January 2011

Holiday Party

The Annual Corporate Holiday Party was held on Friday, December 10, 2010 at The Point Restaurant located on the top floor of The Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah. This was a beautiful location with windows all around the room providing a spectacular view of the Salt Lake valley. In addition to our employees and their guests, many of our local customers were also in attendance. The evening began with hors d'oeuvres and drinks as everyone mingled. A buffet style dinner followed with a menu of delicious gourmet quality foods. All evening wonderful music was provided by The Daniel Day Trio, a popular Salt Lake City based group. A big thank you to Kate Goble and Michael Van Wagenen for all of their preparation to make this such an enjoyable gathering for all in attendance.

Contact Information

2011 Holiday Schedule

Planning your year? Get your calendar out and mark these important dates. Listed is the Holiday Schedule for 2011.

In addition to the Holidays to the left, there will be one Floating Holiday which can be used on one of the following days:

Holiday Schedule

Great Job

Randy HoutmanRandy Houtman has been working for A&K since August 2009 and is currently working in Michigan on Job #1641 and 1642 for the Field Operations Department. Harry Hoberek hired Randy to help with shipping and sorting materials in the Lowell, Michigan yard. Randy has been a great asset along with being a great manager. He also has a CDL and is an accomplished equipment operator and truck driver.

Randy jumped right into the railroad business. He has learned our process on grading and sorting materials and has done cropping, drilling and loading of 80' rail and has hauled many thousands of ties for disposal. For the most part Randy has been on his own in this yard and done and handled all the management and labor himself. It is always GREAT to find another responsible individual who can be trusted to work on their own and get the job done.

He lives in Greenville, Michigan. Before joining A&k, he worked for thirteen years in the tool and dye industry building tools and molds for the manufacture of auto parts. Prior to that he worked for a logging and sandpaper company.

He and his wife, Colette have been married for twenty three years. They have one child, a son, Mitchell who is now serving in the US Air Force in New Jersey at McGuire AFB. His hobby is riding his Gold Wing Honda and he is currently serving as President of the Gold Wing Road Riders club.

We are proud to have Randy as part of our A&k team.

Top Performers

Employee News

Congratulations to Denise (Corporate Headquarters) and Jack Burnside on the birth of their third grandchild. Emeri Danielle Beck was born December 20, 2010 at 11:11 a.m. Proud parents are Jamie Burnside and Kevin Beck. Emeri was 7.32 pounds and 19 1/2" long. Since it was close to Christmas, the hospital put Emeri into a cute Christmas stocking that she went home in.

Stockton California Yard employees Foreman Anselmo Garcia, Crane Operator Carlos Medrano, Driver Andy Yciano and Yard Manager Kimberli Blomberg (not pictured) celebrated Christmas with lunch and a gift exchange.

Baby Picture

Traditionally the employees of Corporate Headquarters have celebrated Christmas throughout December with the "12 days of Christmas". This year as in years past, during the 12 work days before Christmas, groups of 3 or 4 signed up for a day and provided treats that day for the rest of the office. There were a great variety of different foods during the month; soups, breakfast, tacos, french-dip sandwiches, snacks and desserts just to mention a few. Every day was delicious and many recipes were
shared. Then on the last day of work before Christmas, there
was a gift exchange. Everyone gathered together and took a
turn choosing a gift. There were many creative gifts and it was
a lot of fun with everyone participating.

Snapshot

Jim Okroy shares this "Blast from the Past" photo taken in 1980. Pictured are Morris Kulmer, former take-up foreman Bill Stanley, former Salt Lake Operations Manager Byron Bateman, and Jim Okroy. Jim who has been with A&K for 43+ years is a wealth of information. He has saved so many pictures and other items over the years and has the greatest stories to go along with these treasures. Remarkable the growth A&K has seen in the last 30 years and exciting to think where A&K will be in another 30!

4guys picture
Winners of Safty Bingo III 2010
Calendar

"We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives … not looking for flaws, but for potential."

- Ellen Goodman

Problem

Someone once asked Norman Vincent Peale, "Don't you think life would be better if we had fewer problems?" Peale said, "I'll be happy to take you to Woodlawn Cemetery because the only people I know who don't have any problems are dead."

No question about it.

If your life doesn't have problems, you don't have a life.

The point is we can't avoid problems, so we might as well expect them and embrace them as opportunities to learn and grow.

In John Maxwell's book, The Difference Maker, he said twenty five years ago he wrote something that helped him see problems in a different light. It also helped me and I'd like to share it with you …

  • PREDICTORS – helping to mold our future

  • REMINDERS – showing us we can't succeed alone

  • OPPORTUNITIES – pulling us out of ruts and prompting us to think creatively

  • BLESSINGS – opening doors we would otherwise not go through

  • LESSONS – providing instruction with each new challenge

  • EVERYWHERE – telling us no one is excluded from difficulties

  • MESSAGES – warning us of potential disasters

  • SOLVABLE – reminding us that every problem has a solution

- Mac Anderson

"Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution.
If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds."

Skyline

Photo taken by Bryan Smith showing the view from the Salt Lake City Yard office. There were some spectacular sunsets at the end of November. Thanks Bryan for taking a moment to capture it.