MARS Welcomes New Officers
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
The Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) has announced the members of its 2024 Executive Committee.
Introduced at the MARS Winter Meeting held last month, the 2024 elected officers are:
- President: Matt O’Kray, Transtar.
- First Vice President: Steve Blinn, Norfolk Southern.
- Second Vice President: Luke Jones, GATX Corporation.
- Immediate Past President: Kathy Bathurst, a marketing and sales professional.
“It’s an honor to step into my new role,” O’Kray said. “I look forward to building on the momentum that Kathy and the Board established this past year. It made MARS stronger than ever. We have an excellent team in place, and plans are already under way for a memorable Summer Meeting.”
According to MARs, there is one new member of the MARS Executive Committee: Tony Kazakevicius, Director of Sales & Marketing for Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad, an Anacostia Rail Holdings subsidiary.
MARS is one of five regional North American associations under the North American Rail Shippers (NARS) national organization. Headquartered in the Chicago area, MARS provides “an open forum for discussion and resolution of rail transportation issues by bringing railroads, shippers, receivers, and rail supply companies together twice annually for formal meetings in the Chicago area.”
The next MARS gathering will be the Summer Meeting, to be held July 8-9, 2024, in conjunction with the MARS Scholarship Golf Outing at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wis.
