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The Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award is an annual award from the Burch Family to the railroad worker who has done the most to improve the safety of railroad passengers. The award includes $1,000. Dr. Burch was chief of the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic at Eisenhower Hospital at Fort Gordon, Ga. He was one of eight passengers who died July 31, 1991, at Lugoff, S.C., while traveling on Amtrak's Silver Star. It derailed at a switch that the National Transportation Safety Board later said was "poorly maintained."
Dr. Burch's wife, Bette, was traveling with him and was injured. Later, she and her children (Michael Burch and Kathryn Burch Pettyjohn), after consulting with NARP, decided to establish the award, with the goal of improving passenger rail safety. NARP solicits nominations from railroads, commuter railroad agencies and rail labor. The Burch family consults with an advisory committee convened by NARP and then selects the award winner.
Recipients of the Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award
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1994
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Wayne Solomon |
Chicago and North Western engineer |
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1995
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Billy Parker |
Amtrak engineer |
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1996
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Lenore Slimbock |
Amtrak assistant general manager |
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1997
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Jolene Molitoris |
Federal Railroad Administrator |
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1998
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Patrick Corcoran |
Union Pacific engineer |
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1999
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J. F. Garrard |
Amtrak conductor |
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2000
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Allan Thomas |
Amtrak chef |
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2001
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Damian Garden |
Amtrak maintenance-of-way supervisor |
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2002
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Henry Marcell |
Amtrak engineering safety director |
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2003
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Gordon Bowe |
Union Pacific conductor |
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2004
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Steven Tomlinson |
Amtrak safety liaison |
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2006
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Lanny Wilson, M.D. |
Chairman, DuPage Railroad Safety Council |
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2007
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J. Wes Wilkins |
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) Safety Liaison |
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2008
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John "Jake" Mumford |
Amtrak Police Department Detective |
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