Meet the Board

NCPTA Officer Profiles

Randy Bass, President

Randy has served as Transportation Director for Cabarrus County for the last four years. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of NCPTA for three years and has been co-chair of the conference committee for three years as well.

He also is a member of the legislative committee and has made several site visits around North Carolina to help promote public transportation in the state.

Randy’s career in transportation began in the United States Air Force with the Military Airlift Command (MAC) in the 1970’s. This led to his 15 year association with the Charlotte Area Transit System where he directed a number of activities including managing a vanpool program using 120 vans. He also created the Concord NC, Gastonia NC, and Rock Hill SC Express Bus routes. His four year employment with American Coach Lines offered the opportunity to be in on the ground floor creation of a regional bus service in Winston-Salem NC, Greensboro NC and High Point NC named Piedmont Authority for Public Transportation (PART) which he managed for one year. His next project was located in Atlanta GA where he worked with the Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association (BATMA) operating compress natural gas buses in the Buckhead community.

He feels that now is the best time for systems around the state to demonstrate how important public transportation is to the citizens they serve.

Vincent Brown, Vice President

Vincent’s experience in the transportation industry spans over 20 years in both the public and private transportation sector. His career started after college in trucking logistics management with Roadway Express (Alexandria Va.). He later went to work for Ryder Integrated Logistics (Jacksonville, FL) and the Hertz Corporation (Jacksonville, FL and Charlotte, NC offices). Previous to his current position, Vincent was the GM of Mecklenburg County Transportation System. He is currently the Assistant General Manager of Special Transportation Service (Charlotte Area Transit System). In addition to his current job duties, Vincent serves as the Chair person of the City of Charlotte Passenger Vehicle for Hire Board, Co –chair of the Council on Aging Transportation Committee, co –chair of the CATS/Mecklenburg County New Freedom Grant Initiative, Charlotte Urban League, CTAA NC Delegate and current Executive Committee member as Immediate Past President - North Carolina Chapter of COMTO. Vincent is a graduate of North Carolina State University and is currently pursuing a Masters in transportation logistics management from American Public University – Washington, DC. He has been a Certified Community Transportation Manager through CTAA since 2001.

L. J. Weslowski, Secretary

L.J.came to North Carolina from his home state of Massachusetts, and has been involved in transportation since joining the Army National Guard as a Motor Transport Operator at age 17. He entered the public transportation arena in 1994 while in college as a driver at Umass Transit, where he also worked as a paratransit driver, dispatcher, trainer, and motor coach operator before moving into Operations Management. After a short stint working (not playing) in minor league baseball, he re-entered the world of transportation as the Director of Operations for Fixed Route in Greensboro. A short move south brought L.J. to his current position as the General Manager of Concord Kannapolis Area Transit, a position he’s held since the system’s inception in 2004. In 2007, he completed TSI’s Transit Safety & Security Program. He is also a member of the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of commerce Land Use Planning and Transportation subcommittee.

L.J. has been involved with NCPTA since 2004, starting out as a Roadeo volunteer before joining the Roadeo Committee in 2005. In 2008, he became involved in the Conference Committee, as well as the Conference Relocation Research team. L.J. loves sports and photography, has been married to his better half Beverly for 3 ½ years and has 2 children, Socks & Dodger

Camille Sterling, Treasurer

Camille Sterling has been in the transit industry since 2001. She has served on the NCPTA Board for two terms, the conference committee for seven years, and the affiliate committee for three years. She looks forward to serving the members of the association as the Treasurer for fiscal year 2010.

NCPTA Director Profiles

Todd Allen

Todd has worked in the public transportation industry for over 19 years, including the university, private, public, and non-profit sectors of our industry. Todd started his career in transit by working at Northern Illinois University and subsequently worked for TMSI (managing at Alamance Co., NC), the NC Department of Transportation (as a Transportation Consultant and Rural Program Manager), and the City of Raleigh (Senior Transit Planner and Acting Transit Administrator). Todd is now employed with RouteMatch Software as their Director of Business Development and Community Relations based in Raleigh, NC. In addition to his nine years of service to the NCPTA through Board and Committee work, Todd is also a past member of the City of Raleigh’s Transit Authority and is active in national transit associations as well. Todd is married and has three children.

Kim Angel

Kim is the Transit Director for Macon County. She has been in this position since May 1997 when Macon County began providing community transportation services. She was responsible for the planning and development of the system has been the only transit director for Macon County. Prior to becoming the Transit Director for Macon County, she worked for NCDOT Division of Highways as a processing assistant and the Macon County Department on Aging as office manager, a position that also included oversight of transportation for senior citizens.  She previously served on the NCPTA Board of Directors from 2000-2004, has completed the Transportation Leadership Development Program (TLDP), and served as the project director for the non-emergency medical transportation project for the Western and Centralina regions of the Cross County Transit project.

Kim is a native of Macon County, is married, and has two sons. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Western Carolina University. She is actively involved in the community, serving on several boards and PTO. She has previously served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and is past president of the Franklin Kiwanis Club.

