Kilgore, Texas, February 27, 2024: The East Texas Council of Governments' rural transit system, GoBus, is proud to be a recipient of the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) annual AdWheel awards, which recognize excellence in marketing and outreach efforts by transit providers nationwide.

The APTA AdWheel Awards fosters creativity and innovation within the public transportation industry, highlighting best marketing practices that contribute to the betterment of public transportation. The selection process involves evaluations by industry experts for creativity, impact, community engagement, and overall effectiveness. 

“I am proud of our Communications, Human Resources, and Transportation teams for collaborating effectively to address an ongoing staffing need within our agency. To receive national recognition for these efforts means a lot to me and all of us here at ETCOG!” said ETCOG Executive Director David Cleveland. 

ETCOG received the award in the Special Event subcategory for the Best Marketing and Communications on Workforce Development. The award acknowledges team effort in hosting a one-day hiring fair dedicated to GoBus Operator positions. The event featured comprehensive activities, including on-site interviews, video highlights, and bus tours, providing prospective candidates with a glimpse of transit operations and a seamless hiring process for human resources. This recognition celebrates our commitment to workforce development and highlights the success of ETCOG’s strategic marketing and communication initiatives in attracting top talent.

"We are honored to receive this prestigious APTA award,” said ETCOG Communications Director Lindsay Vanderbilt.” This recognition is a reflection of the dedication and creativity of our team and the collaboration across our agency to solve transportation hiring challenges.”

A member of the ETCOG communications team joined other award recipients and marketing experts to share details on their award-winning campaigns and projects at the APTA Marketing Workshop held February 12-14, 2024, in New Orleans, Louisiana. APTA is a nonprofit international association of over 1,500 public and private sector member organizations and is the only association in North America that represents all modes of public transportation, including bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail.