On the evening of August 2, 2012, the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of Tri-State Transit Authority, Paul E. Davis, was honored as the 2011 Transit Manager of the Year by the West Virginia Division Public Transit. The occasion for the gathering was the annual meeting of the association and the 27th annual Excellence Awards Program which is also sponsored by the WV Division of Public Transit. The meeting and awards program were held at Stonewall Jackson Resort this year.
Mr. Davis was recognized for his "renowned leadership, unwavering support and dedication to public transit in West Virginia." The award was in recognition of his 24-year career at TTA, along with his service on local, state and national boards and commissions, as well as his many awards for the contribution he has made to the TTA mass transit system and public transit throughout the state of West Virginia.
Four Excellence Awards for Tri-State Transit Authority added to the excitement of the evening. TTA won an award for their annual marketing program for the eighth consecutive year. The Best Marketing Program recognizes not only the efforts of a transit system to advertise and promote its services, but also includes its activities to support and promote the community in which it provides mass transit.
Robert Patrick, a TTA mechanic for 22 years was named the statewide Transit Mechanic of the Year. According to TTA Manager, Paul Davis, the award was particularly gratifying for Mr. Patrick since he had been hired in 1990 as a cleaner and through hard work and dedication he has earned the right to be become one of West Virginia's best mechanics.
TTA was also recognized for an increase in ridership. The award recognizes the growth in the number of boardings on TTA buses and dial-a-ride vans between calendar years 2011 and 2012. TTA boarded 900,851 customers in the year 2011, up 9.75 percent from the 820,846 boardings in the year 2010. According to Davis, "These statistics are a bit different from what we usually see, as the comparison was between calendar years instead of fiscal years. But, hey, we're proud of the growth any way you want to look at it!"
Davis says that "All the employees at TTA share in the credit for this award. Without a team spirit and a "can do" attitude, there is no way TTA could have increased the customer boardings as we have in the last year".
The Tri-State Transit Authority and Wayne Express were recognized for the Best Community Project. This award was presented to both bus systems for helping kids get to the pool. The program was in response to the closing of Huntington area pools, most recently the A.D. Lewis pool, which was closed last year because it needed costly maintenance for which the community lacked funds.
