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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

October 2004

2004 Transportation Awards:

Excellence in Motion

MTC transportation award

The MTC trophy features a ball bearing, a universal symbol of motion.

You might think that after more than a quarter century, the pool of nominees for MTC’s Transportation Awards Program would start to dry up. Au contraire. The 26th cycle of what is now a biennial competition attracted more than six dozen entries, evidence that there is no shortage of fresh ideas, bold leaders, hardworking agency staff or dedicated volunteers in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Ultimately, the seven-member jury (consisting of three MTC staff, an MTC commissioner and three outside advisors) selected 14 individuals, organizations and projects to honor at this year’s September ceremony.

The Grand Award winner proved to be an easy choice — Caltrain’s Baby Bullet train clearly stood out in terms of innova- tion and impact. The jury also recognized seven Merit Award winners. Their ranks include two citizen activists: one who works on several fronts to make bicy- cles a viable transportation option, and another who has championed the notion of a new transbay commuter rail line.

Among the special award winners is a Caltrans staff member who has given bureaucrats a good name by working his magic behind the scenes to expedite countless essential transportation improvements over the last three decades.

Miriam Gholikely

Miriam Gholikely

The number of special awards has grown to five thanks to the addition this round of the Miriam Gholikely Award, named for a legendary figure in Bay Area transportation circles. Gholikely triumphed over race, gender and age barriers to become a highly effective advocate on behalf of communities of color and elderly and disabled citizens well into her senior years. Over the last two decades, the diminutive powerhouse served on a number of local, state and national panels, becoming a familiar face in the halls of Congress and the California Legislature. She held the unique distinction of being an active member of all three of MTC’s citizen advisory panels up until 2003, when she died at the age of 91 after a battle with cancer.

Like Gholikely’s contributions, the new award is broad in scope, celebrating extraordinary accomplishments in several fields — community service, volunteerism, advocacy, leadership and minority affairs.

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