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David Johnson: MARC’s Gain, NARP’s Loss
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
A final tribute to NARP’s former Vice President.
Prompted by publication of David R. Johnson’s early-May move to MARC in our latest newsletter, I’d like to share what I said to our Council of Representatives in Washington on April 22:
Since we’ve given out a lot of certificates the past few days, pretend that I’m reading from another certificate, although it’s a little verbose because it’s only a virtual certificate.
The Hard Working Passenger Train Advocacy Award is presented to:
David Johnson
To thank him for five and a half years of tireless work for the members of NARP and for rail passengers in general and to tell the world that MARC Train Service’s gain is NARP’s loss.
David is the ultimate self-starter. I’d be a rich man if I had a dollar for every time I asked him to do something and he responded, “I’m three steps ahead of you. It’s already done.”
He is the energizer bunny. He reviews incredible volumes of incoming e-mail and exercises great judgment about which ones need my attention. He taught himself how to do layout for the newsletters, the posters you see displayed at Board and now Council meetings, the use of Constant Contact the handsome messages that now go to our members, and acquired countless other technical skills that you might not associate with a “Vice President,” but in a small organization everyone pitches in.
Thanks to his outgoing personality he knows and is respected by more front-line railroaders than you could imagine, including the conductors who have known him riding the Newport News line since he was a child. So he has an impressive knowledge of what is actually going on out there.
I always try to think of a silver lining. As a Maryland taxpayer, I’m happy that MARC with David is about to get a pretty big bang for the buck. And we all should be proud of the growing number of passenger train professionals—going back to Dr. Anthony Perl and Amtrak’s Jonathan Hutchison (Government Affairs/West)—who have done part of their learning about the industry while working for NARP.
But I really did not look forward to losing David. David, thank you for all you have done, for your work and your friendship.
Given this 21st Day of April, 2009 at the NARP Council of Representatives Meeting, Washington, DC.
—Ross B. Capon
Posted by NARP
Tags: dave johnson, marc, office, staff,©2009 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website
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