The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE – Buddy Downey has recently been named the 2009-2010 president for the Railway Tie Association, and he flew to Palm Springs, Calif., on Saturday to assume this role for the first time.
A graduate of Clifton Forge High School and son of Alleghany Highlands resident Elinor Downey and the late W.G. Downey, Buddy has worked for more than 35 years in the crosstie industry.
Following a tour with the Marines, Buddy completed a degree in forestry at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College and worked part time for Burke-Parsons-Bowlby Corporation (BPB) to earn money while going to school.
After graduation, he obtained a position with Weyerhaeuser in North Carolina and worked for a year before being offered a supervisor’s position at the BPB facility in Goshen.
Since that facility was only about 25 miles from his hometown of Clifton Forge and his boyhood neighborhood of Fairview Heights, he accepted the position and worked for BPB for 34 years in many capacities and locations, finally ending up at the corporate headquarters in Ripley, W.Va., as the vice president of operations.
He held this position until Stella-Jones Corp. bought BPB and is currently vice president of operations in charge of all tie treating facilities and tie procurement for the U.S. operations of Stella-Jones.
Stella-Jones has eight treating facilities in Canada and seven treating facilities in the United States.
Buddy explained that the short-term challenge of the company is to optimize their operations to meet the current market demand for their products. They believe that there will be an upturn in late 2010 and early 2011, and they plan to be in a position to capitalize on this growth.
Buddy and the Stella-Jones Corporation are very upbeat and encouraged about the long-term need for their products.
The greatest challenge in the wood tie industry is demonstrating to the railway industry that the wood tie is a cost-effective, quality solution to the industry needs.
The Railway Tie Association must help railway customers maintain a regulatory environment that allows continual investment in the operational side of the American railroads.
As the American railroads grow and expand their infrastructure, the Railway Tie Association will be there to support this expansion. The challenge to wood supply, loggers, sawmills, preservatives and environmental regulation will need to be managed and overcome. The hardwood industry – both loggers and saw millers – are predominantly family owned businesses that are very resilient and will respond when the demand is there.
Buddy emphasizes that the Railway Tie Association is very important in bringing issues to the forefront and in providing industry expertise to focus on the problem until answers are found.
As president of the association, Buddy commits his effort and support to the RTA in providing the tools to continue this important role. Recently, RTA brought the concern of sawmill closures to the forefront, and a membership drive last year added more than 100 new sawmill members to RTA roles. With membership, the sawmills are exposed to the resources RTA can provide to help them with their business.
As president, Buddy is already planning for the 2010 RTA conference in Branson, Mo., a state rich in the history of producing wood crossties for the railway industry. The conference plans to celebrate the early American railroad history and will combine this celebration with another informative technical conference of the Railway Tie Association.
Buddy is married to the former Delores Jean Bethel of Millboro. They live in Reddy, W.Va., and are the parents of three children: Joshua Wayne, the prosecuting attorney for Roane County, W.Va.; Heather, a graduate with a master’s degree in Health Careers from West Virginia University; and Rachel, a freshman at WVU.
Buddy is very involved in the Reddy Baptist Church where he serves as adult Sunday School teacher and church deacon.
