A&K from Coast to Coast

Our emphasis to encourage healthy lifestyles
at A&K continues with the introduction of our new
health challenge:

The challenge is to walk “A&K from Coast to
Coast”. We will virtually walk from our yard in
Mira Loma, California, visiting our Kansas City,
Kansas location along the way and continue
on to our facility in Hamden, Connecticut.
This route overall is 2845 miles. Just as A&K
has professional staff and inventory from coast to
coast to keep our customers “rolling” we would like
to provide our employees with the personal “inventory”
they need in the form of a health challenge and health information
to help our employees keep “rolling” through a healthy life.

Heart disease is this country’s number 1 killer. By exercising for as little as 30 minutes each day you can reduce your risk. This challenge is to help encourage our employees to become more physically active and make other healthy changes like eating healthier to improve overall health. We will track activity in the form of miles; plus add extra bonus miles for weight loss at the end of the challenge.

We would like to form teams to work together to virtually reach the destination. Challenge overview:

Contact Information

Grenada Railway Receives Award

Patrick Stone Operations Manager for the Grenada Railway (pictured on right) accepts an award from an organization named Experience Works. The plaque reads as follows:

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Grenada Railway is one of our affiliated railroads. It is located in Mississippi and is approximately 187 miles long. It runs from Southaven to Canton, Mississippi with a depot located in Grenada. A spur also runs to Bruce Junction. The line interchanges with Canadian National at Canton, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee. The main commodities the railroad hauls include forestry products, scrap metal, and grain. Grenada Railway also has the capacity to store up to 15 miles of railcars.

Allen Antczak General Manager for the Grenada Railroad Stated: Once again this proves that we don’t have to be a Class 1 Railroad to be recognized as a First Class Company.

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Walking Is Man’s Best Medicine

An activity you do every day. The number one activity everywhere! Running... NO... cycling... NO... No other activity can make the claim that walking can. Walking is the #1 participation sport worldwide. Why? Here are a few good reasons.

Easy To Do

There is no great trick to walking. It does not require any special skills or advanced conditioning. Walking doesn’t require any special equipment or clothing. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes, comfortable clothing, and you’re all set.

Healthy

When Hippocrates said that “walking is man’s best medicine”, he didn’t realize that thousands of years later, new benefits of walking would be discovered daily.

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Safe

Walking is probably the safest exercise you can do. It doesn’t require prior training or conditioning and doesn’t involve a great deal of physical exertion in the beginning. Studies have even shown that due to the design of our body, walking is more natural than sitting, standing or running, and walking is not as stressful to the body as other exercises.

For example, running is much more stressful on the heart and joints and leads to many more injuries. The shock impact of a runner’s step is 3-4 times a person’s weight, while walking is only 1½.

While walking is easier on your body, it can be just as beneficial as running in helping you lose weight. If you run for 30 minutes at 5 miles per hour you will burn about 285 calories. If you walk for 30 minutes at 4 miles per hour you will burn 165 calories on a level surface, 225 on a slight incline of 5%, and 360 calories of a 10% incline.

walking pic

Walking Equipment

There is no need to buy expensive videos or computer programs. All you have to do is walk naturally. Here are a few helpful tips on walking:

On Your Mark, Get Set...

It is crucial that you stretch before and after your exercise. Stretching will help loosen your muscles prior to and after your walk, reducing the chance of sore or injured muscles. Besides stretching, you should have a 5-minute warm-up slowing increasing the pace and a 5-minute slow down gradually decreasing your pace.

A&K Railroad Materials, Inc.

Employee News

Larry and Betty Bird (Gary, Indiana) are proud to announce the marriage of their son Jacob to Chelsey Jackson on June 4 in Louisville, Kentucky. The couple will make their home in Dyer, Indiana. Jacob is employed as a towing specialist with a large company in the area. Chelsey was employed in a Children’s Hospital in Louisville and is applying for employment in the area they reside.

Vickie Matkins and Al Dunn are announcing their engagement. Vickie has worked as an administrative assistant at the Kansas City Sales office for 4-1/2 years. Her fiancé Al has worked for YRC Worldwide (a provider of transportation and global logistics services) as IT Procurement Manager for 3-1/2 years. They are planning a fall wedding and a honeymoon cruise to the Caribbean.

