[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.''

                          ____________________