Date: July 7, 2009
SCRANTON, PA – Steamtown National Historic Site has announced that Joseph H. Boardman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amtrak, will serve as Grand Marshal for Railfest 2009. Mr. Boardman will open the event at Steamtown NHS during a special ceremony on Saturday, September 5 at 10:00 a.m. The Railfest 2009 event is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, September 5 and 6, at the site.
Mr. Boardman was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer by Amtrak's Board of Directors, effective November 26, 2008. Amtrak operates approximately 300 passenger trains per day, serving more than 500 stations in 46 states over a 21,000-mile system. In FY08, Amtrak carried 28.7 million passengers, an all-time record.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Boardman was a member of the Amtrak board of directors and had served as the U.S. Federal Railroad (FRA) Administrator, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, since April 28, 2005. He has served in the transportation industry for over thirty years with experience in city, county, state and federal government. In addition, he operated his own transportation management company. He is a former chairman of both the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Standing Committee on Rail Transportation (SCORT). Mr. Boardman is a native of New YorkState, a Vietnam Veteran and is the second of eight children born and raised on a dairy farm in OneidaCounty.
Located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Steamtown is open daily from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. From I-81, follow exit 185 (Central Scranton Expressway); then, follow the signs to the main entrance at Lackawanna and Cliff Avenues. Additional details regarding interpretive and educational programs and activities may be obtained by calling (570) 340-5200 or toll free (888) 693-9391 during business hours, or by visiting the Steamtown web site anytime at www.nps.gov/stea.