The second BBQ of the season was held at Corporate Headquarters on June 10th. The Yard employees hosted the luncheon. We could not have asked for better weather; it was a beautiful, sunny day, but not too hot.

Burgers and Brats were on the menu with all the fixin’s including salads, baked beans and the favorite “Smokestack Special” – Bryan Smith’s famous deviled eggs. Cameron Edwards did the grilling to perfection. Thank you to Bryan, Marshane, Brad, Bob, Cameron, Chris, Rafael, and Robert.

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Sunscreen Safety Tips

Please read the following information regarding the use of sun screen as many of our staff work outside and need the protection:

The fact is if you are outside you should be smart and protect yourself from the harmful rays of the sun.

Message for men: Wear sunscreen. Surveys show that 34 percent of men wear sunscreen, compared to 78 percent of women.

Choose a sunscreen that protects you from UVB and UVA rays. UVB rays penetrate the outer skin layer and are the primary cause of sunburn. UVA rays do not cause burning but penetrate deeper into the skin aging the skin causing wrinkles and damaging the skin cell’s DNA, producing mutations that lead to cancer. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. with one to two million Americans developing skin cancer each year. Plus sunburn hinders the body’s ability to dissipate heat causing problems with heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Whether a person is light- or dark-skinned, whether it’s cloudy or sunny outside, dermatologists recommend wearing sunscreen — globs of it. People don’t use enough sunscreen. An average person should use a dollop —enough to fill a shot glass. About one ounce of sunscreen should be applied 30 minutes before going outside and reapplied every two hours as sunscreen chemicals break apart in the sun, sweat off, wash off and rub off on clothing. Whether the sun is out or not, put on sunscreen on your face and hands, make it a habit, just like you would brush your teeth twice a day.

Clothing matters. All clothing protects the skin to some degree. A tightly woven fabric such as denim confers more protection than linen, because it allows less light penetration. Where you can’t cover with clothing protect with sunscreen – especially back of neck, ears, nose, etc. While it’s unlikely anyone would wear sunscreen underneath thin clothes, it might be worthwhile for extra sensitive people. You can get sun burned even through a t-shirt. If someone has a history of cancer or is very fair skinned, it doesn’t hurt to put on sunscreen underneath clothes.

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Ingredients matter. Look for active ingredients zinc, titanium, avobenzone or Mexoryl SX. These substances protect skin from harmful UVA radiation and remain on the skin, with little if any penetrating intothe body.

Avoid the sunscreen chemical oxybenzone, a synthetic estrogen that penetrates the skin and contaminates the body. Avoid vitamin-A creams – New data show that tumors and lesions develop sooner on skin coated with vitamin A-laced creams. Vitamin A, listed as “retinyl palmitate” on the ingredient label, is in 33 percent of sunscreens. Avoid them.

Also, skip sunscreens with insect repellent – if you need bug spray, buy it separately and apply it first.

A high SPF is hype. The higher the Sun Protection Factor value, the better sun protection the product is supposed to provide against UVB light. Research shows that an effective SPF 15 can block about 93 percent of all incoming UVB rays, SPF 30 blocks 97 percent and SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. You don’t really need a high number, they end up being expensive and don’t do more than SPF 50. Keep in mind, SPF protects only against UVB rays.

Sunscreen sprays are not as effective - Sure, the sprays are easy to apply, but the downfall is they’re less effective. Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide doesn’t come in spray form. Plus they cloud the air with particles that may not be safe to breathe. Choose creams instead.

Darker skin tone isn’t a free pass. Darker-skinned people have some natural protective qualities from their pigmentation, but it’s no immunity against sunburn and skin cancer. African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and people of color get the disease, too. It might be harder to diagnose skin cancer in these populations because the growths often appear in atypical locations such as palms, soles of the feet, toenails and fingernails. Skin experts say all racial groups need to use sunscreens.

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Copyright 2011 A&K Railroad Materials, Inc.