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News ReleaseBNSF Employee Recognized for Locating More Than $1 Billion in Economic Development Related ProjectsFort Worth, Texas, October 3, 2005:Michele (Mike) Keller Receives Lifetime Achievement Award BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) today announced that Michele (Mike) Keller, CEcD, regional manager, BNSF Economic Development located in Minneapolis, Minn., was presented with the 2005 International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award on September 26, 2005. The award is presented annually to one individual who has shown long-standing, exemplary commitment to economic development over his or her career. "As a railroad economic development expert, Mike has worked with communities and cities in more than 20 states. She has helped site more than $1 billion dollars worth of capital investment in economic development related projects during her 39-year career at BNSF," says Steven Budd, president, CityWide Development Corporation and chair, IEDC. "Mike has assisted in the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs and has helped improve communities through her expertise in site location management, creating infrastructure efficiencies, securing public grants and fostering private investment." Keller's role at BNSF includes managing more than 100 economic development projects annually for BNSF’s Agricultural Products Business Unit. In addition, Keller is the incoming Dean for the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and is also assisting with the establishment of an economic development education program in Mexico. "Mike exemplifies the highest level of professionalism, commitment and leadership to BNSF, the economic development discipline and the communities we live and work in," says Vann Cunningham, assistant vice president, BNSF Economic Development. "Mike has a profound belief that the role of the economic developer is to further educate and develop our industry’s next generation to create higher standards of living for our citizens. The achievements she has made in her lifetime will benefit us all for years to come." A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI), BNSF Railway operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with about 32,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. The railway is among the world's top transporters of intermodal traffic, moves more grain than any other American railroad, transports the components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough low-sulphur coal to generate about ten percent of the electricity produced in the United States. BNSF Railway is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com. BNSF Headquarters |
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