The Fort Worth Chamberletter

The DFW Delegation from the Dallas Regional and Fort Worth Chambers pose on the steps of our nation’s Capitol before the day’s briefings.

The Fort Worth Chamber’s bi-annual Congressional Summit put a delegation of Fort Worth Chamber members face-to-face with elected officials and other policymakers in Washington, D.C., last week.

Discussions covered a wide range of issues. While the Chamber group arrived with priority concerns, they placed a premium on briefings from policymakers.

“We have always left it to the legislators to talk candidly to us,” said Brinton Payne, the Chamber’s vice president of Government-Urban Affairs. “We wanted a sense of what’s happening in Washington and how it may translate and affect our members.”

Andrew K. Johnsen, assistant vice president of Governmental Affairs for BNSF Railway, said the trip was important because “competition occurs not just in the marketplace but among states and regions of the country.”

The trip demonstrated that “our community is united and committed to the priorities of a bright future,” Johnsen said, adding that he was looking for “a confirmation that we have alignment with our congressional delegation on the region’s priorities.”

Fran Eichorst, vice president of public affairs for Fidelity Investments, agreed, noting: “Fidelity welcomes any opportunity to meet with policymakers to discuss issues of interest or concern to them and to serve as a resource for them whenever possible. Likewise, we appreciate the chance to raise and discuss issues and concerns of the business community with Members of the Texas Congressional delegation and explore ways in which we may work together.”

Pollard Rogers, managing partner at Cantey Hanger, said the trip facilitated “a better understanding of the issues affecting our region and businesses.” Rogers said he wanted to gather “concrete ideas for creating support for political initiatives on a local level” and then communicate those ideas to clients.

Summit sponsors were Lockheed Martin, Cantey Hanger, LLP, North Texas Commission and TXU Energy.

For the first time, the Fort Worth Chamber’s summit trip was carried out jointly with members and staff of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce and Dallas business leaders.

“The joint trip came out of a relationship that formed around shared interests related to water issues two Texas legislative sessions ago,” Payne said.

“Going to Washington together made sense in light of the importance that regionalism has attained as we all address matters of common interest, such as infrastructure and other growth-related priorities. Together, we created an opportunity to hear from a multitude of legislators and strengthen our relationship with our neighbors to the east.

“For the most part, the chambers have the same goals.”

Another first involved the Chamber’s use of social media to give members real-time reports.

“In addition to reporting the trip in our newsletter, the ‘virtual DC experience’ was communicated in real time via Facebook and Twitter to Chamber members and fans who are on those networks,” said Andra Bennett, the Chamber’s director of Communications.

“This allowed those followers to give immediate feedback to the staff and member delegation while they were in D.C.”

Members of Texas’ congressional delegation and Texas Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison met with the Chamber groups April 21. An international dinner that night was keynoted by Ambassador Ron Kirk of Dallas.

On April 22, the Department of Defense briefed the Chamber delegations at the Pentagon, followed by a tour of the memorial there. They also visited Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors and received a private tour of the USS Fort Worth model.

Prior to the trip, the Fort Worth Chamber conducted an informal poll of membership to get a general sense of issues that were top-of-mind among members.

More than 400 responses focused primarily on energy, transportation, labor policy, economic policy, health care, national defense and tax policy.

Economic policy was the leading priority among more than 32 percent of respondents followed by taxes and health care, which were both identified as top priorities among more than 23 percent of respondents.

More links

• Fort Worth Chamber’s congressional issues poll results.

• Pentagon Memorial website.

• News about the USS Fort Worth.

• Fort Worth Chamber’s Facebook reports.

• Fort Worth Chamber’s Twitter reports.

Rail traffic through Tower 55 moves goods ranging from exports to domestic products and Amtrak passengers.

Two railroad giants are preparing to lead a local effort to compete for a piece of $300 million in federal incentive funds that could underwrite a solution to costly congestion at Tower 55 – the busiest at-grade rail intersection in the United States.

“We think we have a compelling case” and a cost-effective remedy, Dennis Kearns, legislative counsel for BNSF Railway Co., said.

Kearns was among a North Texas delegation that met recently in Austin with Texas Department of Transportation Executive Director Amadeo Saenz, Jr., and staff regarding a U.S. Department of Transportation grant that could fund $70 million in much-needed improvements at Tower 55 where 16 north-south and east-west rail lines intersect near downtown Fort Worth.

With Kearns was Union Pacific Railroad’s Director of Public Affairs Clint Schelbitzki, Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition Executive Director Vic Suhm and staff from Sen. Wendy Davis’ office.

They asked TxDOT for guidance and support in applying for Tower 55 funds from the U.S. DOT’s surface transportation grant program where $1.5 billion resides for projects of national or regional significance. This spring, states will each receive $300 million for selected projects.

Long studied by transportation experts, Tower 55 problems create a chokepoint that disrupts the flow of goods, nationally and regionally, impacts area logistics and adds nitrogen oxide emissions to the environment as idling diesel locomotives wait for hours up to 50 miles away for clearance to pull trains through the intersection.

Meanwhile, blocked rail crossings raise public safety issues while delays jeopardize on-time delivery of goods, a problem that could weaken economic development prospects.

Daily traffic through Tower 55 averaged 100-120 trains prior to the economic downturn. Congestion continues and stands to increase as the economy rebuilds, railroad officials said.

