Nick M.

Said the following about Sarah Perkins:

“I would like to nominate this individual because for the past 2 years she has been instrumental in helping train new hires.

She is a third generation railroader that came in the door as a conductor a few years ago who was more than willing to help. She caught on quickly to railroad concepts and job responsibilities. She not only learned the yard, locals, and road territories but also excelled at RCO. Within months she was running jobs as the foreman.

She noticed that some of the other new hires were struggling and so she drew up note cards with maps and detailed instructions of the yard to help them succeed as well as purchasing paint markers to go label the switches with the corresponding track numbers so new hires would not get lost . I have had numbers of my trainman trainees come to me and tell me about how she has helped them to learn the yard, their job, and has even handed out her phone number if they have questions. I have specifically placed Cubs with her because I know that they will learn the job if she is the foreman on it. She has a knack for training new hires and is instrumental in their success.

Aside from that she is an active union member that sought out unity and helped provide information on safety for our yard by organizing a way to report safety concerns while also initiating groups to help clean up the yard and maintain it. Due to her vigilance we have found several pieces of broken rail that could have ended in major derailments and/or injuries, have helped clean up walking conditions that were unsafe and filled with trip hazards, and have also been made aware of and fixed multiple other safety concerns within the yard that could have caused injury if not addressed.

She has aspirations to become an engineer one day and even hopes to go on further than that with perhaps a road foreman job or management. I believe that oftentimes we overlook the daily workers that are on the ground and I believe this is one great example of how an individual who knows the everyday gruel of the railroad is able to impact so many for the better.

Because of Sarah we have had higher retention rates at the yard and have had less incidents among the trainmen trainees. In addition to 2 years of service where Sarah has learned not only yard, locals, and road territory she has also completed hazmat certifications through the union and OSHA that she searched for and attended on her own time. She has even enrolled in an online railroad college and is working towards a degree in railroading currently. She is always improving and learning and trying to pass on what she knows to others to not only train our future generations of railroaders but to also maintain a safe environment for them.

I have recently learned that she also volunteers at local schools and teaches children about operation lifesaver in order that they might be able to safely learn about the railroad and the dangers of being on or near tracks. All in all she really is a great addition to the railroad community and genuinely tries to not only perform her job to the best of her ability, but to make sure that those alongside her succeed as well. I honestly could not nominate anyone more deserving.“