Rail Events, Inc. is glad to announce the promotions of the following individuals:
Catherine Swarts: Has been named President and Chief Financial Officer. Her 28 years of business experience and background in related tourism, reservations, accounting, and logistics issues gives her clear superiority in analysis and financial practices. Cathy has been with the company for several years and understands historic/scenic railroad management better than anyone in the industry.
David Schranck: Has been promoted to Vice President and General Manager of Rail Events, Inc. Dave has 31 years of experience in scenic passenger and historic railroad operations and management concentrated in customer service, training, supervision, safety, and training material development. With 13 years of special events expertise, he is the perfect fit for the position!
Ethan Harper: Will take the lead as our Sales Representative. Ethan has been a part of the business since birth! His specialized training in public relations, winning personality, and lifelong understanding of Rail Events Inc. and American Heritage Railways' vision make him an exceptional ambassador for railroad special event licensing. Ethan joined the Rail Events team as an Event Coordinator in 2011 and helped local staff launch the first Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train™ events at the AHR flagship railroads.
Jamie Ryan: Has been promoted to Marketing & Event Manager to utilize his experience in a variety of areas. His primary responsibilities include coordinating shipments of event materials, visiting event sites to coordinate and evaluate licensed events, leading marketing and social media projects, and providing input into the development of new event concepts. Jamie organized and executed over 50 successful events in the Durango area in the past two years and is now ready to take his expertise around the country and abroad.
Richard Millard: Will be an event coordinator for Rail Events, Inc. Rich has been working in the Tourist and Heritage Railroad Industry for 26 years. Rich's years of experience with planning railroad events ranges from conception to performance and introduction of a number of the railroad's special packages, including Premium Class offerings, specialized private charters and themed trips.
These individuals and the rest of the Rail Events team are making it a priority to create more personable relationships with our host railroads. We want a closer relationship with our partners where communication is constant with monthly calls and a couple of hometown visits a year. This will not only allow us to better understand the wants and needs that they deserve, but also allow for all hosting railroads to become a community in themselves; helping one and other and sharing useful information about their events.
March and April has been a busy month for REI; we recently visited Warner Brothers in Burbank, CA to discuss the long term future of our Polar Express brand. As usual, it was a very productive and informative meeting and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership!
Our sales representative, Ethan Harper, is currently visiting railroads in Australia and the UK to discuss additional Polar Express and Dinosaur Train Events. He also has plans to visit Germany, Switzerland and Austria for possible 2014 events...boy is he racking up his frequent flyer miles! We are ecstatic with our growing list of partners in the US and now abroad!
Jeff Jackson and Jonathan Schlegel recently resigned from the company to pursue other endeavors. We will miss their involvement in our new projects and we wish them the very best.
ys straight during the region's busy spring break week. By focusing on hosting smaller groups of passengers over a large number of dates, the WCRA was able to utilize their small group of dedicated staff and volunteers to accommodate approximately 1,500 passengers. Guests enjoyed a more intimate environment with only 100 - 200 passengers on each train. 
