[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 3, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1673]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SANDY DRAGGOO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE ROGERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 3, 2003

  Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Ms. Sandy Draggoo of the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) 
as she has recently received the American Public Transportation 
Association's Outstanding Public Transportation Manager Award. Ms. 
Draggoo has dedicated nearly thirty years to the Capital Area 
Transportation Authority and is responsible for the successful 
enterprise it is today.
  In 1974, Sandy Draggoo's career with CATA began while the authority 
was in its infancy. Just two years after its inception, Sandy started 
as the secretary to the Executive Director. She was soon promoted to 
Personnel Manager in 1976, and after nine successful years succeeded 
her former boss as Executive Director in 1984. Under Ms. Draggoo's 
leadership, CATA has changed markedly in the last eighteen years. 
Annually, CATA provides over 8.7 million rides, more than twice the 
number it provided just five years ago, and almost twelvefold the 
roughly 730,000 rides the authority provided in 1974. This dramatic 
increase in ridership is a testament to Sandy's dedication and hard 
work and earned CATA the American Public Transportation Association's 
Outstanding Transit System Award in 1991.
  In 1997, CATA announced the opening of the CATA Transportation 
Center, an intermodal passenger transfer center that had been a project 
of the authority since the mid 1980's. Sandy's leadership was paramount 
in overcoming the many hurdles necessary to bring this project to 
fruition. More recently, Sandy secured a contract with Michigan State 
University to assume operation of their bus system and consequently 
increased ridership from 850,000 to nearly 3 million. Ms. Draggoo 
brought extended CATA routes to Michigan State University students 
living in new off campus communities, averting severe congestion that 
worried local residents and municipal leaders.
  Mr. Speaker, in her tenure, Sandy Draggoo has transformed the Capital 
Area Transportation Authority from a startup public transportation 
system into one of the nation's most premier. Her hard work and 
determination have eared her the American Public Transportation 
Association's Outstanding Public Transportation Manager Award. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in recognizing Ms. Draggoo for the receipt of 
this award and for her leadership and commitment to my community.

                          ____________________