From the President

Ron Baumgart, DTA President
River Cities Transit
Pierre, SD

I know some of you are wondering why you're not reading an article written by Carol Wright. Carol has taken a job with the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC) and is no longer working at James River Transit and our bylaws would not allow her to serve out the rest of her term as President and DTA Board Member. I want to take this opportunity to thank Carol for all her hard work and dedication to Dakota Transit Association throughout her years of membership. I'm especially grateful for the time we've been on the board together. I have learned so much from Carol and benefited from her positive attitude no matter what the situation. The good news is we haven't lost her knowledge and enthusiasm for public transit. In fact, we will all benefit by Carol joining the great staff at SURTC and continuing her involvement in that capacity. After some arm twisting from the Board of Directors, I've agreed to serve out the rest of Carol's term until our conference this fall.

The DTA Fall Conference in Spearfish, SD, is fast approaching and appears to be an informational and fun filled conference. Barb Cline of Prairie Hills Transit has worked very hard to provide us with many options for training and entertainment. The DTA Board thanks Barb for all her work in planning this conference. It is time for all transits in North and South Dakota to be putting these dates into their schedules, to make sure we fully take advantage of all the training, the Bus Roadeo, the Vendor Show and other conference activities. I hope we have a good representation of drivers for the roadeo from every single transit agency. Keep in mind we have the conference set up so our drivers and maintenance people can attend the Vendor Show as well as directors and managers. We will also have the opportunity to meet the national CTAA Board members as they are holding their meeting in conjunction with our DTA Conference. I'm looking forward to a great conference. Please plan to let others on your staff attend as well. I hope all of you are planning to bring several people from your agency.

On another topic, DTA has provided several sessions of PASS Training in North Dakota and South Dakota. We are willing to work with your transit system or any other agency to provide this training to drivers and other staff members. DTA and their trainers have received very good feedback and comments from the individuals trained. I encourage all of you to provide PASS Training to your employees. Let's get all of the North and South Dakota drivers PASS certified.

North & South Dakota Drivers Compete in the National CTAA Roadeo

There were four drivers from the Dakotas who competed in the National Bus Roadeo competition in Orlando, FL. The competition was held at the Dixie Stampede parking lot about five miles from the Gaylord Hotel where the conference was held. There were 60 contestants from around the country in the body-on-chassis competition and 24 in the van competition. Dennis Ulmer from Elder Care in Dickinson represented North Dakota and three drivers competed from River Cities Transit of Pierre, SD. They were Carl Rathbun, Lance Kuper and Kevin Disburg. Dennis placed 7th and Carl placed 9th in the competition. Having two drivers in the top 10 in the nation was an impressive finish for DTA.

Each of the four drivers was asked what their most rewarding experience was from this competition. Here are their responses:

• Dennis has been to four national roadeo competitions over the years as a driver for Elder Care. Dennis says he enjoys networking with other drivers, finding out what they do in their organizations and sharing how to address the different issues drivers face in carrying out daily duties of their job. He says it's always educational to discover how other drivers handle the many challenges they face day-to-day transporting individuals where they want to go.
• Carl was pleased at how well the drivers from South Dakota placed in the Roadeo. Carl's unique experience was the environment in which the event took place. He expected the competition would be more cut throat. Instead, all the drivers were friendly, willing to share information, and help each other out.
• Kevin was very pleased just to get to go to the national competition. He said he learned a lot by networking with drivers from all the other states. Kevin feels it's a real privilege to be able to transport the most valuable cargo in the world—grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and other members of others' families and our own, who trust drivers with their lives while riding on the bus.
• Lance was awed by the fact that in less than two years of transit driving experience, he made it to the national roadeo competition. He said driving with the "best of the best" in the transit industry was a learning adventure he will remember for a lifetime. Lance feels he is learning skills he'd never be exposed to if he had not chosen to participate in the bus roadeos.

The bus driver delegates from North and South Dakota encourage as many bus drivers as possible from the Dakotas to participate in the DTA roadeo competition this fall in Spearfish, SD. The top five drivers from each state receive trophies. It is a great networking experience, an opportunity to meet drivers from around the two-state area, and a chance to sharpen your driving skills. We look forward to a great bus roadeo in September.

In this issue...

• River Cities Public Transit: Winner of CTAA's Rural Transit System of the Year
• From the President
• North & South Dakota Drivers Compete in the National CTAA Roadeo
• Standing Rock Public Transportation
• DTA Makes a Splash in Florida
• NDDOT Adds Annette Tait to Transit Section
• Documentation
• James River Transit
• Charter Bus Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee
• Prairie Hills Transit
• Medical Transportation
• "Cutting Edge Transit"
• Coordinating Technology in Scheduling and Dispatching