Tag Archives: awards

U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Availability of $1.5 Billion in RAISE Grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation has published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $1.5 billion in grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program. The popular program helps communities around the country carry out projects with significant local or regional impact.

RAISE discretionary grants, which were originally created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as TIGER grants, can be used for a wide variety of projects. Recent examples of funded projects include dedicated bus lanes in Baltimore, highway and bridge repair in New Mexico, dock replacements in Alaska, and a rail-to-trail project in Arkansas. Overall, USDOT has awarded $9.9 billion to more than 700 projects.

RAISE projects are rigorously reviewed and selected based on merit. Projects will be evaluated on statutory criteria of safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness and opportunity, state of good repair, partnership and innovation. New this year, under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 2022 RAISE applications will also be evaluated on the criteria of mobility and community connectivity. The Department will assess projects for universal design and accessibility for travelers, as well as consider how proposals increase mobility for freight and supply chain efficiency.

At least $15 million in funding is guaranteed to go towards projects located in Areas of Persistent Poverty or Historically Disadvantaged Communities. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, RAISE expands the number of communities eligible for 100 percent federal share of funding, specifically those in rural communities, Areas of Persistent Poverty and Historically Disadvantaged Communities. To help reach this goal, the Department has launched a tool that will allow applicants to determine if their project location is considered as a Historically Disadvantaged Community. The tool is available here.

As was the case last year, the Department is encouraging applicants to consider how their projects can address climate change, ensure racial equity, and remove barriers to opportunity.

This year the Department is also encouraging applicants to consider how their projects can create workforce development opportunities. Applicants can be more competitive in the process if they are creating jobs with free and fair choice to join a union and good labor standards, creating jobs that underserved communities can access, or are supporting worker opportunities and training. Applicants are also encouraged to utilize registered apprenticeship and local and economic hire agreements. The RAISE program is one way the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law acts on President Biden’s promise to bring good-paying jobs to local communities.

Also new this year, the evaluation process has been updated for 2022 to provide more explicit detail to applicants.

The NOFO is available HERE. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. EST on April 14, 2022, and selections will be announced no later than August 12, 2022.

 

Goodbye 2021 and Hello 2022: We LOVE IPMI’s Professional Recognition Awards!

Great jobBy Kathryn Hebert

Happy New Year! I’m sure most of you are very happy to say goodbye to 2021 and looking forward to launching into 2022 with bright eyes, new opportunities, and a chance to get back to a more balanced daily rhythm.

Josh Cantor and I are very excited to again co-chair the Professional Recognition Awards Committee. These awards are very special, as they recognize and showcase individuals and organizations that have contributed enormously to our industry with incredible initiatives and innovations impacting our communities and organizations. There are so many ways to recognize these incredible individuals and organizations representing customer service, finance, frontline, human resources, innovation, leadership, marketing, management, operation, technology, and much more.

Many times, these jobs are thankless – peppered with complaints and innuendos. It is very important that we recognize these amazing people and organizations that have contributed so much. We learn from everyone. Each application is specifically considered no matter how big or small.

Here are a few important criteria points to keep in mind when submitting:

  1. Be an IPMI member in good standing
  2. Check spelling, grammar and presentation – the submission must be clear and concise and tell the story. Keep in mind, most of us evaluating do not know you and may not know your organization.
  3. We love action photos and videos of you related to your project/program.

I encourage all of you to look at your team(s), friends, colleagues, and yourself and submit a free application. We love giving out these awards; we learn so much from all of you. More information, criteria, application, dates and last year award winners at https://www.parking-mobility.org/awards/.

Kathryn Hebert is president and CEO of TPMConnect and a member of IPMI’s Board of Directors.

Member News: T2 Systems’ Thomas Wunk Honored with IPMI Chairman’s Award

INDIANAPOLIS, June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ –– T2 Systems, the largest parking technology provider in North America, announced that Thomas Wunk, T2 Vice President, received the 2020 Chairman’s Award from the International Parking and Mobility Institute (IPMI).

The annual IPMI Chairman’s Award is a professional recognition that honors an individual(s) who have made an impact and driven change benefitting the parking, transportation, and mobility industry.

Wunk is a Vice President and Industry Consultant for T2 Systems. He is a Certified Administrator of Public Parking (CAPP) and teaches a number of sessions for the IPMI CAPP certification process. A product of the State University of New York system, he is an active member of IPMI, and ASIS. Wunk has been in the parking control industry since 1973 and has designed and implemented parking control solutions all over the world.

