Members of the Council of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Jacksonville chapter partnered with Children Enriched with Opportunities (CEO) to facilitate this year’s Garrett A. Morgan Shadow Day presentation. Students from the program along with the Executive Director of CEO, Mary Davis-Johnson attended the event to learn about Garrett Morgan’s contributions to the transportation industry. Students participated in a transportation exercise and prizes were awarded for correctly answering questions. In addition, students learned about the wide variety of careers available in the transportation industry.

One young participant, Kolin (pictured above), was so excited by what he learned from the presentation that he told his mother, “I have so much to teach you and dad from what I learned today.”  His parents were pleased with his enthusiasm to learn and his desire to educate them on what he learned about transportation.

For the fifth year, members of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Jacksonville Chapter facilitated a community outreach effort to support the local senior community.

Members boarded a Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) trolley to deliver holiday gifts to the residents of Peterson’s Assisted Living facility in Springfield. The gifts largely consisted of basic need items like warm clothing and personal care products. Peterson provides full support and housing to low-income senior citizens. Community champion, Mrs. Mary Peterson, has been providing these resources in the greater Jacksonville community for 46 years.

Very special thanks to JTA for allowing use of the trolley, our gracious sponsors and the holiday outreach committee chair Sherman Rothwell. They worked tirelessly to organize and facilitate a another successful outreach initiative.

The chapter also hosted its annual holiday social at The Candy Apple Café on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 from 5:00 – 7:00pm. The event was an opportunity to thank our sponsors and for members to network with a wide range of transportation agency leaders and representatives. Pictured above is Holiday Social Chair, Martini White; Platinum Sponsor, Gregory Mundy, President and CEO of IMDC, Inc. and Chapter President, Aisha Eccleston

The COMTO Jacksonville November Membership Meeting featured a presentation on the autonomous transportation revolution by Robert Hooper Jr., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Atlantic Logistics. Autonomous vehicle technology is here and already changing transportation, the logistics industry and the world. This is a once in a lifetime revolution which will save thousands of lives and transform millions of jobs. Buckle your seat belts!

During the meeting, the COMTO Jax Executive Board recognized COMTO National Past Board Chairman Bob Prince on his recent induction to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Hall of Fame.