Warren K. Erdman named the 2025 Harry S. Truman Public Service Award

The Independence Harry S. Truman Award Commission will present the 2025 Harry S. Truman Public Service Award to Warren K. Erdman during a public ceremony at 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 10, at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.

 

Established in 1974 by the City of Independence, the Harry S. Truman Public Service Award is presented annually to an outstanding public servant whose life and service exemplify the dedication, industry, ability, honesty, and integrity that distinguished President Harry S. Truman.

 

“Warren Erdman’s leadership and civic engagement have strengthened communities across Missouri and beyond,” said Independence Mayor Rory Rowland. “From public service to private-sector leadership and deep commitment to civic and nonprofit causes, he represents the very best of Truman’s legacy of service and integrity. We are proud to honor him with this national award.”

 

Erdman is the 51st recipient of the national honor and joins a prestigious group of honorees that includes former presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton; World War II veteran and U.S. Sen. Robert J. Dole; former U.S. senators Roy Blunt, Claire McCaskill, Patrick Leahy, Jack Danforth and John McCain; veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; and civic and humanitarian leaders including Coretta Scott King, Margaret Truman Daniel, Mother Clara Hale, Mary Jean Eisenhower, former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Esther George, former president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

 

Erdman is the Commission Chairman of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, first appointed by Gov. Michael L. Parson in 2022. He is a retired railroad executive who most recently served as executive advisor for special projects at Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). Previously, Erdman was Executive Vice President-Administration and Corporate Affairs at Kansas City Southern (KCS), which he joined in 1997, and led departments including legal, real estate and industrial development, grade crossing safety, railroad police, and government and community affairs before KCS merged with Canadian Pacific; where he played a senior role in the merger. As a member of the company's senior officer staff, Erdman's responsibilities spanned the United States, Mexico and Panama.

 

Before his time in the rail industry, Erdman served as the chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, and held positions during Bond's tenure as Missouri Governor and in the administration of former Gov. John Ashcroft. 

 

Erdman’s civic involvement spans education, economic development and community leadership. He is a former member and chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators, serves on the UMKC Foundation board and the Westminster College Board of Trustees as an alumnus, and has held leadership roles with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Missouri Hawthorn Foundation, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas City Downtown Council. He also has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Most Influential People in the railroad industry by Railway Age magazine, one of the top 100 most powerful people in Kansas City by the Kansas City Business Journal and was named City Year Kansas City’s Idealist of the Year. 

 

Erdman and his wife, Jenny, live in Kansas City and are the parents of August and Audrey.