[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 133 (Tuesday, October 5, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12046-S12047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO ALBERT ENGELKEN

 Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, for 28 years Albert Engelken was 
the man behind the scenes at the American Public Transit Association 
(APTA), a Washington-based member organization advancing and 
representing the interests of public transit systems and industry 
suppliers across North America.
  He was the creative force for the vast majority of APTA's ``People 
Programs,'' including the innovative International Bus Roadeo, where 
drivers and mechanics compete in events that test

[[Page S12047]]

their skills at operating and maintaining public transit vehicles. His 
efforts at this endeavor also spawned the equally competitive 
International Rail Roadeo.
  Albert Engelken was the originator of ``Transit Appreciation Day,'' 
which later became ``Try Transit Week,'' an annual fixture that 
encourages people to ride public transit, and salutes those who make 
the systems work. His creativity also extended to judging and selecting 
those systems that demonstrated excellence in transit advertising, a 
program now known as ``AdWheel,'' an important event held at the 
Association's annual meeting.
  Albert Engelken's education programs developed transit information 
modules for thousands of grade school teachers throughout the United 
States. And, until his retirement in 1997, Albert Engelken produced the 
American Public Transit Association's Grant Awards Ceremony, an event 
that honors transit systems, individuals, and achievements in the 
public transit industry.
  That ceremony continues today, and while lacking the unique skills 
Albert brought to directing the national and local arrangements that 
publicized the winners, the ceremony this year will honor him by 
electing him to the prestigious APTA Hall of Fame.
  He was also the long-time editor of the Association's ``Passenger 
Transport'' weekly newspaper, and directed the industry's successful 
communications strategy in the important formative years of the federal 
transit program. Over his entire career with APTA, Albert's behind-the-
scenes work--from speechwriting to the orchestration of presentations 
and the stage management of events--were critical to the success of 
APTA's member programs and the smooth functioning of APTA's many 
conferences.
  Albert is known by his family, colleagues, and peers as a person who 
would always go the extra mile to help them out. No task was too small 
or too complicated to be turned away. He is a gentleman, trusted 
friend, and caring confidant. Yet he has never sought the spotlight not 
taken a bow over his work in public transit and APTA.
  Those are just some of the reasons to honor Albert Engelken, Mr. 
President. At work and in the community he has touched thousands of 
lives, and made life safer and easier for hundreds of thousands of 
transit users and providers across our nation.
  He is a also great family man. His wife Betsy, children Jane, 
Elizabeth and Richard and their spouses, and his five grandchildren can 
certainly attest to that.
  Mr. President, I join them and his colleagues in congratulating 
Albert Engelken for a job well done, and in applauding his induction 
into the American Public Transit Hall of Fame.

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