TRU is registered as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. TRU is organized with a Board of Directors, an Executive Committee and 3 Standing Committees. The majority of all work tasks and projects are accomplished by the 3 Standing Committees: Communications Committee, Finance Committee and Public Policy Committee. Each Committee is managed by a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. An officer of the Executive Committee is assigned to each Standing Committee as a Liaison with the Board of Directors. The Finance Committee meets regularly every other month. The Communications and Public Policy Committees meet as needed.

The Chairs of each Committee approach each of TRU's time-sensitive tasks and projects utilizing "Project Teams". These teams are assembled as needed from the general membership to work on specific tasks and projects. They are then disbanded when the task is completed. Meetings can be called as needed during the task or project time frame.

Each TRU member has the opportunity to be involved with any number of tasks or projects. It is very important for members to inform us about their areas of expertise and interest for the database, which the committee chairpersons consult to meet   staffing needs. Every member is asked to help on tasks and projects to the extent possible. There is plenty of work to do, as seen on the Flowchart to Improve Transit.

Mission Statement:
Our mission is to improve transportation access and mobility in Greater Detroit.

Purposes:
Educate the public and officials about the importance of public transportation options.
Promote discourse on local, regional and state developments related to transportation.
Improve public transportation.
Promote alternatives to highway expansion.

Who is TRU.....

We are often asked about the history of our organization, and just who is “behind” all of our activism. It seems to some that TRU is everywhere-sometimes at places that we are less than welcome-especially if transit’s future is on the hook. The short answer is that TRU is a grass-roots organization that has brought together some hard-working individuals who are truly dedicated to improving the transportation picture for Greater Detroit. So who is TRU?

It’s Stephen Hands, who at 14 years old decided that he and the region’s residents deserved better transit service. He convinced his mother, attorney Karen Kendrick-Hands and father, environmental engineer Larry Hands that an organization is needed to move things forward. From informal gatherings at local coffee houses in 1999 and some helpful press coverage, the little group began gathering a following. Through Karen’s de facto leadership, TRU became a group with a name, a mission and a knack at getting in the doors of meetings not previously opened by savvy advocate groups previously.

Within a year, TRU had grown to the point that we needed to establish ourselves as an official entity, and in 2001 TRU incorporated and obtained its tax-exempt status as a 501 (c)(3) educational organization. The organization’s mission was simple in concept: improve transportation access and mobility in Greater Detroit. Accomplishing the mission has certainly not been simple, and without the help of our members, key leaders and key funding, TRU would not have had the successes we have had so far.

Some of the early coffee-house attendees became leaders of the new official organization and many are still with us today. Karen rather reluctantly accepted the top job as Board President, and through sheer tenacity became “TRU” to many. Stephen’s top priority was of course finishing high school, but he dedicated much of his time to leadership work at TRU and is now attending college in Ohio. Detroit resident Ann Serra guided the early group through its organizational stages and was instrumental in connecting TRU with startup funding sources and key community contacts.

Other leaders include Marcia (pronounced Mar-SEE-ya) Yakes, a proud Midtown resident (she still refers to it as the Cass Corridor) who is a stalwart and vocal champion of transit and TRU’s Vice President. She will gladly let anyone know that she is 50-something, and “would still be 40 if I hadn’t lost all that time waiting on late buses.” Marcia was the force behind “Riders’ Voice”, the bus-rider committee that fights successfully for change and improvement. Riders’ Voice is now being chaired by Detroiter Patty Fedewa, a tireless supporter of transit and advocate for improvement. Patty is a TRU Board member and a Detroit Transportation Commissioner when she isn’t working at her regular job or advocating for TRU at City Hall.

Our current president, Bob Prud’homme is a Ferndale resident who builds environmentally-friendly “green” housing and as an architect, understands the value of urban viability. Both Bob and Larry Hands have been tireless supporters of TRU’s “2030 Vision” for sensible regional growth as opposed to acceptance of more decades of business as usual. TRU’s recent Forum on Woodward Corridor Transit was the result of their efforts. TRU’s newly-elected secretary, Detroit resident Francis Grunow, also heads up Preservation Wayne as its Executive Director. Francis is a journalist and helped assemble streetcars in New York City in his spare time before coming back home.

Always present and quietly getting things done is Mike Whims, an exurbanite who counts auto racing, transit and railroading as his interests. Mike handled the incorporation and initial financial business filings, and served as both secretary and treasurer in the past. He is now TRU’s Operations Director and can be found in the office two days a week or around town at some transit-related activity. He recently made a decision to “lead the baby-boomers back the promised land”, as he puts it, by giving up his 25-year history of long commutes from “the sticks” and buying a home on the Woodward transit corridor. “I can see my bus stop from my new house.”

Rounding out TRU’s Board of Directors are Detroit residents Larry Birchfield, an eloquent communicator on transit issues, and John DeLora, who also directs the activities of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers when he is not busy at his law enforcement job. Redford resident Frank Clark and Detroiters Tommy Meadows and Cheryl Horton are local champions of the rights of the disabled community, with Frank and Tommy serving on transit agency councils in that capacity. Ferndale resident and City Manager, Tom Barwin brings his intimate knowledge of municipal governance and passion for transit to the Board. And Steve Gutterman, Ann Arbor resident and U of M grad student, has been invaluable in his writing and communications direction for the organization.

When you visit TRU’s new office space in the historic Guardian Building, you will likely encounter TRU’s able part-time office staffers, Detroiters Jana Cephas and Virginia Lingham. Jana is a U of D graduate student who implemented the Woodward Transit Forum. Virginia is a Wayne State student and Americorps volunteer who is conducting transit research and helping Mike keep the administrative activities organized.

There is even more to who TRU is. Our many past Board members, TRU members, staffers and committee workers have all been an important part of making TRU what it is today: Greater Detroit’s champions for improved transportation policy and transit service. We can’t continue without our members’ support, both financial and personal volunteer effort. TRU succeeds because it is a cohesive group of people with varied talents and a common mission.

Annual Reports:

• 2004 Annual Report
• 2003 Annual Report
• 2002 Annual Report
• 2001 Annual Report

COMMITTEE WORK AREAS

Each Committee has unique general areas of responsibility:

Executive Committee -
Bylaws
Ethics
Personnel
Internal Training

Communications Committee-
Speakers Bureau
Print Materials
Facilitating Media Contacts
Presentations
Member Recruitment
Member Involvement
Video work
Website
Community Calendar
Newsletter

Rider's Voice Project Team-
To improve existing public transit to be responsive to community needs
through acting as a community voice and empowering riders

Finance Committee-
Membership Management
Banking
Grants
Database
Mailings

Public Policy Committee-
Strategy Development
Partnering
External Communication Strategy
External Appointments

This is an abbreviated list.

Many tasks and projects may cross the boundaries of responsibility between Committees. Close coordination between Committee Chairs and the Officer Liaision allow one committee to successfully accomplish such multi-disciplinary work.