Art Barnes

Art Barnes has worked in the public transportation industry for 23 years. He began his career with ATE Management (First Transit) in 1986 as a management trainee. Subsequently he served as Paratransit Manager in Madison, Wisconsin; Assistant General Manager in South Bend, Indiana and Assistant Executive Director in Chattanooga, Tennessee while with ATE. Art accepted a position as Executive Director in Birmingham, Alabama in 1996 before coming to Winston-Salem in 1998 to work as General Manager for ATC\Vancom (Veolia Transportation.) Art has been consistently active with civic organizations throughout his career and is married with three teenage daughters.

James Burrell

James Burrell is a Safety Training Coordinator for the Charlotte Area Transit System. He has demonstrated the necessary components of leadership for the past 9 years by certifying new employees on instructional bus maneuvers, supervising/monitoring class attendance and creating daily agendas which motivate new hires class participation.

James is instrumental in training part time trainers on new policies and safety procedures and also performs safety ride checks. His commitment to safety includes being responsible for conducting the Smith System Defensive & Safe Driving Habits course to enhance safety. James facilitates the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicle Third Party CDL certification for CATS and is also responsible for certifying new hires and performs remediation training.

James’ feedback has lead to change that has impacted CATS in a positive way. His 13-year tenure has proven a stable backdrop for performance and leadership. James is the Charlotte based coordinator for the “ROADEO” bus competition and has served in the capacity of committee volunteer for the State level competition and is on the planning and coordinating board for the National competition.

James is based in North Carolina and is a resident of Charlotte along with his wife of 39 years.

Albert Eby

Albert Eby was hired in 2004 as the inaugural Director of the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority.His experience in public transportation working for both the private and public sector dates back to 1985.  Eby holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He also holds a certificate in non-profit management from Duke University. Eby serves as a Board Member of the North Carolina Public Transportation Association and as Co-Chair of the NCPTA Legislative Committee. Eby is a member of APTA, ASPA and NCPTA.

Johnny Ford

Johnny has worked in the transportation industry for over 20 years, including in the university, private and public sectors of our industry.  Johnny began his career in transit by working at East Carolina University in several capacities including, driver and management. He has also worked with Mayflower and later with Laidlaw Contract Services as Facility manager and the County of Lenoir as Transportation Coordinator. Johnny currently works for Durham County as the Transportation Access Coordinator Johnny is married and has three children.

Lori Hembree

Lori has been the Planner/Administrator of Buncombe County’s Community Transportation System, Mountain Mobility, for the past year and is a recent graduate of the Transportation Leadership Development Program. Prior to working with Mountain Mobility, Lori was a planning director and has held various planning staff positions with various communities in Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia over the past fifteen years, most recently as a Project Manager for Henderson County, North Carolina. Lori has a BA and MS in Geography from Oklahoma State University, currently resides in Hendersonville, North Carolina, is married and has two daughters.

Roger G. King

Roger is the Transportation Director for Regional Coordinated Area Transportation System (RCATS), which is operated by the Randolph County Senior Adults Association, Inc., a non-profit agency. RCATS is a regional coordinated community transportation system, and operates in Randolph and Montgomery Counties. Roger serves as the agency's program administrator and policy liaison with both county governments and the NCDOT. RCATS's regional operations include 26 vehicles, 5 administrative staff members and 26 full-time and part-time driver personnel.

Before joining RCATS, Roger worked for 35 years in various transportation and distribution related positions in private manufacturing, including over 33 years in the food industry. Roger also served 21 years as a volunteer firefighter, serving as a firefighter, Assistant Chief and Fire Chief, as well as serving as the President of the Randolph County Firefighter's Association.

Roger is a native of Seagrove, NC, and a graduate of High Point University. He and his wife Pat live near Denton, NC in Randolph County.  He has two sons and two granddaughters.  Roger and his son also operate a small farming operation, raising beef cattle and hay.  Roger enjoys collecting and restoring antique pedal tractors.  He currently has over 20 John Deere pedals in his collection.

Carol Hurst Long

Carol is the Director of Transportation for Onslow United Transit System, Inc. in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She has been the director since October 2001. For over 25 years OUTS contracted the operations to a third party contractor. On March 26, 2007 the OUTS Board of Directors voted to bring the operation in house effective July 1, 2007. She works with local human services agencies and local agencies to provide transportation for their clients and also the citizens of Onslow County. OUTS is the one-call center for all transit needs in Jacksonville and Onslow County.

Before joining Onslow United Transit System, Inc., Carol work with the North Carolina Highway Patrol and Onslow County Schools. She has served as Chairperson for the Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disability’s for the past two years, member of the Jacksonville-Onslow Civic Affairs committee and has worked with the young people of Jacksonville-Onslow County in many endeavors.

Carol is a native of Jacksonville and a graduate of Mount Olive College. She and her husband Frank live in Jacksonville. They have two children and two grandchildren

Keith McCoy

Keith will be starting the first year of a two year term on the Board. He is the Support Service Administrator for Transylvania County and has been in that position for 24 years. He is married and has a 15 year old son.

