Rays the Mark Foundation opens nominations for 2024 honoree
Rays the Mark Foundation has opened its nomination process for a 2024 honoree. The foundation was created by Raymond Melleady, executive vice president USSC Group and March Aesch, founder and CEO of Transpro Consulting, to collectively support transit professionals who have worked and improved the industry but are facing challenges of their own.
The foundation has raised more than $150,000 to distribute to its honorees. Past honorees include Sonny Gordon, a former college and professional football player and sales executive at USSC Group, who lost his battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 2023, and Lauren Cochran Scoville, a transit industry advocate for zero-emission buses, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022.
“If you know of someone who has truly ‘raised the mark’ of our industry and made your organization and our industry better for it, please submit an application for consideration,” the foundation wrote in an announcement for the 2024 honoree nomination.
Potential honorees can be submitted by visiting raysthemarkfoundation.com and clicking on Suggest An Honoree. Applications will be open until April 1, 2024, with an honoree selected that same month. The foundation will hold its annual fundraising golf outing on Sept. 28 in Anaheim, Calif.
“Thank you for your support of the Rays the Mark Foundation, we welcome your submissions for our Raise the Mark 2024 Honoree and continue to be appreciative of your generous consideration in sponsoring our 2024 event,” the foundation said.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
