Kansas City Southern Releases 15th Annual Holiday Express Schedule; Kicks-off Fundraising Campaign in Memory of Special Elf
September 28 2015 - 2:00PM
Business Wire
Kansas City Southern (KCS) (NYSE: KSU) has released its schedule
for the 15th annual Holiday Express train, which will stop in 20
communities in seven states on 24 dates. At each stop, visitors can
board the train, visit with Santa and his elves and tour the inside
of three cars of the festive six-car train. Each event is free and
open to the public.
In addition to free, public events, KCS’ Holiday Express has a
charitable component. Over 15 years, the project has raised well
over $1 million to purchase gift cards, which are donated to The
Salvation Army at each scheduled stop. These gift cards are used to
purchase warm clothing and other necessities for children in the
local community.
The 2015 fundraising effort is in memory of a special member of
the KCS Holiday Express family, Willis F. Kilpatrick, who passed
away in June. Kilpatrick was among the founders of the KCS Holiday
Express in 2001 and was its head elf through 2012, retiring in
early 2013.
“It was Willis’ leadership, inspiration and tremendous heart
that made the train and the charitable initiative the wonderful
experience that communities enjoy today,” said KCS chief executive
officer David L. Starling. “It is with gratitude for Willis’
contributions that we honor his memory.”
The 2015 KCS Holiday Express theme is Darby Bear. In recent
years, one of the toys in the free gift bags for kids has been a
small teddy bear in the colors of a KCS locomotive. This year’s
bear is called “Darby”, a nickname given to Kilpatrick by his
family. The bear is yellow, his favorite color.
Anyone interested in making a tax-deductible contribution to the
2015 Holiday Express fundraising campaign may do so online from the
Holiday Express section of www.kcsouthern.com or by clicking here.
The campaign will close October 31.
The KCS Holiday Express was built on the tradition of the Santa
Train, which ran on a segment of the network bought by KCS in 1997.
In 2000, a group of warm-hearted KCS employees noticed that the
Santa Train was the only Christmas some kids had, and that some
kids did not even have essential items like coats, hats and gloves,
so they committed to elevating the project. In 2001, volunteers
transformed a retired freight train to the experience that
communities throughout KCS' U.S. service territory enjoy today.
Led by KCS’ Southern Belle business train, the Holiday Express
train includes a smiling tank car “Rudy”; a flatcar carrying
Santa’s sleigh, reindeer and a miniature village; a ginger bread
boxcar; a newly remodeled elves’ workshop; the reindeer stable; and
a little red caboose. Each car is dressed in lights.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., KCS is a transportation
holding company that has railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico
and Panama. KCS' North American rail holdings and strategic
alliances are primary components of a NAFTA Railway system, linking
the commercial and industrial centers of the U.S., Mexico and
Canada.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150928006349/en/
Kansas City SouthernC. Doniele Carlson,
816-983-1372dcarlson@kcsouthern.com
Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024