Project Management Group Wins Evie Cutler Award" 

SALISBURY, MD--The Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities has awarded the Evie Cutler Public Service Award to Salisbury University’s Project Management Group, an outreach entity of the Perdue School of Business.  

The award was presented earlier this spring to the PMG for its leadership in developing a regional transportation project for the Lower Eastern Shore.  The project has led to increased access to transportation services for persons with disabilities and others without a private vehicle.  Phase I of the project focused on data collection and consensus building.  In Phase II, now underway, PMG is helping to implement, on a pilot basis, expanded regional services and connections.

“We’re working closely with representatives of the disabled community to create transportation services that meet their needs and expand their mobility,” said Ruth Baker, managing director of the PMG.

The award criteria included facilitating the entry of qualified individuals with disabilities into employment, contributing to public understanding of the importance of people with disabilities in the workforce, and/or contributing to the career development of people with disabilities.

“People with disabilities in Wicomico County now have a better quality of life than ever, because they can move freely,” said Rob Hart, a former Wicomico Transit superintendent who recently joined the PMG as regional transportation coordinator.  “Just a year ago, the disabled person were limited as to when and where they could go depending on what agency represented them.  Now, they have mobility to go many other places within the community.  The future of public transportation on the Lower Shore is bright.”

In addition to the Project Management Group, the core group that initiated the project includes the departments of social services of Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester counties, the Lower Shore Private Industry Council Inc., Wicomico Transit, Worcester County Ride, Somerset County STRIdeS and the Mapping Science Group at SU.  The original coalition has grown into the Shore Transit Association, including representatives from the business community, nonprofit sector and state agencies.

PMG was nominated for the award by the Salisbury Mayor’s Council in Support of People with Disabilities, which acts as a resource so residents can take full advantage of city services and programs.  John Fields, chair of the Mayor’s Council and assistant vice president of student affairs at Salisbury University, noted that through the regional transportation project, the Project Management Group “has made work, recreation and socializing a reality for persons with disabilities.” 

The Project Management Group is an outreach entity of the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University.  It offers business, economic and community development, consulting and technical assistance services to a variety of clients, including private businesses, government agencies, non-profit and community organizations.

For more information about the Project Management Group, contact Dr. Memo Diriker, director, or Ruth Baker, managing director, at 410-548-5353 or email pmg@ssu.edu.  For more information about the regional transportation services, contact Rob Hart, regional coordinator, at 410-548-5178.