Bob Turner, president, UP Foundation, told the 500 attending public high school principals that Union Pacific was “"proud of the important work all of you do everyday to make our schools and country more prosperous" as he opened the 4th annual Summer Leadership Institute of The Principals' Partnership.

“"We know you are all committed to America's success,” Turner said at the Monday dinner. “"Your students of today will be our employees of tomorrow. We need you to be successful. So keep up the good work, and we thank you for what you do each and every day."

Turner traced the history of Union Pacific noting that the corporation was created on July 1, 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act. From there, UP and Central Pacific began working to created a rail system from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California, that unified the nation and played a critical role in settling the West.

“"Today, we continue to play an important role in America's economy,"” he stated.

It took the two companies 46 months to lay track at a cost of $50-60 million dollars. That project reduced travel from New York to San Francisco from six months to 10 days and was the start of the transportation revolution in the United States. Driving the final spike in May, 1869, at Promontory Summit, was the first major news event covered from coast to coast, according to Turner.

Turner traced the challenges UP employees had to overcome in building and maintaining the railroad, ranging from the San Francisco earthquake to snow storms to floods.

“"Many of our 49,000 employees don’t say they are part of the railroad; rather they say they are the railroad,"” he told the principals, noting that they, as educators, are part of the backbone of the country.

In opening the Institute, Executive Director Jim Hoffmann noted that there were principals from all 16 participating states in attendance.