Earnest "Tennesse" Hayes' passion for riding the RTA has rubbed off on some of his children and grandchildren. Top: Earnest "Tennessee" Hayes. Bottom, l-r: Essence Jackson, Chris Hayes, Earnestine Hayes, Larry Hayes

arnest "Tennessee" Hayes has been riding buses in Dayton for 62 years.

"I started riding since I came here in 1950 and I′ve been riding the bus ever since. I was riding when the bus fare was 10 cents and transfers were a penny," he said.

Hayes was 18 years old then. He turned 80 on May 27 according to wife, Annette. "Rain, sunshine, snow—he will be waiting on the bus. He takes the bus to church every day, including Sunday worship service. He does multiple duties, feeding the hungry, cleaning the church, manning the parking lot, cutting hedges and bushes, and serving as a deacon," she said.

"I guess I′m just crazy about the church. I′m there seven days a week and open up every morning at 7 o′clock. I get up at 4:15 every morning and by 6 o′clock I′m out catching my bus," Hayes said. He is a member of Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church.

Hayes came to Dayton from Tennessee at the urging of a sister who had moved here. He found a job and sent money home to help his mom with family expenses. He was the youngest boy of eleven children.

Since then he has raised five children of his own as well as three of his 10 grandchildren, according to Annette. Of these, three children and three grandchildren have "followed in his footsteps" by choosing not to drive and using RTA instead.

"Family gatherings are interesting around our house when they get to comparing routes and who they see or who they know on each route," she said.

"You meet a lot of people and I like to talk. A lot of them call me the ‘Soap Opera Man’ because I get on the bus in time to get home and watch the soap operas. The drivers don′t know my real name; they just call me ‘Tennessee’," he said, smiling.

Hayes never really considered staying home after retiring from full time work for the City of Dayton. "I′m in my 29th year of retirement. When your body is used to working 30 or 40 years, you just can′t go home and sit down.

"RTA has always been reliable. I′ve never been late anywhere that I go on the bus, because I know the schedule and I know what to do."

RTA Services — the way we roll

• RTA operates 29 routes throughout greater Dayton. The agency provides strategically-located transit centers, as well as 45 token and pass sales outlets. All RTA buses include bike racks and are wheelchair accessible.

• For customer convenience, RTA operates close to round-the-clock service. Our coaches operate 365 days per year, 21 hours per day with 277 passenger vehicles.

• The fleet includes diesel and hybrid diesel buses, electric trolleys, paratransit buses, and special event replica trolleys.

• Thirty-three Park-and-Ride lots allow people who do not live close to a bus stop to park their car in a lighted, maintained lot and ride the bus to work or other destinations.

Auditor of State Award

RTA received the Auditor of State Award from State Auditor Dave Yost for faultless record-keeping following a recently completed financial audit.

"This recognition is a result of the meticulous work of the finance and accounting departments and represents the team′s commitment to excellence," said CFO Mary Stanforth.

"During these challenging economic times, this level of diligence keeps us mindful of the dollars entrusted to us by the communities we serve," she added.

The Auditor of State Award recognizes local governments for timely filing of financial reports in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and for reports that are clean.

A clean audit report means that RTA′s financial audit did not contain findings for recovery, material citations, material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, Single Audit findings, or any questioned costs, according to State Auditor Dave Yost in a congratulations letter to RTA.

"Clean and accurate record-keeping are the foundation for good government, and the taxpayers can take pride in your commitment to accountability," Yost wrote.

set for October

Social service and human service caseworkers can still sign up for RTA′s Transit Links session scheduled this month.

The ongoing meeting series provides extensive information on the transportation services RTA provides for social service clients. A free breakfast will be provided for attendees.

Thursday, October 12
8:30 — 10:30 a.m.
RTA board room, 3rd floor
(use gold elevator)
Wright Stop Plaza

Email nowens@greaterdaytonrta.org or call (937) 425-8374 to schedule your attendance.

hen emergency responders get called out to a scene anywhere in Montgomery County during challenging weather, RTA often sends a bus to serve as an onsite relief station. That happened this summer when responders were called to a house in Huber Heights in which animals had been hoarded.

To get the large number of dogs and cats into custody for care and medical attention, law enforcement, fire, animal control, and emergency management personnel were on the scene from early morning until evening "in less than desirable conditions," according to Jeffrey Jordan, Director, Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management.

"The presence of the air conditioned RTA bus was very much welcomed and appreciated by the emergency responders," Jordan said.

He commended RTA′s management for its willingness to "support public safety operations" and the RTA personnel who were involved at the scene for their professionalism and cooperation.

Operations Director Allison Ledford said, "RTA is focused on serving the needs of the people in this community. Sometimes serving those needs goes beyond picking up people on the corner at a prescribed bus stop. It means taking the buses and the drivers out to the people where the need is most felt."

"RTA′s continued partnering with the emergency response community is just another example of your organization′s commitment to its neighbors in the region," Jordan said.

"I believe I can speak on behalf of most employees when I say that this way of serving the community can often be the most rewarding part of our jobs," Ledford added.

RTA supports the towns we serve with federal grant funding for transit related community enhancements. Municipalities are invited to compete each year for project funding derived from RTA′s federal transit money. Each city receiving money for amenities provides a 20% local match and commits to ongoing maintenance of the improvements.

Community Grant Money through 2008
$68,750 awarded to Oakwood since 1999 for benches, shelters, accessibility improvements, and pedestrian streetscaping. $284,968 awarded to Kettering since 1998 for amenities including a park and ride, bus pull-out, benches, several shelters, bus stop plazas at Kettering Medical Center, and bus stop improvement projects

This month′s coupon:

Aullwood Center and Farm

Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority

Board of Trustees:
• James E. Newby, President
• Franz Hoge, Vice President
• Lawrence B. Clarke
• Sharon E. Hairston
• Adrienne L. Heard
• Jerry Hensley
• Janet C. Jones
• Jamie Simpson
RTA Executive Director
• Mark Donaghy
RTA Executive Staff
• Frank Ecklar/ Director, Planning & Marketing
• Allison Ledford/ Director, Operations
• James Napier/ Director, Safety & Security Solutions
• Mary Stanforth/ Chief Financial Officer
• Gene Rhodes/ Director, Human Resources
• John Thomas/ Chief Maintenance Officer
• Anthony Whitmore /Director, Government/ Community Relations

Newsletter Staff
• Sabrina Pritchett - Editor
• Sharon Balderson - Writer
• Carmen Gaines, John Hancock - Layout and design