The Arizona Transit Association (AzTA) and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) held their 2015 Excellence Awards ceremony during their Annual Conference earlier this week in Phoenix.

AzTA is a statewide not-for-profit public private transit association that provides advocacy and education of public transportation services and programs. The association has a 25 member board of directors that represent over 400 members including operators, service suppliers, vendors, businesses, agencies, and local and regional governments.

The awards luncheon was hosted by Nick Promponas, sr. VP at First Transit, which sponsored the event. The winners included:

Outstanding Transit Organization. Recognizes the organization (any size or type in Arizona) that has demonstrated outstanding innovation, creativity, customer service and operational improvements in providing public transportation services. City of Tucson’s Sun Link Streetcar

Outstanding Transit Individual. Recognizes an individual that has provided outstanding leadership and/or contributions to public transportation programs to the transit industry, to a jurisdiction or municipality, or to the private sector to improve the quality of transit services. Kristen Sexton, City of Avondale

Congressman Ed Pastor Friend of Transit. Presented in honor of Congressman Ed Pastor, recognizes an individual, group, organization, or business that has demonstrated outstanding support of transit causes, promotes transit programs, and/or develops transit resources that builds the profession and its practitioners. Alan Wulkan, The Wulkan Group

Outstanding Special Needs Transportation Program. Recognizes the outstanding provider of services for elderly persons and persons with disabilities, through improvements or innovations in operational efficiency and customer service. HOPE Inc. (Pima County)

Outstanding Rural/Small Urban Transit System. Recognizes the outstanding provider of public transportation in rural or small urbanized areas through improvements or innovations in operations efficiency and customer service. Bullhead City’s “BATS”

Outstanding Transit Innovation. Recognizes an individual(s) organization or group that has demonstrated innovative program creation, development, management and/or delivery for public transportation service, existing or new public transportation program or system or transit resources. Gene Caywood, Southern Arizona Transit Advocates (Old Pueblo Trolley)

Outstanding Training Program. Recognizes an individual(s), organization or group that has demonstrated innovative program creation, development, management and/or delivery for a transit program. Transdev (City of Phoenix)

Outstanding Vendor. Recognizes a private sector supplier which has demonstrated superior support to the transit industry through its business enterprise providing goods, services or other support. Mike Clinkingbeard, W.W. Williams (Phoenix)

Dave Barber Straight Transit Talk. Presented in honor of past Board Member Dave Barber, recognizes an individual demonstrating excellence in transit advocacy with the general public, elected leaders, and/or within the community by consistently speaking succinctly to transit issues with clear, concise, factual, and to-the-point statements about public transportation. Paul Miller, ABS/Creative Bus Sales