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| Volume 16, Issue 2 | Summer 2004 |
2004 CTAA Annual Conference and ExpoCommunity Transportation Association of America recently held its 2004 National Conference and Expo in Seattle, Washington, with a number of transit professionals representing North and South Dakota. Attendees from North Dakota included Bruce Fuchs, ND Department of Transportation; Linda Freeman, Kenmare Wheels & Meals, Kenmare; Den Kuehnemund, Souris Basin Transportation, Minot; and Dennis Ulmer and Midge Kuntz, Elder Care, Dickinson. South Dakota attendees included Bruce Lindholm, Jackie Mattheis, Melissa Schofield, and Laurel Selken from SD Department of Transportation. South Dakota transit operators included: Carol Seurer and Kathy Holman, Community Transit Inc., Sisseton; Jolynn Hanson and Larry Moir, Palace Transit, Mitchell; Ron Baumgart, Keven Disburg, and Carl Rathbun from River Cities Transit, Pierre; Velda Bentson, Rural Office of Community Service, Lake Andes; Brenda Schweitzer, Arrow Public Transit, Lemmon; Barb Cline and Janet Sechser, Prairie Hills Transit, Spearfish; Peggy Morris, Spink County Public Transit & Senior Center, Redfield. Gary Hegland, Jim Miller and Dave Ripplinger represented the Small Rural and Urban Transit Center of Fargo. This year's Expo and Conference was excellent in terms of location, training session speakers, the special one-, two-, and three-day intensive training, the special guests including Jennifer Dorn administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, as well as the entertainment. Many who attended have written articles for this newsletter sharing with you what they have learned. I want to thank everyone who has taken time to write and submit articles. More information is available at the CTAA website www.ctaa.org. Be a Leader! Peggy MorrisSpink County Public Transit & Senior Center Redfield, SD To be a leader is more than just running buses. Leaders work from all walks of life: big, small, city, county and private nonprofit. "To Be a Leader" was moderated by Scott Bogren, CTAA, and the presenters were Rex Knowlton, CCTM Wheels of Wellness, Philadelphia, and Ken Hosen, KFH Group, Bethesda, Maryland. You need to start with a vision and a direction for your organization. To be an effective leader, pace yourself - don't over work yourself; don't get so involved that it takes hold of your whole life. Be prepared for Mondays. Be prepared before you leave on Fridays. Don't let someone paint you into a corner. Never be afraid of change - prepare for what's ahead. If you have a mission statement, goals and vision, post them where all staff can see - that's the first thing they see and they remind you of what you are doing. Don't make it long, keep it simple. A leader must always look to improve and change. He or she should be a strong community partner and be respected by businesses and other community leaders. You need the support and respect of your staff and your board. Always provide quality service. Rural areas have undergone a drastic change. Challenges include providing effective service, adapting technology, and software & computers. As a leader, you need to look for opportunities to help fund your transportation program. You need to get out and get large business chains to help support you because you are doing them a service by bringing customers to their business. We know this is a vital resource. Mostly, you need to operate your project like a business. Always speak with encouragement when needed, be positive, be appreciative and say thank you. Get out and see what's going on with your employees. Ride the bus. Meet the people. Find out just what your service is all about. Public and community transit leaders can build successful teams and operations with constant changes. Look out for new opportunities. We as transit leaders can learn from one another. Managing people and motivating people can bring positive results. Always think win/win. Hire smart and don't sweat the small stuff! Remember this quote from Albert Einstein: "The significant problems we face today can not be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Montana Transit AssociationMontana Transit Association (MTA) received the State Leadership Award at the CTAA 2004 Conference and Expo recently held in Seattle, Wash. Lyn Hellegaard proudly accepted the award on behalf of the MTA stating that she strongly believes the success of the MTA is due to the fact that all members take very seriously the part they play in improving transportation for the citizens of Montana. They realize that all efforts, no matter how small they may be perceived, can have an enormous impact on the national level.
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