City Staff Steers To County's Annual Transportation Awards

City Staff Steers To County's Annual Transportation Awards
By Danny Bernardini/Staff Writer

City of Vacaville staff walked away with some hardware Wednesday night after being honored several times during the 10th annual Solano Transportation Awards.

The event took place at the historic Empress Theater in Vallejo and was put on by the Solano Transportation Authority.

The city of Vacaville earned honors as agency of the year, its Public Works Department won project delivery of the year and the newly-constructed Downtown Transit Plaza was named project of the year.

Genentech - the Vacaville campus - was named business of the year.

The awards reflect the work done by the city council, staff and management, said Mark Mazzaferro, public information officer for Vacaville.

"It was nice to do so well, that's for sure," Mazzaferro said. "In terms of being honored like we were last night, it's clearly a reflection on the city's commitment to a regional transportation solution as well as our own city."

Jayne Bauer, marketing and legislative program manager with the STA, said attendance was about 175 people, the largest she's seen in three years of organizing the event, which was a chance to focus on the positives.

"It was kind of special, it was the decade milestone," Bauer said. "Sometimes you only hear about the negative things in transportation, this is a chance to recognize those people behind the scenes who usually don't get recognized."

She said although it isn't a very competitive night, those who win do cherish the awards.

"It's quite an honor, but it's not a vicious competition," Bauer said. "It's a prestigious thing because people gather from all over the county. They have a nice-looking award they can display."

Other awards included:

• City of Benicia - Safety project of the year for its safe-routes-to-school program.

• Crystal Odum Ford - Transit employee of the year with the city of Vallejo/Vallejo Transit.

Danny Bernardini can be reached at county@thereporter.com.