Pierre Osei-Owusu

Originally from Ghana, West Africa, Pierre graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta with Master’s Degrees in Transportation Geography and Transportation Planning and Engineering respectively. He began his transportation career in 1988 with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) in Atlanta and later with the Greenville Transit Authority (GTA) in Greenville, South Carolina, as a planning director and later as general manager of the system. Pierre currently works for the City of Durham in North Carolina as a Senior Transit Planner with the Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA).

Pierre is an adjunct lecturer at the NC Central University in Durham where he has been teaching transportation related courses for the past seven years. He is married with two daughters aged 7 and 5.

Sue Powell

Sue has served for the past five years as the Transportation Coordinator for Lenoir County Transit in Kinston, North Carolina. She previously worked as the Transportation Administrative Assistant serving on numerous boards in various capacities including Secretary to the Transportation Advisory Board.

Prior to joining Lenoir County Transit, Sue worked with the Department of Social Services as an Income Maintenance Caseworker II.

Sue is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. She is a native of Kinston where she currently lives with her two children Tiffany and Randy, dog Babe and cat Scooter.

Gracie Rettig

Gracie is the Transportation Coordinator for Scotland County Area Transit System ( SCATS ). She has been with SCATS since 1999. She is originally from South Carolina. Prior to joining SCATS she worked for Willamette Industries in the accounting department for several years

Gracie has 2 sons, 2 daughters, 3 grandsons and 1 grand daughter. She enjoys fishing trips with her husband, Gary.

Steve Spade

Steve Spade is the Transit Director for Chapel Hill Transit of the town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Chapel Hill Transit is the public transit system serving the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the University of North Carolina. The system is best known for their community-wide fare free system that has more than doubled ridership since 2002. Chapel Hill Transit provides over 6 million rides annually to a service area of 90,000 persons.

Steve joined Chapel Hill Transit in April of 2006 after retiring as the general manager of the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority. In his 2 years at Chapel Hill he has seen the fleet grow from 83 to 99 buses, introduced hybrid and articulated buses in the community and completed construction of a $22 million maintenance facility.

Prior to coming to Chapel Hill Steve was one of the longest tenured managers in the country having spent 32 years in Des Moines before his retirement in 2006.

Prior to that he worked for transit systems in Burlington, Iowa and Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Steve is an active member and participant in APTA and the North Carolina Public Transit Association currently serving as a member of the NCPTA legislative committee and state roadeo committee.

Steve is a graduate of Indiana University. He, his wife Amber and their 5 year old daughter are enjoying their new surroundings in North Carolina.

Sue Thompson

Sue comes from a background of business management in retail and manufacturing who adopted her management skills and expertise to planning and transportation. She is the Executive Director of the Ashe County Transportation Authority and has served in this capacity for ten years. During Sue's tenure ACTA has purchased a new office and operations facility, constructed a vehicle shed and maintenance shop.  Her leadership and managerial skills have aided and nourished ACTA in becoming a viable Community Transportation Service utilizing 23 vans and a growing staff of 25 employees. Sue and her husband Horace enjoy music, family and traveling.

Timothy Thompson

Timothy has over 18 years experience in transportation in North Carolina in both public and pupil (yellow school buses) transportation and has been employed with Moore County Transportation Services for three years, beginning in February 2006.

Timothy graduated from Montgomery Community College with an Associate Degree in Microcomputer Systems Technology in 1997. He also graduated from High Point University with a Bachelors Degree in Computer Information Systems in 2001.

He is a nationally Certified Director of Pupil Transportation by the National Association of Pupil Transportation. Timothy completed the North Carolina Transportation Leadership Development Program in the Fall of 2006. In February of 2007, He completed the Passenger Service and Safety, Train-the-Trainer program. Timothy just recently completed the Effective Supervisory Management Program offered by the UNC School of Government in September of 2008.

Since serving on the NCPTA Legislative Committee 2008-2009, he has traveled to Washington in March of 2008 and 2009 to advocate for Public Transportation in North Carolina.

Timothy has been married for 24 years to his wonderful wife Tina and has two daughters; Tova, who is in her senior year of college and Tavia, who is a senior in High School.

Chris Turner

Chris is the Transportation Director for AppalCART in Boone since his hiring in September of 1985. He previously served as NCPTA Vice President and President as well as a board member. He received the Governor's Award in 1996 and the Distinguished Service Award in 2001. He is a long time participant in the legislative committee and likes to stress the importance of letting elected officials know who we are and what we do as public transportation systems and members.
 
Chris is a native of New York; graduated high school in Cary, NC and attended NC State, UNC and ASU with undergraduate degrees in Journalism from UNC and a self designed major at ASU.  He is married to Debbie and has three grown children and three grandchildren; a dog, two cats and a school of trout.

Dennis Williams

Dennis has served as Executive Director of the Alamance County Transportation Authority since July 1, 2002. Prior to joining the Authority, he was in the trucking industry serving in various administrative, controller, and financial capacities. He also served for a number of years in the textile industry serving in the same capacities. Dennis grew up in South Carolina and is a graduate of Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Reserve Officer. Dennis serves on Alamance County’s Welfare Reform Committee and has chaired the Workforce Development Board for Alamance, Orange and Randolph Counties. Dennis is an active Rotarian and lives in Burlington, NC. He is married and has two grown daughters and one grandchild.