Ken Middleton, Senior Manager of Diversity and Equity Program at Jacksonville Transportation Authority was honored at the 51st Annual NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner with the Sallye Mathis Community Service Award. The dinner was held on Friday, December 2, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront. Ken was selected because of his commitment and dedication to the city of Jacksonville.
Congratulations Ken! Our community is great because of people like you.
The November 2016 general meeting featured Greg Gutkowski, President, Digital Strategies Training, Corp. He has over 20 years of multidisciplinary business experience spanning marketing, sales, and IT management as well as Internet software development, advanced data analytics, and journalism.
The presentation highlighted the fact that social media is used to drive business by most successful professionals and included tips on social selling strategies, tactics, and tools that can help grow your business if used properly.
Vincent G. Sams, Employment Placement Manager for Year Up – Jacksonville gives a presentation at the October 19th membership meeting. Year Up is a job readiness program that empowers low-income young adults ages 18-24 to go from poverty to professional careers in a single year. Young adults graduate ready to launch a meaningful career and contribute to our economy and community. http://www.yearup.org
Corporate partners are needed. Please contact Vincent G. Sams to learn more about how you can help make a difference. [email protected] O: 904-632-3012 C: 904-570-8165
As follow up, on November 2nd, COMTO Jacksonville members Aisha Eccleston and Edrena Bell participated in mock interview sessions with program participants.
After the event Vincent Sams said, “On behalf of Year Up, I wanted to extend a warm thank you for participating in our intern mock interview session. Thank you again for paying it forward, providing young adults a pathway to success. ”
Our very own President, Aisha Eccleston, was selected to be a part of the country’s first-ever U.S. Department of Transportation’s Every Place Counts Leadership Academy held last week on October 5, 2016.
The day long academy joined community leaders to discuss the transportation decision-making process and how they can encourage more effective participation. Besides looking closely at how transportation decision-making works, academy participants will help design a digital “Transportation Toolkit.” The toolkit will focus on public-engagement opportunities that are associated with planning and project development requirements.
Alex Waca, Waca Logistics – Terri Smith, JTA and COMTO Professional Development Committee Chair – Jose Romero Alpha Prime Logistics – Teresa White, Suite Life Events and COMTO Membership Committee Chair – Aisha Eccleston, JAXPORT and COMTO Chapter President – Juan Romero, Alpha Prime Logistics – Chris Macklin, JTA and COMTO 2nd Vice President
Best Community Engagement Award
The Jacksonville Chapter was awarded the Best Community Engagement Award for its partnership with the Bridge of Northeast Florida. Chapter members directly engaged at-risk students from the Bridge by promoting the transportation industry as a career option. The Chapter also sponsored a Spring College Tour to FAMU and FSU. The Best COMTO Community Engagement award is presented to a chapter that has successfully demonstrated excellence in the planning and implementation of community activities that enhance COMTO’s image and create engagement opportunities for its membership through community service.
Jacksonville Transportation Authority for Safety and Innovation Award
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) has been named a winner of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Industry Innovation Award. COMTO recognized JTA for its significant contribution towards increasing passenger and public safety. The 2016 Industry Award honorees come from all sectors of the transportation industry. Ken Middleton and Endya Freeman accepted the award on behalf of the JTA at the 45th National Meeting and Training Conference in Dallas, Texas on July 12.
The Industry Innovation Safety Award recognizes an individual, city or region for quantifiable and measurable innovative improvements within the transportation industry. To ensure that bus operators maintain the JTA’s high safety standards, the Authority installed a training simulator to provide them with remedial and refresher training. All bus operators are required to attend on a quarterly basis. The JTA also installed LYTX Drive Cams on buses to help reduce avoidable accidents and incidents before the moment of impact and analyze risky behaviors for corrective action. The program has resulted in a significant reduction in judgement errors and traffic violations since Drive Cams were installed.
“We are honored to be recognized by COMTO for our safety accomplishments,” said JTA Chief Executive Officer Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. “The well-being of our passengers and bus operators is of utmost importance.
