The Bi-State Development Agency in St. Louis received the top honor—the Rail Transit Team Achievement Award—in the 20th Annual APTA International Rail Rodeo, held June 2 in Dallas in conjunction with the 2012 APTA Rail Conference.

This award goes to the competing public transit system with the highest combined score for rail operator and rail maintainer team combined score. Rail operators Robert Yawn and Christina Hicks and rail maintenance team members Chris Lynch, Kevin Moore, and Matt Fisher placed second in their events.

The bus operators from Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)—Devon Brumfield and Antaeus Chandler—took first place in their competition. Denver’s Regional Transportation District ranked first among maintainers with the team of George Sweeney and Kevin Steele.

Third-place honors went to operators Sheila Celestain and Carolyn Kelly, Los Angeles Metro, and maintainers Mike Seeley, Gary Candrell, and Ted Christian, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART).

APTA President & CEO Michael Melaniphy welcomed a capacity crowd to the June 3 rodeo banquet, when the honorees were announced. “The rodeo provides a terrific learning opportunity for everyone involved. And that includes our host, the committee members, and—most importantly—the contestants,” he said.

Melaniphy offered a salute to the 13 competing teams, representing agencies from across North America. “The rodeo has always been about the promotion of front-line employees as the face of our industry,” he said, “and this is one way we can thank them for their tireless effort, day in and day out.”

He acknowledged the leadership of the rodeo committee, citing the efforts of Chair Mark Stowers, BART; Doug Smith, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, vice chair, maintenance; Mike Richard, BC Rapid Transit Company Ltd. (SkyTrain), vice chair, operations; and Todd Williams, Penn Machine, secretary.

Melaniphy next welcomed APTA Chair and Rail Conference host Gary C. Thomas—president/executive director of DART—to the stage and presented him with the host plaque.

Thomas thanked Melaniphy and APTA for the honor, then highlighted the hard work of DART’s three rodeo coordinators. He also thanked his team of maintainers and operators, saying: “I appreciate what you do every single day for our customers.”

He then turned the evening over to Michael Miles, interim vice president, government relations—DART’s longest tenured employee—to present the rodeo awards.

Bi-State Development Agency in St. Louis took the top rail rodeo honor, the Team Achievement Award, at this year’s APTA International Rail Rodeo. Operators Robert Yawn, fifth from left, and Christina Hicks, sixth from left, and maintenance team members Matt Fisher, fourth from right; Kevin Moore, third from right; and Chris Lynch, second from right, placed second in their categories. APTA President & CEO Michael Melaniphy is at left in all rodeo photos and APTA Chair Gary C. Thomas is at right.

George Sweeney, third from left, and Kevin Steele, third from right, representing Denver’s Regional Transportation District, placed first in the maintenance competition.

The first-place rail operator award went to Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Devon Brumfield, third from left, and Antaeus Chandler, third from right.