“IPMI has advanced the parking and mobility profession over the years, and so has Tom both within T2 and the industry,” said T2 CEO Adam Blake. “We are proud to support them as they encourage professional development, research, advocacy and outreach. We thank IPMI for this recognition of Tom. He is very deserving of this award, and continually drives to improve how we use technology in our operations and customer engagements. Tom helped to launch our PARCS efforts several years ago, and has always made sure we are on the right path forward.”

After receiving the Chairman’s Award, Wunk was asked to provide a list of professional accomplishments to share. He instead opted to thank those who have helped him along the way, highlighting his gratitude for having great friends and family surrounding and encouraging him throughout his career. His acceptance of the award can be found on IPMI’s website.

About T2 Systems 
T2 Systems was founded in 1994 with one simple goal: make park­ing better. We immediately estab­lished a leadership position in the parking industry and continue to pave the way in new technologies that help our customers seamlessly manage parking, mobility, and transporta­tion services. Today, T2 provides the most com­prehensive solutions available to process transactions and leverage data to make informed decisions. Our unified parking management platform puts all the tools needed to be efficient and effective at our customers’ fingertips, with one place to manage their T2 solutions, including Permits, Enforcement, PARCS, Pay Stations, and more. With a strong track record of delivering projects that generate real return for our customers, and by delivering a quality experience for parking patrons, T2 continues to focus on helping our customers move their operations forward. For more information about T2, visit T2Systems.com.

Contact: Katherine Basaran, (317) 524-7412, katherine.basaran@t2systems.com

SOURCE T2 Systems

2020 IPMI Professional Excellence Award – Innovation: David Wallace

David WallaceDavid Wallace

SENIOR WEBSITE DESIGNER/DEVELOPER
Parking & Transportation Services, University of Arizona

David Wallace has been with the University of Arizona Parking & Transportation Services for over three years. He started as a website designer and developer, updating internal and external webpages. As a senior website designer and developer, he has designed and developed several programs and apps for different parking section heads that have improved efficiency tremendously in a wide variety of areas. The apps have reduced the need for paperwork and redundancy, helping better serve customers.

Paperwork is no longer required when officers go out to assist customers. Instead, the app on the officers’ tablets allows customers to sign the consent form electronically. Officers can now do boots and tows and provide motor assist without carrying around all the paperwork that was once linked to those tasks.

Wallace also created a program that tracks the equipment employees check out. This is also on a tablet that requires filling out only a few fields. Wallace recently created a check-in/out form for special events employees. The program logs the time employees sign in so they can get to their stations faster. Plus, it cuts down on the congestion of 80–100 employees trying to log in at the same time.

Wallace created an online shuttle request form for the Cat Tran Shuttles rental, again eliminating paperwork and improving speed. Another project he created was a program that bills a hotel that uses one of the university garages for their guests. The program is based on a contract with the hotel that stipulates that it pays extra for any spaces its guests use over 50. The new program tracks the guests’ ins and outs and bills accordingly.

Beyond these new developments, Wallace has also created several dashboards for the different parking sections. One allows that section’s employees to go to one spot for all their announcements, training, time reporting, and operational documents. It includes a section for supervisors to post daily briefings and tasks for employees. The dashboard includes a report that list trends and other stats.

Wallace has taken every task he has been given and created and improved upon each one. He has illustrated that he can find creative solutions to solve problems. Furthermore, he’s always available to lend a hand to his co-workers and has excellent listening skills, which are critical as he works with co-workers and supervisors to come up with the best solutions to the problems they are trying to solve.

2020 IPMI Professional Excellence Award – Innovation: Jannette Benefee

Jannette_BenefeeJannette Benefee

ASSISTANT MANAGER, PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS GROUP
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Jannette Benefee is at the forefront of innovation through use of business intelligence tools and facilitating development of new business solutions. She led the Dallas/ Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport Transportation Business Unit (TBU) in two critical innovative efforts recently. The airport is partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy on the Advancing Transportation Hub Efficiency Using Novel Analytics project. The objective of this three-year study is to leverage mobility data to optimize efficiency and reduce the cost of both passenger and freight movement at and around transportation hubs. Benefee has worked closely with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, providing input and ensuring that DFW provides accurate and applicable data to fit the needs of this project.

