beau Smith at (817) 477-5599.

TRA Information Privacy: We do not share your e-mail or personal information.

Board of Directors

Director Name	E-mail	Title or Area of Expertise
Dave Dunnigan	DaveD@TexasRailAdvocates.org	Public Relations
Paul Mangelsdorf	PaulM@TexasRailAdvocates.org	President
John Radovich	JohnR@TexasRailAdvocates.org	Rail Logistics
Kevin Ruble	KevinR@TexasRailAdvocates.org	Freight
Bruce Russell	BruceR@TexasRailAdvocates.org	Technical/Engineering
Beau Smith	BeauS@TexasRailAdvocates.org	Membership Director
Taylor Sharpe	Taylor@TexasRailAdvocates.org	Webmaster
Tom Shelton	TomS@TexasRailAdvocates.org	Transit Issues
Michael Mackner	MikeM@TexasRailAdvocates.org	Treasurer, Environmental

Publication

Texas Rail Advocates publishes this newsletter approximately once a quarter. It is published on our web page as well as e-mailed to members. The web page is www.TexasRailAdvocates.org. Taylor Sharpe is the Editor and Mr. Sharpe can be reached by e-mail at Taylor@TexasRailAdvocates.org. All articles are owned by and copyrighted by Texas Rail Advocates unless noted otherwise. Requests to reprint article should be sent to Mr. Sharpe.