2005 WYTRANS AWARDS
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WYTRANS honored outstanding transit professionals June 25 at the annual awards banquet, held in conjunction with the 17th Annual Conference and Bus Roadeo. Awards for WYTRANS Agency of the Year, Transit Administrator of the Year, Dispatcher, Driver, and Trainer of the Year were selected by WYTRANS members. The 2005 winners are highlighted in this edition of The Transit Express.
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| 2005 Transit Administrator of the Year |
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Marge Cole, CATC (Casper Area Transportation Coalition)
Nomination by Faye Nash, NTTC
Marge Cole has been director for CATC (Casper Area Transportation Coalition) since it started on March 1, 1979. She was director of Project Mobility for two years before that. As with many directors, Marge wears many hats. There are times the passengers will hear her voice as the dispatcher taking their rides for the next day, or she may even be the driver that picks them up. She is on many transportation committees. One of her goals is to make transportation available to people in every walk of life.
For several months in early 2005, Marge worked 12 and 14-hour days, seven days a week, to get the new fixed-route service up and running on April 18th. The new CATC fixed-route system called "The Bus" has four routes and makes 65 stops. Each of the routes originates in downtown Casper. Three buses run hourly to outlying areas, and the bus from downtown to the Eastridge Mall runs every half hour. The new fixed-route service operates from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. CATC still provides its dial-a-ride service, which operates seven days a week.
Marge attends many workshops for the drug and alcohol program, and keeps the State of Wyoming up to date with information. She never ever says "no" to anyone needing information regarding the management of transit systems. She is willing to give everyone information at the drop of a hat, no matter how many
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hours it has taken CATC to research and put together any and all programs.
CATC has 35 employees and 14 buses. Four buses are used on the new fixed-route. To give Marge her full due would take a book. We love her and thank her for all she has done for the transit program in Wyoming. 
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Marge Cole, right, accepts the 2005 Transit Administrator of the Year Award from WYTRANS President Sean Solan. |
| 2005 Dispatcher of the Year-Kim Serumgard
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Agency: Cheyenne Transit Program
Nomination By Joe Dougherty, Director of Transit
Kim Serumgard will always find a way to get it done for the Cheyenne Transit System. Working in her seventh year as a dispatcher, following a couple of really good years as a regular bus driver, Kim has the perfect experience and background to serve as our lead dispatcher. Keep in mind, the CTP dispatch team of two will easily schedule 20,000 rides per year and answer another 10,000 radio contacts. During a big snowstorm that closed the city down for three days in the spring of 2003, Kim actually rode in to the dispatch office in a snowplow to schedule emergency rides for a group of CTP riders who needed to make it to kidney dialysis-and she smiled while she was doing it.
Kim also schedules regular maintenance for 24 vehicles, assigns 15 different busses to 21 different drivers each day, helps with daily accounting for punch card sales and drivers' daily receipts. She also prepares monthly maintenance and fuel reports, prepares monthly billings, corrects drivers' daily paperwork (21 of them), and serves as emergency scheduler.
Kim is really a kindhearted champion of those who ride our system. The fact is we often have trouble with a
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September
2005