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Annual Meeting Convenes in Nashville: New Chair Introduces His Agenda; Keynoter Inspires Audience
Music City USA was playing APTA’s song when more than 2,300 public transit professionals and business leaders gathered in Nashville, TN, for the association’s 2018 Annual Meeting, Sept. 23-26. The event included three keynote speakers, 31 concurrent sessions, a presentation by FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams, 123 exhibitors and more than 350 first-time attendees.
Newly elected 2018-2019 APTA Chair David M. Stackrow Sr., immediate past chair of the Capital District Transportation Authority, joked that APTA needed “an accountant from Albany, NY, to liven up the organization” and then outlined three major areas of focus for his term:
* Developing a new, three-year strategic plan that will guide the work of APTA and its committees;
* Advancing the shared mobility paradigm by encouraging APTA to “think big and act boldly and embrace new partners and ideas”; and
* Ensuring that APTA and the industry speak with a single, strong voice.
“My year as APTA chair is about serving you, our members,” he stated. “For me, public transportation is about ‘people serving people’.” (For more about Stackrow’s plans as APTA chair, see Commentary in this issue.)
To demonstrate his pledge to showcase member success stories, Stackrow called on representatives of APTA’s three Outstanding Public Transportation Systems for 2018 to share their individual achievements: Donna DeMartino, chief executive officer, San Joaquin Regional Transit District, Stockton, CA; Joanna Pinkerton, president/CEO, Central Ohio Transit Authority, Columbus; and Terry White, deputy general manager, King County Metro Transit, Seattle.
Also during the session, APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas expressed enthusiasm about the industry’s bright future. He praised public transit agencies’ work to create lasting benefits for communities of all sizes and types across the country, saying, “That’s how we earn the public’s trust and support every day.”
As proof of that trust and support, Skoutelas cited Congress’s passage this past spring of the largest-ever annual funding bill for public transit—more than $1 billion more than the authorized level.
He said public transportation is well positioned to succeed because of the “dedication, innovation and enduring values” of APTA members. “This is the week we advance the power and promise of public transportation … this is the time to reimagine mobility … and to lead,” Skoutelas urged. “Let’s make it happen beginning right here, right now.”
APTA Immediate Past Chair Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. capped off his term with a rousing video, summarizing the lasting value and impact of the work completed under his five priorities—noting that the “new mobility paradigm is the one that is most dear to my heart” because it is “creating a whole new world of public transportation.”
Ford continued, “I now hand off an APTA that is stronger, more united, bolder, more nimble and better prepared for the disruptive challenges facing our industry and ready to become much more.”
Nashville Mayor David Briley and Stephen G. Bland, chief executive officer of host system WeGo Public Transit, welcomed attendees, urging them to experience all that their city had to offer. The mayor also promised that a new plan to expand public transit in Nashville is under development and would be submitted to voters next year.
The opening session was sponsored by AECOM, represented by the company’s Senior Vice President and National Transit Practice Leader Carolyn Flowers, who also serves on APTA’s Executive Committee.
 Following the APTA business, Daymond John, founder/chief executive officer of FUBU and star of ABC’s Shark Tank, delivered a fast-paced keynote address that was entertaining, moving and inspirational. He expressed gratitude to public transit for keeping him safe when he was young and giving him access to wherever his next entrepreneurial opportunity presented itself.
Jeffrey Wharton, president of IMPulse, APTA Executive Committee member and chair of APTA’s Business Member Board of Governors, introduced John. The Business Member Activity Fund sponsored John’s appearance.
Playing off the title of his TV show and his moniker “The People’s Shark,” John outlined his five S.H.A.R.K. rules for success in life and business: Set a Goal (“You can’t hit a target you can’t see.”); Homework (“Nothing is new; there are only new forms of delivery.”); Amor (“Love what you do.”); Remember (“YOU are the brand; what are the two to five words you are known for?”); and Keep Swimming (“Never stop questioning, exploring, learning and investing new ways to win!”
View videos of Annual Meeting sessions here.
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