JACKSONVILLE, Fla.,
May 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- CSX's Romano DeSimone has
been awarded the Association of American Railroad (AAR)
Holden-Proefrock Award for his significant career achievements and
contributions to the safe transportation of hazardous materials by
rail.
"CSX puts safety at the forefront of everything we do, and
Romano has personified this commitment through his leadership and
courage," said Skip Elliott, vice
president, public safety, health and environment. "Romano's
achievements, especially his visionary leadership of safety
training programs, have made a lasting impact on our culture and
our relationships with the communities we serve."
Over the course of more than 30 combined years with CSX and
Conrail, DeSimone developed significant response experience with
hazardous materials, including his tenure as a Field Hazmat
responder in New York and his
first-response efforts at various rail incidents. He also led CSX's
chemical safety team, where he focused on improving the safe
loading and unloading of chemicals at customer sites.
Currently, DeSimone serves as director, hazardous materials,
where he leads CSX's team of Hazardous Materials Managers and has
maintained an injury free record for his team's response efforts
over 25 years.
DeSimone has become a recognized leader for equipping emergency
responders with the information and skills needed for safe and
effective responses to rail-related incidents. While he was a Board
Member of the Firefighters Education and Training Foundation, he
spearheaded the development of Safety Train programs to bring
hands-on training to local communities. Through the Safety Train,
DeSimone and his team have provided thousands of first responders,
law enforcement, short line railroads, and customers with
information and experience to improve their readiness in case of an
incident. Most recently, his team led the CSX Safety Train:
Emergency Preparedness Program in 2014, which trained more than
2,000 emergency first responders in 18 cities along CSX's crude oil
routes.
The award was presented on Tuesday morning in Addison, Texas at the 28th Hazmat Seminar
hosted by the AAR and Bureau of Explosives. It is named for
Roy Holden and Art Proefrock, pioneers in the safe rail
transportation of hazardous materials, and is awarded annually to
recognize lifetime achievement in this field. DeSimone is the
fourth CSX employee to receive the Holden-Proefrock Award.
At the same ceremony, DeSimone and CSX employee Harry Hopes also received the TRANSCAER
(Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response) Torch
award, which is given to retiring members who have made a
significant contribution to this voluntary national outreach effort
focused on preparation and response for hazardous material
transportation incidents.
About CSX
CSX, based in Jacksonville,
Florida, is a premier transportation company. It
provides rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services and
solutions to customers across a broad array of markets, including
energy, industrial, construction, agricultural, and consumer
products. For nearly 190 years, CSX has played a critical
role in the nation's economic expansion and industrial
development. Its network connects every major metropolitan
area in the eastern United States,
where nearly two-thirds of the nation's population resides.
It also links more than 240 short-line railroads and more than 70
ocean, river and lake ports with major population centers and
farming towns alike. More information about CSX Corporation
and its subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com. Like us on
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/OfficialCSX) and follow us on
Twitter (http://twitter.com/CSX).
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SOURCE CSX Corporation