Marcia Staszko was awarded the 2017 Sheila Winitzer Shining Star Award by the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged for her over 30-years of leadership in the Transportation Disadvantaged coordinated system in Central Florida. Ms. Staszko retired as the Transportation Disadvantaged Program Director for Central Florida Regional Planning Council in May of 2016, however, returned part-time late that same year to assist with projects related to the Transportation Disadvantaged program.
Throughout her career, Marcia has been involved in all aspects of the program at the state and local levels. She was a founding member and an organizer of the grassroots effort that resulted in the creation of the Florida Association of Coordinated Transportation Systems and served as a Board member for a number of years.
She has routinely attended state Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged meetings and conferences and has been actively involved in the continuous improvement of the Coordinated Transportation System on all levels. Marcia was instrumental in outlining the process for selecting and brokering Transportation Disadvantaged services as the planning agency. In the words of Jo Ann Hutchinson, former Executive Director of the Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged, “Marcia was always very respectful while being a strong advocate for coordinated transportation. She led by example and was a role model for staffing a coordinating board. As a result, she had great local support resulting in more Transportation Disadvantaged services”.
In 2010, Marcia was the recipient of the “William G. and Budd Bell Lifetime Achievement Award”, also presented by the Commission. Marcia is an active community volunteer and provides volunteer transportation to individuals who have limited mobility and transportation options in order to get them to essential services and also serves as the representative for seniors on the Polk TPO Local Coordinating Board.
The award was presented to Marcia at the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged Awards Banquet held on August 30, 2017, in Orlando, Florida.