MVRPC's RIDESHARE Program 40th Anniversary
MVRPC’s RIDESHARE Program is celebrating 40 years of helping commuters find alternatives to driving alone by carpooling, vanpool or bikepooling. The program is celebrating this milestone with a gas card giveaway contest during 2019. Anyone who lives, works, or attends college in Clinton, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery or Preble County, in Ohio, is eligible to register for a chance to win a $40 gas card. Each month, one (1) winner will be randomly selected. Go to www.MiamiValleyRideshare.org or call 1.800.743.SAVE to register for a chance to win.

MVRPC attended the NARC Conference in Washington D.C.
The National Conference of Regions was held February 10 – 13, 2019, in Washington D.C. This annual conference serves as a  forum to determine key policy issues and a legislative agenda for the year ahead, targeting topics central to our members’ missions and their local elected officials’ focus. An impressive slate of speakers including House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and T&I members Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA), Dina Titus (D-NV), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) shared their thoughts on a variety of transportation issues including the federal fuel tax, the benefits of designing liveable communities, and how the 2020 Census determines the level of federal assistance regions receive for housing, aging, transportation and more.

MVRPC’s Executive Director, Brian O. Martin, along with Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission staff also met with Ohio Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown during the conference.

MVRPC Staff Participates in a Women’s Transportation Seminar
On January 24, 2019, MVRPC’s Transportation Project Manager, Ami Parikh, participated in a Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Transportation YOU event at the Dayton Regional STEM School. WTS is an international organization dedicated to the professional advancement of women in transportation. MVRPC has been a public partner of the Southwest Ohio chapter of WTS since its inception in 2015.

Transportation YOU is a WTS hands-on, interactive, mentoring program that offers youth, especially girls and young women, an introduction to a wide variety of transportation careers and is a joint initiative with the U.S. Department of Transportation. At the Dayton STEM school event, staff reported a refreshing interaction with well-informed high school and middle school students who stopped by the WTS booth during their lunch hour to ask questions about transportation planning/engineering careers, how science and math apply to the job, and specific questions related to local transportation projects.

MVRPC Staff Photo – February 25, 2019

(Back row) – Darrin Hall, Tom Harner, Paul Arnold, Rob Uhlhorn, Brad Daniel, Mike Lucas, Tim Gilliland, Aaron Lee
(Middle row) – Tashia Reese, Ana Ramirez, Matt Lindsay, Ami Parikh, Teresa Lombardelli, Tonya Lee, Laura Henry, Martin Kim, Alexandra Growel
(Front row) – Elizabeth Whitaker, Kathryn Youra Polk, Brian Martin, Kim Lahman, Laura Loges, Kirsten Frank Hoppe, Shelley Denison

Grants & Funding Resources
On a monthly basis MVRPC is highlighting several funding opportunities on our website that could benefit communities in the Region. We include a description, contact information and program links. We have also listed other valuable resources for finding funding opportunities.
See more at: mvrpc.org/grant-and-funding-opportunities

This month we are featuring information on:

• USDA Rural Economic Development Innovation – Deadline: April 5, 2019.
• Ohio Highway Safety Improvement Program – Deadline: attend a mandatory meeting in late March/early April, final application due June 7, 2019.

If you need assistance with your grant pursuit or further research, please contact Martin Kim, Director of Regional Planning, at 937.223.6323 or mkim@mvrpc.org. 

Upcoming MVRPC Meetings 

3/14/19    12:00 p.m.  Great Miami River Watershed Network, Wegerzyn Center, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave., Dayton, Ohio
3/21/19     9:30 a.m.   MVRPC Technical Advisory Committee, MVRPC Office, 10 N. Ludlow Street, Suite 700, Dayton, Ohio
3/29/19    10:00 a.m.  Miami Valley Regional Bikeways Committee, Municipal Government Complex, 201 W. Water Street, Piqua, Ohio

Download the March 2019 Executive Director's Update PDF