[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 116 (Tuesday, July 11, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3911-S3912]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING R.J. CORMAN
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today I wish to remember the life of my
dear friend, R.J. Corman, and to congratulate a business he started in
Kentucky on its 30th anniversary. A man from humble beginnings, Rick
started a company at the age of 18 with only a backhoe and a dump
truck. With a keen business sense and a tireless work ethic, Rick built
his company and earned a reputation for doing work better and faster
than anyone else in the business. Today the R.J. Corman Railroad Group
employs over 1,600 people and operates in 24 States.
Rick's life was tragically cut short when he passed away in August
2013 at the age of 58 after a long fight with multiple myeloma, a blood
cancer. Although his company had to learn how to succeed without him,
the signature red locomotives and white cross-rail fences still carry
Rick's name and his legacy.
Those who knew Rick could agree that he worked hard, cherished
honesty, and had an infectious laugh. In 2011, Fortune magazine
published a profile on Rick and his business. It read, ``In the way he
operates--and faces the world--Rick Corman is truly larger than life.''
Rick started his company making track repairs for major railroads in
1973. With vision and determination, Rick convinced people to take a
chance on him, and he began to expand his company.
This year, one of his businesses, the R.J. Corman Railroad Co., is
celebrating its 30th year of operation. It opened in 1987, when Federal
deregulation allowed railroads to sell unwanted lines of track. Rick,
seeing both a profitable venture and a way to provide an economic boost
to rural areas, began purchasing short line railroads. Today the
business operates 11 railroad lines and more than 900 miles of track.
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast in 2005, Rick's
emergency response operation immediately offered to help. Rick
personally oversaw the repairing of railways damaged by the storm.
Despite the heavy damage, Rick answered the call to help those in need.
Rick's business acumen was impressive, but even more extraordinary
was his unstoppable spirit. When he was diagnosed with cancer in 2001,
he fought far beyond the doctors' expectations. Rick continued to work,
to enjoy life, and even to finish the Boston Marathon. He deeply cared
for his employees and his community. When one of his employees lost his
home to a fire, Rick sent the family a temporary trailer the next day.
Over the course of his life, Rick and his company made numerous
contributions to St. Joseph Hospital in Jessamine County. The hospital
remembered Rick as the largest philanthropic supporter in its history.
Rick's compassion and love of life inspired so many friends, family,
and employees. He may be gone, but his legacy will remain, as we
celebrate the 30th year of the R.J. Corman Railroad Co. Rick believed
in his employees, and he said, ``It's really the people that make this
company so different. It's not me; it's the people.'' Today I ask my
colleagues to help me remember Rick for his kindness, his courage, and
his undefeated spirit.
The Lexington Herald-Leader recently published an article about
Rick's life and legacy. I ask unanimous consent that the full article
be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[[Page S3912]]
[From the Lexington Herald-Leader, June 16, 2017]
R.J. Corman Was ``Larger Than Life:'' He's Gone, but His Business Keeps
Growing
(By Tom Eblen)
One of the hardest things for a company to do is survive
and grow after the death of a larger-than-life founder like
Richard Jay Corman.
Carol Loomis, a legendary business journalist who
interviewed America's most famous executives, wrote in a 2011
profile that Corman ``just might be . . . the most
unforgettable character I've ever met in my more than half-
century at Fortune (magazine) . . . In the way he operates--
and faces the world--Rick Gorman is truly larger than life.''
Corman, 58, died in August 2013 after a dozen years of
fighting multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. But R.J. Corman
Railroad Group, the Nicholasville company he started in 1973
with a backhoe and a dump truck, doesn't seem to have missed
a beat.
``Rick built a heck of a company and a nationally known and
recognized organization,'' said Ed Quinn, who worked seven
years for Corman and returned to the company last year as
president and CEO after the retirement of Craig King, who led
the company after Corman's death and remains on the board.
``That's what we trade on every day and that's why we
continue to grow.''
The company, owned by a trust controlled by Corman's sister
and three of his five children, has continued growing and
acquiring businesses over the past four years. It also
continues to be a major benefactor to Central Kentucky
charities.
Probate documents filed in November 2013 valued R.J. Corman
Railroad Group at $226.7 million. Since then, employment has
grown from 1,100 to more than 1,600. Although the company
doesn't release financials, executives say annual revenues
now exceed $350 million.
This year, the group's R.J. Corman Railroad Co. is
celebrating its 30th year. It began with the purchase of two
Kentucky short line railroads in 1987 as federal deregulation
allowed major railroads to sell off lines they no longer
wanted.
Since Corman's death, the company has acquired short line
railroads in Texas and South Carolina, bringing its
operations to 11 railroad lines with 904 miles of track in
nine states. The company owns more than 100 locomotives and
475 rail cars, and last year they hauled more than 65,000 car
loads of cargo.
Those railroads include the 148-mile Central Kentucky Line
that runs through Lexington, where Corman's signature red
locomotives and white cross-rail fences have become a
landmark at the corner of West Main Street and Oliver Lewis
Way. The company's first short line, in Bardstown, includes
My Old Kentucky Home Dinner Train.
Next year, R.J. Corman Railroad Group will mark the 45th
anniversary of its railroad services business, which Corman
began by repairing and refurbishing track for major
railroads. Those operations are based at shops on the
company's 1,600-acre main campus in Jessamine County and at
field locations in 23 states.
The company's best-known operations are its derailment and
disaster recovery units, which can dispatch teams around-the-
clock to handle some of the industry's biggest breakdowns and
cleanup jobs. R.J. Corman's most famous job was helping clean
up Gulf Coast rail infrastructure after Hurricane Katrina in
2005. Last year, the company logged 4,560 emergency
responses, including major floods in the Midwest.
The railroad group also has other businesses that serve
both its short line operations and all seven of the nation's
``Class 1'' railroads. Those include track construction and
maintenance, equipment maintenance, materials management,
signaling design and construction, and railroad employee
training. The company also offers railcar loading services
for such major manufacturers as Toyota.
Railroads were the kings of American commerce from the
Civil War until World War II, but declined after the
Interstate highway system was built, leading to the rise of
the long-haul trucking industry. But railroads have seen a
resurgence as part of the world's multi-modal transportation
network. Rail is still the most economical way to move many
goods at least part of the distances they need to travel.
``While trucks and trains are competitive, there's also
interconnection,'' said Noel Rush, the company's senior vice
president for commercial development. ``This is still a
business you will see in 50 years.''
And by reopening short lines that major railroads close,
the company can provide an economic boost to small towns and
rural areas with factories and warehouses that shut down when
the railroad lines did, said Brian Miller, that division's
president. He said the company is always looking for more
short lines to buy.
``It has blossomed into a very good business for us,'' said
April Colyer, Corman's daughter and the company's public
relations director. ``We're always trying to watch and adapt
to the needs of customers in our industry.''
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