GM recognized as ‘Transit Person of the Year’ by Ohio Public Transit Association

Ray Jurkowski, general manager of Laketran since 2003, was honored with the 2017 Leonard Ronis Excellence in Transit award at Ohio Public Transit Association’s annual state conference on April 17, according to a Laketran news release.

The award is given to a transit system or individual who goes above and beyond to provide or advocate for public transit in Ohio.

Jurkowski was honored for his dedicated 43-year career in public transportation that started in Westchester County, New York, leading him to work in Philadelphia and St. Louis, before serving Lake County as the general manager of Laketran starting in 2003.

Under Jurkowski’s direction, Laketran was one of the first transit agencies in the state to offer coordinated transportation as a Medicaid NET provider that prevented the loss of 30,000 annual Dial-aRide trips and has assisted other transit systems with the certification process. Jurkowski garnered community support to pass local sales tax levies in 2003 and in 2013 as a permanent levy, providing Laketran its first dedicated source of funding.

Committed to finding a dedicated source of funding at the state level, Jurkowski authored the “E-commerce Sales Tax: A Solution for Ohio Transit Funding” proposal and continues to advocate for the state to create a Surface Transportation Infrastructure Fund.

In January, Jurkowski announced his plans to retire effective July 31.

Jurkowski