Benefee has also created and fostered the internal Transportation Business Intelligence (TBI) team, with the motto “Data that makes sense.” This team disseminates essential and usable data throughout the organization to optimize the customer experience and operational excellence. Collaborating with the DFW Information Technology Services business intelligence team, she has developed a custom training series that used actual parking information to enable trainees to internalize their training experience and expose them to reporting and data dashboards. This training created a group of “citizen analysts” consisting of staff at all levels and job descriptions. Each citizen analyst acts on behalf of his or her section to create data solutions and informational displays specific to the individual sections and provide section management the ability to quickly access information and identify trends.

During her first year on the job, she led TBU business intelligence efforts, collaborating with TBU leadership, IT, and finance to enhance and update the TBU business intelligence mobile dashboard and ensure the data integrity of its contents. This dashboard provides essential decision-making data to staff.

When a software update to the revenue control system created data gaps, Benefee identified the gaps and collaborated with IT to make corrections and re-map data tables and views. She also employed tactics to ensure the data needs of all sections of the TBU were addressed.

Benefee identified future data requirements and partnered with DFW IT to develop custom training for the parking and transportation team. Additionally, she collaborated with the TBU operations team to improve occupancy measurements and with DFW Intelligent Transportation System to build a mobile input screen to update and display lot occupancy information more efficiently. She also led the creation of a mobile app to display comparatives of DFW parking options and was able to resolve issues that prevented the curbside team from automating taxi dispatching and regulation.

2020 IPMI Professional Excellence Award – Leadership: Hugo Contreras

Hugo ContrerasHugo Contreras

SUPERVISOR
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Hugo Contreras joined Dallas/ Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport in March 2013 as a guest assistant in the Guest Transportation Operations section of what is now the Transportation Business Unit (TBU). After a year of service, he was promoted to ground transportation agent, and in June 2016, he became a quality agent in the Guest Contract Services section, where he was quickly promoted to Supervisor in May 2017.

In the supervisor role, Contreras has provided significant leadership. He supervises the evening and overnight shifts of quality agents, provides leadership of daily operations, and oversees a variety of special operations and projects. He oversees as many as 12 permanent employees and four contract employees. He also works closely with contract managers to incorporate DFW values and objectives into their dayto-day operations.

Contreras leads the infrastructure and construction, emergency response, communications, and career development committees within Guest Contract Services; he was the lead member of TBU’s Lifesaver Steering Committee (emergency response drills), a member of the Military Exodus Planning Committee, and a coach for Q1 FY20 Quarterly Department Meeting hosts.

He regularly collaborates with the TBU project manager to assess the operational impact of planned construction projects on Guest Contract Services’ business. This collaboration has included six major projects in the past year alone. In 2019, he reached beyond his assignment to provide leadership for the TBU Guest Services Section during a transitional period. Guest Services assists the public by providing customer service and transportation for aircraft hardstands, special events, and emergency response.

Contreras’ leadership skills are especially apparent when he is called on to mediate conflicts between employees. Contreras consistently motivates the team to perform at an optimal level, keeping safety and customer experience at the forefront. His focus on emergency operations has made him a key contributor to TBU’s emergency planning; he created the emergency operations protocols for Guest Contract Services.

Contreras also serves as a founding member of TBU’s Support Desk, where he helped establish procedures for department-wide collaboration in sharing information during routine and irregular operations. Contreras’s fluency in English and Spanish adds to his ability to connect and communicate effectively with customers and colleagues.

2020 IPMI Professional Excellence Award- Operations: Carol Yeager

Carol_YeagerCarol Yeager

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE IV
Texas A&M University Transportation Services,
Parking Services

Carol Yeager has been with Texas A&M Transportation Services since 2008, and has single-handedly created a culture of service toward its personnel and is universally admired and respected. Every year she is a top nominee and frequent winner of the department’s Shining Star awards, which recognize selfless service and commitment to the department’s mission. She is known for her characteristic humor and good nature.

Yeager’s duties include serving as the manager’s administrative assistant and assisting with daily office support activities for eight other supervisors and managerial staff. In addition to routine administrative duties, she is responsible for her internal “customers,” the enforcement staff, and orders the uniforms for 56 full-time employees. Additionally, she is active with departmental committees and has served as the unit’s representative for university-wide fundraisers. Every year she is a key committee member and contributor toward the department’s two major awards and years of service recognition events.

