Rotarian Chip Vogan (l) with speaker Ray Amoruso and president Lorna Cochrane
The Program
Our speaker was Ray Amoruso, Hampton Roads Transit’s Chief Planning and Development Officer who is responsible for service planning and scheduling and long range planning, as well as customer relations, business development, advertising and sales, grants administration and system performance analysis for national transit database reporting. Ray also oversees the development of HRT’s Transit Development Plan and Capital Improvement Program.
Ray has a challenging job, trying to accommodate demands for increased service balanced with the realities of a somewhat limited and unpredictable budget. He noted that HRT does not have a dedicated funding stream. Each year, the councils for the six cities it services decides how much funding will be provided for that year which, in turn, determines how many routes there are and their frequency.
Currently, 73 daily bus routes, along with light rail, trolleys, and a ferry, serve 43,000 daily riders. Fares only account for 16 percent of HRT’s expenses, with federal, state, and local funding making up the balance. Ray believes that we are at a crossroads, as more young people are demonstrating decreasing interest in owning a car. He is hopeful that the Tide will extend its service in the not-to-distance future, most likely traveling along the east side of Norfolk to the naval base.
Ray says the City of Chesapeake has also expressed interest in light rail as well, as the city’s Greenbrier Corridor continues to experience tremendous growth, both commercial and residential. Ultimately, Ray believes that Hampton Roads’ citizens and leaders will have expand service, whether it’s rapid bus transit or light rail to accommodate citizen demand and mitigate traffic.
The Meeting
After song, pledge, and prayer, we observed a moment of silence to mark the passing of fellow Rotarians Bill Burnette and Jane Dembert. We then welcomed the brothers of the late Teddy Baker who passed away this past November. Teddy was a longtime member of our club and served as president from 1998-1999. We honored him by reading a resolution that highlights for posterity Teddy’s tireless dedication to Rotary and the community at large.
We also welcomed a new member to the club, Dave Duncan. While he is new to our club, he is certainly not new to Rotary. Dave first joined Rotary in 1980 and has served twice as a club president. Dave spent 40 years with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and now directs Ph.D. programs for Walden University. His advice to incoming president Jim Kitz? Start the meeting on time and end the meeting on time! Dave's mentor in the club is past president Bob Heely.
Winston Whitehurst delivered the visitation report. He’s asking us to keep Bill Gresham and Dean Rogis in our thoughts and prayers. Bill recently had elbow surgery, as did Dean for a torn muscle.
Birthday celebrations included:
- Bill Lehew
- Bill Eisenbeiss
- Kay Kemper
- Fred Walker
- Bob Latimer
- John Cameron
- Stephen Jones
- Rick Coradi
And we celebrated the following Rotary anniversaries:
- Joe New – 45 years
- Nancy Chandler – 32 years
- Collins Gooch – 18 years
- Marilyn Gowen – 3 years
- Bernie Cohen – 10 years
Finally, Happy Bucks:
- Gus Stuhlreyer – birthdays for his daughter and granddaughter
- Bob Ash – celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory
- Bill Eisenbeiss – encouraging members to consider a course at the upcoming Evening at St. Patrick’s one-night adult learning classes
- Bob Kuhlo – celebrating the anniversary of his wife being cancer free!
- Bill Lehew – 85th birthday
The Drawing
For the second week in a row, Pam Tubbs had the lucky numbers but she did not pull the winning card, so the pot continues to grow.