UTUIA Officers and Board of Directors

Contact Info: (216) 227-5200
klaugel@utuia.org.

Kenneth Laugel LUTC, CSA, CLTC
President, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Laugel was born and raised in New Jersey as the son of a machinist and proud union member. His Grandfather worked on the railroad in the early 1920’s. From these roots, he learned the values of hard work, loyalty, brotherhood and charity. As the first college graduate in his family, receiving his BS in Business Management and Finance from the University of North Carolina, he embarked on a 30 year career in the insurance industry. He rose quickly within the executive ranks and received numerous citations for outstanding leadership. Mr. Laugel earned his LUTC, CSA and CLTC designations during this time. In the last decade, he has held C-suite positions where he honed the leadership and financial skills necessary to steer the UTUIA toward increased growth and prosperity. He is proud of his labor roots and even prouder that his career has taken him full circle back to serving union members and their families. He is a member of the Fraternal Field Managers Association and the American Fraternal Alliance (AFA). Mr. Laugel is extremely optimistic and enthusiastic about the future of the UTUIA and looks forward to continuing his leadership of the Association and building a solid foundation upon which the security and benefits of the UTUIA will be assured for many future generations of workers and their families. Mr. Laugel is the proud father of a son and daughter with whom he enjoys the great outdoors.

Jeffery Becker
Secretary and Treasurer, CFO

Mr. Becker is the Secretary and Treasurer of the United Transportation Union Insurance Association (UTUIA). He is responsible for the accounting, treasury, regulatory, investment, compensation, commission, and human resource areas of UTUIA. He joined the UTUIA team on April 16, 2018, bringing extensive regulatory and insurance industry experience to support operations. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from Myers University (1998) and the Certified Financial Examiner designation (2006). His professional career includes twelve years as an Insurance Examiner Supervisor and eighteen years overall as a regulatory financial examiner with the State of Ohio. Prior to the state, his industry experience includes two years with a nationally recognized property/casualty insurer and ten years with Midwestern National Life Insurance Company where he held various financial and accounting positions. Mr. Becker stays informed of insurance related matters by communications with the Ohio Department of Insurance, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and the American Fraternal Alliance. Jeff is married with two adult children. He enjoys the outdoors, travel, golf, reading, fitness and seafood.

Jeremy Ferguson
SMART President and UTUIA Chairman of the Board

President Jeremy Ferguson, a member of Local 313 in Grand Rapids, Mich., was born in 1970.

After serving in the U.S. Army and attending college, he started railroading in 1994 as a conductor on CSX at Grand Rapids, Mich. He was promoted to engineer in 1995.Ferguson was elected local legislative representative in 1995; local chairperson in 1996, and secretary of the CSX/B&O General Committee, GO 049 in Jacksonville, Fla., in 2007.He was elected second vice general chairperson in 2008 and first vice general chairperson in 2011. At the first SMART Transportation Division convention in 2014, Ferguson was elected to the position of vice president. At the Second SMART TD Convention on August 11, 2019, he defeated two other candidates and was elected president — Transportation Division. Ferguson also served as special representative and organizer for the United Transportation Union starting in 1997.

He is the father of two children and resides in Sparta, Mich.

Jared Cassity

Jared Cassity was elected by his peers in 2019 and currently serves as the Alternate National Legislative Director for the SMART Transportation Division, which is comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members who work in a variety of different crafts in the transportation industry. These crafts include employees on every Class I railroad, Amtrak, many shortline railroads, bus and mass transit employees, and airport personnel.

In addition to his elected roles, Cassity has also been appointed as the Union’s Chief of Safety, serves as the Director for the SMART TD National Safety Team (which assists the NTSB in major rail-related accident investigations), is SMART TD’s voting member on the Federal Railroad Administration’s C3RS Steering Committee, and is the first labor member to ever be appointed to the Transportation Security Administration’s Surface Transportation Safety Advisory Committee.

Prior to being elected an international officer, Cassity held various local and state level positions (both protective and legislative) within the Union and was a certified conductor and locomotive engineer for CSX Transportation in Russell, KY, regularly serving the coal fields of eastern Kentucky and southwestern West Virginia. His seniority date is September of 2005.

Jared works in the Union’s National Legislative Office in Washington, DC, and currently resides in Manassas, VA, with his wife, Mikki, and his two daughters Mykayla and Mykenna.

