Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) driver David Davis was named the Para-Transit Operator of the Year by the State of Florida Commission for Transportation Disadvantaged (CTD).
“I love my job and what I do,” said Davis, accepting the award at the CTD Annual Transportation Disadvantaged Conference and Expo, clearly exemplifying the Manatee County employee maxim of doing “work that matters.”
In August of 2017—after a 35-year career in the medical field—David started his position as a Transit Operator with MCAT and has made an impact every day. Since then, he has transported thousands of disadvantaged passengers to and from adult-day facilities, dialysis, acute medical centers and Veterans Administration treatment facilities, as well as serving passengers requiring life-sustaining transportation service for other travel needs.
“This is well deserved,” said Jason Harris, Transit Division Manager for Manatee County. “It is fair to say that David willingly goes above and beyond the call of duty every day.”
Davis was nominated for this award by supervisors Benita Zarr and Brian Medina for his helpfulness, empathy and resourcefulness as an operator. He was also recognized by the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) with a Heroism Award in February 2018 after providing immediate assistance to a customer who had fallen and was wedged between her mattress against the wall. Davis jumped into action—establishing what was wrong —and took action to assist and comfort the woman while waiting for paramedics to arrive.