Dayton, OH - The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) is proud to announce the agency was selected the 2019 Local Public Agency of the Year during the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT’s) Third Annual Civil Rights Transportation Symposium at the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, on April 9, 2019. 

MVRPC Executive Director Brian O, Martin, AICP, stated “We are honored to receive this award and we are proud to continue to address equity and access to opportunity throughout the Miami Valley. We strive to excel in advancing opportunity, diversity, and inclusion, and we encourage our members to do the same.” 

MVRPC was selected Agency of the Year from a pool of five (5) nominees from across Ohio.  Lynnette Stevens, Central & Southeast Ohio Regional Outreach Manager in ODOT’s Division of Opportunity, Diversity, and Inclusion, noted “This award recognizes the public agency that has excelled in upholding the requirements of the federal program and has demonstrated a track record of partnering with ODOT and DBE firms, while also encouraging the utilization of DBE firms on local-let, federally funded DOT projects.”

The award was presented to MVRPC’s Director of Regional Planning, Martin Kim, AICP, by ODOT’s Director Dr. Jack Marchbanks during the symposium which was attended by over 250 people.

The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission was selected due to:

• Its long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion; 
• Its ongoing promotion of collaboration among communities, stakeholders, and residents to advance regional priorities, which also allows the organization to receive feedback from a variety of sources in the regional planning process; 
• Its completion of Equity studies / profiles in the Miami Valley Region that help tell the story on inequity, racial, and economic segregation that are present in the Region;
• Its support of ODOT’s DBE Program through contracts that have DBE consultant participation; and
• Its recruitment and retention of a diverse staff and providing support for its staff through continuing education efforts related to diversity and inclusion. 

Established in 1964, the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission promotes collaboration among communities, stakeholders, and residents to advance regional priorities.  MVRPC is a forum and resource where the Board of Directors identifies priorities, develops public policy and collaborative strategies to improve quality of life throughout the Miami Valley Region.  MVRPC performs various regional planning activities, including air quality, water quality, transportation, land use, research and GIS.  As the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), MVRPC is responsible for transportation planning in Greene, Miami and Montgomery Counties and parts of northern Warren County. MVRPC's areawide water quality planning designation encompasses five (5) counties: Darke, Preble plus the three MPO counties.

For more information about the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, contact MVRPC’s Executive Director, Brian O. Martin, AICP, at (937) 223-6323, or at bmartin@mvrpc.org or go to www.mvrpc.org.

Photo above (L to R): Brian O. Martin, AICP, MVRPC Executive Director and Mark Donaghy, Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority Chief Executive Officer

Photo (L to R): Photo 1 - Brian O. Martin, AICP, MVRPC Executive Director; 2 - Regional Planning Staff with Executive Director - Liz Whitaker, Shelley Dennison, Martin Kim, Brian O. Martin, Kathryn Youra Polk, Tom Harner; 3 - Martin Kim, MVRPC Director of Regional Planning and Brian O. Martin, MVRPC Executive Director; 4 - Jack Marchbanks, ODOT Director, Martin Kim, MVRPC Director of Regional Planning; 5 - Regional Planning Staff