Southeastern Railway Museum Honors Museum Volunteers

The Southeastern Railway Museum honored more than three dozen volunteers for each giving more th  an 100 hours of their time in 2017.

In total, the museum’s 152 volunteers gave more than 18,800 hours last year.

“We have the best volunteers in the country,” Sue Kelly, the museum’s assistant administrator, said. “They give of their time, talent and treasure to keep the museum running. These awards are a small symbol of our appreciation for everything volunteers do for the museum every day.”

During a celebratory dinner at Family Restaurant in Duluth, the museum honored 41 volunteers with the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Twenty-two volunteers gave between 100 and 249 hours and earned a bronze-level award, four volunteers who contributed between 250 and 499 hours earned a silver-level award and 15 volunteers who performed more than 500 hours took home a gold-level award.

“Our museum could not operate without volunteers,” said Randy Pirkle, the museum’s administrator, said. “They work tirelessly to make sure our guests enjoy their time at the museum and learn about the role railroads played in shaping our community. They literally keep the trains running on time.”

The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes volunteers who have achieved the required number of recorded hours of service over a 12-month period. Recipients received a personalized certificate, an official pin and a congratulatory letter from the president of the United States.

The museum’s top volunteers in 2017 were Steve Storey with 1,446 hours and Leo Schiltgen with 1,483 hours.

Bronze honorees were: Doug Ballin, Tom Batcha, Paul Charagh, Randy Cofer, James Conery, Jeffrey Darter, Bob East, Leland Ford, Donnie Foster, Kristen Fredriksen, Ken Greenwood, Jackie Hallam, Ruth Hummel, James Kelly, Ryan Kelly, John Kruger, Kevin Ledbetter, John Marbury, Colin Maurer, Jackson Stewart, Stephen Warner and Stuart Wilson.

Silver honorees were: Bert Chu, Marty Dorfman, Cliff Smith and Paul Whitehouse.

Gold honorees were: Bill Bickley, Ken Birmingham, Duncan Carel, Michael Dudley, Andrew Durden, Sue Kelly, Donald Lower, Kurt Lumbatis, Jim Morris, Lallie Morris, Lloyd Neal, Randy Pirkle, John Pollock, Leo Schiltgen and Steve Storey.