Rail lines that intersect at Tower 55 are critical parts of U.S. transportation infrastructure, connecting southern California with the East Coast, Mexico with North America and northern U.S. areas with points south. Amtrak service also relies on the lines which planners foresee as key pieces of future commuter rail development.

Union Pacific and BNSF trains comprise more than 90 percent of the traffic through Tower 55. The railroad companies have jointly developed a $70 million plan to alleviate congestion.

Their plan sketches at-grade improvements over the next three years such as 9,000 feet of additional track north and south of Tower 55, additional BNSF track that would allow movement for two trains instead of one, enhanced connectors that would allow trains to move at higher speed and new signaling and control systems.

“We identified what we could do in the near term that wouldn’t break the bank like a grade separation would do,” Schelbitzki said, referring to more sophisticated plans that would include laying rail lines in a trench and constructing an east-west flyover above the I-30 and I-35 interchange. Such solutions could cost $500-$800 million, he said.

“There is no cheap long-term solution,” Schelbitzki said. And there is no easy path to obtaining funds, Kearns added.

He noted that Saenz shared concerns about political factors involved as projects in Republican-dominated Texas compete for funds from a Democratic administration.

Saenz also mentioned that a leading competitor for funds is the 6-year-old CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program) initiative in Chicago, President Barack Obama’s hometown, where surface transportation projects have begun in efforts to resolve major congestion there.

“We need all the help we can get” in winning the U.S. DOT grant for Tower 55 solutions, Kearns said. Work is beginning on development of the application and building support from the public and private sectors.

As stimulus funds are released for transportation projects, Kearns said, “we need to get everybody focused on this: Don’t forget Tower 55. The economy will be back, and we’d better be prepared for it.”

More Links:

• Grants for a national surface transportation system.
• Star-Telegram video editorial on Tower 55
• NCTCOG: Tower 55 projects
• Union Pacific
• Burlington Northern Santa Fe
• Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition
• Texas Department of Transportation
• Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program

1. What are three characteristics you value most in management and workforce?

BNSF’s shared values include listening to customers and doing what it takes to meet their expectations; empowering employees and showing concern for their well-being, and respect for their talent and achievements; and continuously improving by striving to do the right thing safely and efficiently. What I value most is helping to design a leadership culture of giving people general direction and goals and then allowing them to perform their work and seeing their success.

2. What’s one characteristic of BNSF that’s key to its success?

A clearly articulated vision common to all 40,000 members of the BNSF team. Our vision is to realize the tremendous potential of BNSF by providing transportation services that consistently meet our customers’ expectations. If each one of our team members can understand their role in accomplishing this and can have satisfaction of their accomplishment, my job is very easy.

3. What’s one piece of advice you’d share with young business professionals?

View your career as a long term development project. Each year the graduates entering into the workforce are better prepared than the previous year. Learning will have to continue to retain your competitiveness in the marketplace. Leaders matter, and most importantly, people watch leaders’ actions more than they listen to their words.

Matt Rose

Matthew K. “Matt” Rose, chief executive officer of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., has led one of the United States’ largest rail networks through a year filled with historic flooding in the Midwest, fuel-cost shocks and a soft economy,

Naturally, Rose and his team of more than 40,000 employees have responded by notching another set of triumphs from the herculean task of rebuilding washed-out rail lines ahead of schedule to growing revenue and winning national recognition for performance.

That’s on top of the Fort Worth-headquartered BNSF Corp. earning a record $15.8 billion in revenue in 2007 the fifth consecutive year for such achievement.

For those and many other reasons, Rose will be honored with Fort Worth’s Business Executive of the Year 2008 award and induction into the Business Hall of Fame.

The award is sponsored by Texas Wesleyan University, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Worth Business Press. A reception and dinner honoring Rose will be held Oct. 1 at the Fort Worth Club. (See Calendar of Events at left for details.)

The dinner also will recognize the TWU business student selected by faculty to receive the Thomas H. Law Scholarship.

“It’s a privilege for us to honor Matt Rose,” Chamber president Bill Thornton said. “He’s a gifted businessman, and he has excellent leadership and people skills that have been utilized in shaping BNSF into one of the nation’s exceptional companies.”

Born in 1960 in Salina, Kan., Rose holds a B.S. in marketing from the University of Missouri. He is married and the father of two children.

Known and respected for his accessibility, he shared the following thoughts with Chamberletter:

What are three characteristics you value most in management and workforce?
BNSF’s shared values include listening to customers and doing what it takes to meet their expectations; empowering employees and showing concern for their well-being, and respect for their talent and achievements; and continuously improving by striving to do the right thing safely and efficiently. What I value most is helping to design a leadership culture of giving people general direction and goals and then allowing them to perform their work and seeing their success.

What’s one characteristic of BNSF that’s key to its success?
A clearly articulated vision common to all 40,000 members of the BNSF team. Our vision is to realize the tremendous potential of BNSF by providing transportation services that consistently meet our customers’ expectations. If each one of our team members can understand their role in accomplishing this and can have satisfaction of their accomplishment, my job is very easy.

What’s one piece of advice you’d share with young business professionals?
View your career as a long term development project. Learning will have to continue to retain your competitiveness in the marketplace. Leaders matter, and most importantly, people watch leaders’ actions more than they listen to their words.

More links:

• BNSF’s Web site
• Video of BNSF’s response to last summer’s flooding in the Midwest
• BNSF named among top military-friendly employers
• Fuel-saving innovation earns 2008 “21st Century Achievement Award”