• MPO Walkable Community Workshop
• Nation's Oldest Living Female Military Veteran Achieves Dream
• Call A Ride for Seniors (CARS) Receives 2014 n4a Achievement Award
• Federal Transit Administration Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Urban Mass Transportation Act
• Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Cares Help Line

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MPO Walkable Community Workshop 

Lucy Coffey, at age 108 the nation's oldest living female military veteran, dreamed of going to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, Virgina.

This weekend she got her wish thanks to Honor Flight San Antonio and she was greeted with thunderous applause on Friday, July 25th at Reagan National Airport.  She was then welcomed to the White House by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. 

Though Coffey, who was part of the Women's Army Corps during World War II did not walk on this trip and cannot speak, she was actively engaging with the people around her. 

Staff Sgt. Lucy Coffey enlisted in 1943, around the time of her 37th birthday. She had tried to enlist several times before that, but was rejected for being too short or too slim.   Donning extra weights on her legs, she passed the weight minimum of 100 pounds. 

While in the Women's Army Corps, she earned two Bronze Stars, a WAC Service Medal, a Good Conduct Medal and a World War II Victory Medal. Coffey was one of 150,000 women who served as WACs during the war.
  

AACOG was instrumental in arranging transportation. Upon a request from the Bexar County Veteran Service Officer, Rose Ryan, Regional Mobility Manager, contacted VIA to arrange for the vehicle, and BAAA provided our VetCorps Leaders, Arsenio de Lara, retired U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant, and Frederick Vann, retired Army Sergeant First Class, as escorts for Ms. Coffey. They are pictured in the blue shirts in the photo below. Project MEND provided the special wheelchair that Ms. Coffey needed to access the Paratransit van and to get through the airport to her gate.

The VetCorps Leaders provided door-through-door assistance--the hallmark of our Mobility Management program--assisting Ms. Coffey out of her home and helping her board the Paratransit van, then escorting her through the airport to her gate.  The VetCorps Leaders also were on hand when Ms. Coffey returned and assisted her through the airport, onto the Paratransit van, and safely back inside her home.

Special "thanks" to everyone who participated in Ms. Coffey's extremely successful "trip of a lifetime".

 

 

CARS Receives 2014 n4a Achievement Award

Every year, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), proudly recognizes the innovative programs and successful best practices of their members through the n4a Aging Innovations and Achievement Awards (AIA) program. 

This year, the AACOG Bexar Area Agency on Aging received an Achievement Award under the category: Transportation / Mobility Options for the Call A Ride for Seniors (CARS) program.  

CARS is a collaborative group established by the Bexar Area Agency on Aging that includes volunteer driver operators who provide senior transportation to those in need.  Participating in this group are:  Jefferson Area Outreach for Older People, Inc; Northeast Senior Assistance (NESA); Southeast Community Outreach for Older People (SCOOP); and Southwest Community Outreach for Older People (SWOOP).

Congratulations to all of our community partners!  
 
 

Federal Transit Administration Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Urban Mass Transportation Act

Landmark law strengthened nation's access to public transportation systems

WASHINGTON -  On July 9th, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the Urban Mass Transportation Act, signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964 to achieve, in his words, "better systems for getting our people to work and home again-and getting them there with speed and safety and economy and comfort."

"Fifty years ago, Congress and President Johnson took action to bolster our nation's public transit systems at a time when more and better transportation choices were desperately needed in America's cities," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Today, with transit ridership growing nationwide-in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike-our GROW AMERICA Act is another historic opportunity to usher in a new era for public transportation."

The Act, signed into law on July 9, 1964, created the foundation for the federal, state and local partnerships that have improved and expanded the nation's public transportation systems-establishing a program of federal financial assistance that creates ladders of opportunity for millions of Americans daily in metropolitan and rural areas.

"Over the last half century, we have seen the enormous benefits of federal investments in public transportation in cities from Boston to San Diego, in rural communities from Nebraska to Missouri-all of which spur billions of dollars in economic development and create much-needed transportation choices," said Deputy Federal Transit Administrator Therese McMillan. "Continued investments in public transportation will create jobs, revitalize communities, and create new opportunities for hard-working families."

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Courtesy of U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration

Contact Us: to submit "Spotlight" stories, current events, article suggestions, data to share, best practices and/or with any comments or questions: ehernandez@aacog.com or call (210)-362-5274.