April 2, 2009
Contact: Gordon Hickey
Internet: www.governor.virginia.gov
GOVERNOR KAINE ANNOUNCES NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARDS IN TRANSPORTATION
~ 2009 United We Ride Leadership Award presented to Mountain Empire Older Citizens by US Secretary of Transportation~
Governor Timothy M. Kaine today recognized Mountain Empire Older Citizens (MEOC), an area agency on aging and public transit agency in Big Stone Gap that serves far Southwest Virginia. The organization was recently honored by the US Department of Transportation as a recipient of its 2009 United We Ride National Leadership Award for leadership in developing a high quality, coordinated health and human services transportation system. US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood presented the award at a ceremony Monday on Capitol Hill. Representing and accepting the award on behalf of MEOC were Executive Director Marilyn Pace Maxwell, Deputy Director Dennis Horton and Director of Transportation Michael Wampler.
“Winners of the National Leadership Award demonstrated great success and progress in achieving the United We Ride Goals of streamlining access to transportation, providing more rides for the same or fewer assets and improving customer services,” Governor Kaine said. “We are very proud that MEOC is one of only five organizations selected through a national search to receive the 2009 United We Ride Leadership Award.”
The United We Ride Leadership Award recognizes innovators in coordinating health and human services and public transportation services to enhance transportation for older adults, individuals with disabilities, children and individuals with lower incomes. The awards ceremony and following reception were hosted by The US Department of Transportation, The Federal Transit Administration, The Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility and the National Resource Center on Human Services Transportation Coordination.
“During the last fiscal year, MEOC Transit provided over 120,000 one-way trips and 1.5 million loaded trip miles. MEOC has continued to see a steady increase in ridership demand accompanied by an ever increasing crucial need to coordinate more fully with partners to help overcome obstacles such as spiraling fuel costs, minimum wage increases and maintenance costs. These obstacles must be addressed in order to meet increasing ridership demands,” said MEOC Deputy Director Dennis Horton.
“We would not be nearly as efficient and effective as we are nor could we serve the large number of people that we do in Lee, Wise and Scott counties and the city of Norton without coordinating our various funds from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Virginia Department for the Aging, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, our local community services board Frontier Health, local governments, contract services, local health systems, Mountain Empire Community College and the local community. We share this honor with our wonderful partners. We have never accomplished anything on our own and are thankful for our many dedicated partners who make such successes possible,” noted MEOC Executive Director Marilyn Pace Maxwell.
For more information on United We Ride and MEOC Transit, go to www.meoc.org and contact Dennis Horton or Michael Wampler.
