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"Our mission is to support providers
of travel instruction for the purpose of
teaching people with disabilities and seniors
to travel safely and independently."
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2010-2011 Association of Travel Instruction Officers: |
President
President-elect
Secretary
Treasurer |
Mary
Riegelmayer
Peggy Schmidt
Susan Olsson
Rosanne Bopp |
To contact any of
the above ATI Officers or the eight additional ATI Board of
Directors members, please
CLICK HERE.
E-news Editor: Terry Moakley E-news Designer: Terry
Massie |
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ATI 2011-2012
Silver Sponsors
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http://ctdelco.org
Eddystone, Pennsylvania |
Baltimore, Maryland |
http://suburbantransit.org
Blue Bell,
Pennsylvania |
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IN THIS ISSUE: |
1.
President's
Message by Mary Riegelmayer
2.
Definition of Travel Instruction Approved at Annual
Meeting
3.
Board of Directors Elected at Annual Meeting
4.
ATI Membership Report: Have You Renewed Your Membership
Yet?
5.
ATI Conference Highlights, Written by ATI Member
John E. Liebmann
6.
The MV-1, New Wheelchair Accessible Automobile, at Philadelphia
Conference
7.
Forward this Newsletter |
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE BY MARY RIEGELMAYER
I am extremely happy to report to the ATI membership that our
August 12 – 14 Annual Conference in Philadelphia was very
successful.
Our
Conference Co-chairs, ATI President-elect Peggy Schmidt and ATI
member Cecile Charlton, provided attendees with excellent speakers
and a new presentation format that was very well received. We were
welcomed by Joseph M. Casey, General Manager of the Southeastern
Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), who addressed the
importance of travel training at a time when state and local
government transit appropriations have dwindled, and federal funds
for public transportation could be cut back, too. The presentation
changes included beginning at 9:30 AM on Friday instead of at 1:00
PM, eliminating concurrent sessions and limiting presentations to 30
minutes in duration with speakers saving 15 minutes to respond to
questions. Attendees were encouraged to take breaks as needed. Our
new presentation scheme, coupled with a diverse and high quality
agenda, seemed to energize all conference attendees. Again, thanks
to our co-chairs, our speakers, the ATI Board of Directors and our
enthusiastic audience for making our Eleventh Annual Conference a
truly memorable event. |
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DEFINITION OF TRAVEL
INSTRUCTION APPROVED AT ANNUAL MEETING
During the Annual Meeting of the ATI Membership on Saturday,
August 13th, a two page “Definition of Travel Instruction” was
unanimously approved.
The
Board of Directors members who prepared and refined this definition
and presented it at our Annual Meeting were Julie Wilcke, Peggy
Groce and Rosanne Bopp. Members will recall that a draft of the
definition was e-mailed to you as a special issue of this
e-newsletter on July 21st requesting your comments, which are
reflected in the approved definition. Next steps include circulation
of a press release about the definition, and sending it to a select
group of agencies, yet to be determined, interested in the growth of
the profession of travel instruction.
CLICK HERE to read the approved ATI Definition of Travel
Instruction. |
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ELECTED AT ANNUAL MEETING
ATI is pleased to
announce that Sarah Green, Travel Trainer at The Rapid in Grand
Rapids, MI, was elected to a three year term on the ATI Board of
Directors at our Annual Meeting.
Re-elected to one year terms were Louis Hoffman, Travel Trainer with
the New Jersey Travel Independence Program, Livingston, NJ, and
Julie Wilcke, Mobility Manager at Ride Connection, Portland, OR.
Newly elected to a one year term on the ATI Board was Steven J.
Gallo, Travel Training Instructor at the New York City Department of
Education District 75 Travel Training Program. Leaving the ATI Board
of Directors after providing six years of service, including filling
the role of the organization’s Treasurer for nearly four of those
years, is Steven W. Dickerson of Atlanta, GA. Thank you for your
service, Steve! Finally, ATI wishes to thank members Sean Powers,
Travel Trainer, Innovative Paradigms (a division of Paratransit
Inc), Honolulu, HI, and Julie Rosekrans, Travel Trainer, Central
Maryland Regional Transit, Laurel, MD, for running for the Board of
Directors. Although neither was elected to office this time around,
this kind of competition for Board of Directors positions bodes well
for the future of ATI. |
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ATI MEMBERSHIP REPORT:
HAVE YOU RENEWED YOUR MEMBERSHIP YET?
