[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11667]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     TRIBUTE TO RONALD L. FREELAND, NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE 
            CONFERENCE OF MINORITY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
dedicated and respected leader in public transportation, Ronald L. 
Freeland, Administrator for the Mass Transit Administration of the 
Maryland Department of Transportation. Ron has recently been chosen to 
be President of the Board of the National Conference of Minority 
Transportation Officials, COMTO, and I would like to express my 
appreciation for the work he has done for Maryland, and my 
congratulations and best wishes as he assumes his new leadership 
responsibilities.
  Throughout his career, Ron Freeland has demonstrated an unwavering 
commitment to ensuring quality transportation in Maryland. Since 1997, 
Ron has overseen the Mass Transit Administration, MTA, which operates 
the bus, light rail, Metro, and MARC systems throughout the Baltimore-
Washington area--systems that provide transportation services to 
355,000 people every day. Prior to his service at MTA, Ron was 
Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Administration, where he made key 
reforms in that agency's operations, including improvements in the 
operation of the Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program. His public 
service also includes tenure as Director of Operations at MTA, 
membership on the Board of Directors for the Maryland Transportation 
Authority, and membership on the Board of the Canton Railroad. Well-
maintained highways and reliable transit systems provide safe travel 
daily for millions of Americans, and I want to commend Ron for his 
dedication to improving transportation services in Maryland. I have 
known Ron for many years and have had the opportunity to work closely 
with him on many issues affecting transportation in Maryland. I have 
found him to be a dedicated public servant and a steadfast ally to the 
friends of public transportation.
  In addition to his work for the people of Maryland, Ron has fought 
tirelessly for equality within the transportation community. He is 
about to assume leadership of the Conference of Minority Transportation 
Officials, a national organization founded in 1971, which now boasts 
over 2,000 members and over 25 local chapters throughout the United 
States. Ron has been working with COMTO for almost twenty years, and 
has demonstrated unyielding devotion to COMTO's dual mission of 
achieving inclusion and upward mobility for minorities and women within 
the industry, and advocating for citizens and groups who are 
underserved by existing transportation services. His leadership and 
integrity in this pursuit inspired the members of COMTO to choose Ron 
as National President--and they could not have made a better choice. I 
am confident that, as President, Ron will inspire his colleagues across 
the country to dedicate themselves to ensuring minorities and women 
equal access to transportation jobs and services. It is the courage and 
hard work of people like Ron Freeland that will make certain no one is 
left behind as the transportation industry evolves to meet America's 
growing needs in the 21st century.

                          ____________________