Brent Leonard

After attending college Brent started railroading in 1997 on Union Pacific as a conductor/switchman. He became an engineer in 1998.

A member of Local 202 in Denver, Leonard was elected local chairperson in 2001; vice general chairperson of his general committee in 2003; and general chairperson in 2011. Brent became SMART-TD Vice President in 2018 and SMART General Vice President in 2019.

Leonard has filled past roles of chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad Employee Health Systems. As longtime chairman of the UPREHS Board of Trustees, Leonard became well-versed in the world of health insurance and presided over a significant strengthening of Union Pacific employees’ health & welfare benefits.

Brent continues to fill various leadership roles within the union including the Federal Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) and multiple National Wage & Rules Bargaining Teams.

Leonard and his wife live in Topeka, Kan., and have two daughters.

Alvy Hughes

Alvy Hughes was born in 1972 and is a member of Local 1596 In Charlotte, North Carolina. Hughes attended Chowan College and served in the North Carolina Army National Guard from 1990-1998. He began his transportation career with Charlotte Transit, now Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).

As a member of Local 1596, Hughes has served as local vice president, secretary of the General Committee of Adjustment GO-TMM, and multiple terms as general chairperson of the General Committee of Adjustment GO-TMM. He has also served as vice chairperson of the Association of General Chairpersons-District 3. Hughes was elevated to the Board of Appeals in 2009 and served as an international organizer.

On October 1, 2014, the Transportation Division Board of Directors elevated him to the office of Transportation Division alternate vice president-bus-east.

He was elected to the office of vice president-bus at the Second SMART Transportation Division Convention in Las Vegas on August 1, 2019.

Hughes and his wife, Lisa, reside in Charlotte, North Carolina, with their three children and grandchildren.

Independent Directors:

Nicholas J. DiCicco Jr.

Nicholas J. DiCicco Jr., who has a Bachelor of Science degree from John Carroll University (1955), has been designated a Life Insurance Management and Research Association (LIMRA) Leadership Institute Fellow (LLIF), a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), and a Registered Principal with the National Association of Securities Dealers. Nick is the retired President and Chief Executive Officer of Midwestern National Life Insurance Company of Ohio, Midwestern Investment Corporation, Midwestern Insurance Servicing Agency and FuneralServices.com, Ltd. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of both the Life Insurance Management and Research Association (LIMRA) and the National Association of Life Companies (NALC). He is also a former member of the Board of Governors, Forum 500 of the American Council of Life Insurance (ACLI). He was Chairman of the 50th Anniversary Agency Management Conference of LIMRA. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Benefits Advisors, LLC.

Stephen Hudak

Stephen C. Hudak has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Bowling Green State University (1987) and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Mr. Hudak started his career in public accounting with Deloitte in Cleveland, Ohio. He was instrumental in establishing Deloitte’s operations in the Slovak Republic where he lived and worked for 4 years. Mr. Hudak has over 35 years of accounting, auditing, finance and management experience. He is the retired National Treasurer and CFO of First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association (FCSLA Life) where he also served on the Audit Committee and as a Board Member. Mr. Hudak has extensive experience with NAIC statutory reporting, fixed income investing, governance, and annuities. He is a lifelong member of several fraternal benefit societies and a strong advocate for the fraternal benefit system. Mr. Hudak and his wife, Amy, reside in Cleveland, OH and have a son and daughter.

Patrick Sullivan

Pat began his career in 1970 on the L&N railroad, which later became CSX. he worked for 21 years as a brakeman-conductor. Pat joined Local 1315 when he was 19 years old and held the Office of Secretary and Treasurer, as well as, a Local Insurance Representative for 12 years. In 1991 he was appointed as a Field Supervisor and held that position for 16 years until his resignation.

Pat now resides on the farm in Williamstown, KY where he was raised. Pat is looking forward to his first term on the board.

Stephen J. Vamos

Stephen J. Vamos has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame (1978), and a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Toledo College of Law (1981). Mr. Vamos has been licensed as an attorney in Ohio for 39 years which includes two years with a major Columbus law firm in its insurance practice and 26 years as an attorney with the Ohio Department of Insurance. Mr. Vamo’s primary responsibility for the last 15 years of his employment with the Ohio Department of Insurance was advising on financial regulation, financial compliance, corporate governance and Insurance company solvency. Mr. Vamos additionally spent time as an assistant attorney general, an assistant prosecuting attorney and a solo practitioner.