A thank you to ATI
Board member and ATI Membership Committee Chairperson Karen Wolf-Branigin
for providing your editor with a timely membership report, as
follows: so far, for the 2011-2012 membership year ending on June
30, 2012, ATI has two Silver Sponsors, 13 Organizational members, 76
Individual members and four Auxiliary Members.
If you are receiving this e-newsletter and you would like to become
an ATI member, or if you have not renewed your membership in ATI yet
for our current fiscal year running from July 1, 2011 through June
30, 2012, you can
CLICK HERE to reach the relevant document which explains the
different categories of Sponsorship/Membership and a form to return
to ATI with your check, or you can join/renew online using PayPal.
Our growing membership keeps ATI strong, and you are guaranteed to
receive all the information about our August 2012 Annual Conference
in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, right on your desktop. So join ATI
or renew your membership now! |
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ATI CONFERENCE
HIGHLIGHTS, WRITTEN BY ATI MEMBER JOHN E. LIEBMANN
If you have attended or presented at ATI
conferences over the years, there is no guarantee that you will know
John Liebmann well, for he is a quiet, introspective individual.
But make no mistake about it, John is absorbing every word spoken
from the front of the room. John, whose spouse is ATI founding
member Millie Santiago-Liebmann—An ATI Board of Directors member and
Membership Committee Chairperson from 2001 through 2006—has taken
the time to write a report on our recent successful Philadelphia
conference, focusing on the highlights of our three days in the city
where America was born. Please
CLICK HERE to read John's very excellent work. Thanks for
this contribution, John. |
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THE MV-1, NEW WHEELCHAIR
ACCESSIBLE AUTOMOBILE, AT PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE
On Friday
evening, August 12, while our Opening Reception was ongoing, ATI
Conference attendees had the opportunity to check out the new fully
accessible MV-1 automobile, currently being manufactured by a new
U.S. company, VPG Autos,
www.vpgautos.com,
In Mishawaka, Indiana.
This vehicle was parked in front of the main entrance of the Holiday
Inn Historic District hotel. The MV-1 features a factory-installed,
ADA compliant ramp that is deployed electronically from beneath the
floor directly behind the front passenger area. This vehicle does
not have a front passenger seat, but rather an open area that
accommodates a wheelchair or scooter user, and a securement system,
and a back seat that will accommodate three to four additional
passengers. The MV-1 can be purchased with a gasoline engine or
factory-direct with a Compressed Natural Gas powertrain. This new
vehicle is suitable for use in taxi service, ADA paratransit
service, Medicaid transportation service, rental car service and as
an individually-owned vehicle. For further information, visit the
VPG Autos website included above. Here's a few photos of the MV-1
taken at the ATI Conference.
Pictured in the MV-1 (left to right):
Steve Garcia, Travel Training Instructor, New York City Department
of Education;
Alvie Sargent, Muncie Indiana Transit System; ATI member Steven W.
Dickerson;
and VPG Autos Northeast Regional Sales Manager Curt Mason
This wide view of the MV-1 with doors
open and ramp deployed is illustrative of its interior spaciousness.
The wheelchair user in the front passenger seating area is ATI
member Terry Moakley. |
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FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER
Know other travel trainers,
travel instructors, mobility specialists, ADA coordinators, ADA
Paratransit eligibility certifiers, travel buddies, human service
agency transportation staff, school transition coordinators,
independent living center or other disability group transportation
advocates—basically anyone who assists persons with disabilities or
seniors to use public transportation, or who is thinking of starting
any type of travel training service, from short and simple group
familiarization programs to intensive, short-term one-on-one travel
training?
If so, please forward this issue to them. Help ATI
build its membership and attract new sponsors |
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P.O. Box 2042 - Madison Square Station
- New York, NY 10159 |
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