On football game days, when work shifts often last up to 18 hours, her excellent prior planning ensures that supplies are available and ready for distribution. She arranges for box lunches, (frequently delivering them to each post) and then a full meal for all officers once the game begins. She assists in serving all meals and cleaning up after. Without Yeager in this role, the department would be unable to function so seamlessly, providing support to over 100,000 football fans and 50,000 tailgaters seven times a year.

Yeager also assists during the annual move-in event, welcoming about 10,000 new students each fall semester. She supports the officers as they often work 12-hour days. Yeager is also the primary expense account holder, making the purchasing decisions for the unit regarding all supplies, equipment, services, and uniforms. She was instrumental in the recent purchase of three T3 mobile systems, working directly with the vendor, the department, and the Texas A&M Finance and Operations Division. When the vehicles arrived, she performed inspections and received user training.

Yeager also recently enabled the Parking Services unit to drastically improve its key control program. She assisted in the selection, acquisition, and purchase of a digital system that enables the unit to track, control, and maintain accountability of about 100 sets of keys for the vehicles, offices, and facilities managed by the unit.

SRA News: MAPA 2020 Scholarship Extends to June 30th

MAPA 2020 SCHOLARSHIP

APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE

The Middle Atlantic Parking AssociationDEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 30TH!

Each year MAPA awards Scholarships to deserving students. The award(s) are for one academic year. Applicants may reapply for subsequent years but may only win once The scholarship award may be used towards an accredited institution of higher learning or professional parking certification program. The Deadline is June 30, 2020 and the scholarship will be awarded directly to the institution in August.

Click Here for Full Program Guidelines
Click Here for the Application

Eligibility:

To be eligible for the MAPA Scholarship Award you must be:

1. An employee (full-time, part-time, or student) of a MAPA organization member.

2. A spouse or dependent child of an employee of a MAPA organization member.

3. An employee must be employed for one year at the time of application.

Find out more

Member News: Kimley-Horn Named Best Workplace in Consulting & Professional Services 2020

Kimley-Horn is excited to be again named one of the Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services by Great Place to Work®.

More than 357,000 U.S. employees were anonymously surveyed about 60 elements related to how their company creates a Great Place to Work For All™, including experiences of innovation, leadership effectiveness, and the company’s values. Rankings for this list are based on employees’ feedback and reward companies who best include all employees, no matter who they are or what they do for the organization.

The Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services stand out for their unique, innovative cultures, which helps them attract and retain employees. At Kimley-Horn, our core purpose is to provide an environment for all employees to flourish in every aspect of their career.

“COVID-19 creates very unpredictable and rapidly changing markets for Consulting & Professional Services companies. Companies on this list stand out for the high level of trust they have built with their entire workforce. High-trust, For All cultures enable these organizations today to quickly adjust to remote work arrangements and to successfully navigate through uncertain times.”

— Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work

To learn more about Great Place to Work and their data-driven methodology, visit Greatplacetowork.com.

Read the article here.

Shining Up Our Spotlight

By Justin Grunert, MSM

Thanks to all who submitted multiple individuals and projects for IPMI’s 2020 awards programs and to all of our volunteer awards committee members for their hard work and hours of review. We enjoyed a record number of entries for our revamped Award of Excellence categories, Professional Excellence Award, and Marketing Awards.

I’ll be honest–when we decided to revamp, there were some concerns about the changes. Would it scare people? Thank you for embracing the changes and participating en masse.

This year’s IPMI Awards and Recognition Ceremony will be held on June 3, 2020, during the 2020 IPMI Conference & Expo. We invite everyone to come to celebrate our award winners during and after the ceremony, and we hope it will inspire you to nominate a person or project that goes above and beyond for next year’s awards. If you are not able to join us, IPMI will honor the individuals and projects on our website and in the June edition of Parking & Mobility magazine.

IPMI’s call for 2021 Awards submissions will open this fall. I challenge everyone to start thinking about a project, person, or program that could be nominated. Is the project new or unique? Does the project promote innovations? Does the person go above and beyond everyday actions? Do they deserve to be spotlighted for their contribution to the organization? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please consider nominating the individual or project for next year’s awards program.

See you in San Antonio!

Justin Grunert, MSM, is IPMI’s LMS and training coordinator.