Aggie Named International Parking Supervisor Of The Year
From TAMUtimes
June Broughton, communications manager for the Transportation Services Department at Texas A&M University, has been named the 2012 Supervisor of the Year by the International Parking Institute (IPI).
The award is one of three major awards in IPI’s Professional Recognition Program. In making the announcement, IPI officials say the organization created the program to honor parking industry professionals who exemplify excellence in the industry and who are changing the perception of parking through their actions and organizational programs.
Broughton, a 1982 marketing graduate of Texas A&M, has worked for the university’s Transportation Services Department for 10 years. She was recognized for her commitment to service excellence. Her nominators note that she is known for going above and beyond merely producing marketing materials; she searches out and learns university guidelines and then works with groups to ensure alignment between them.
During her 10 years at Texas A&M, Broughton has seen a great deal of change and has helped her department market new programs to increase its success. These include an image/brand campaign launched in 2003 to focus on the department’s customer-driven philosophy and prove this through innovative products and services which meet the needs of the customer.
Also the department began an online permit registration program that now processes more than 36,000 permit requests each year; hands-free lot and garage access; real-time bus location data; “Get to the Grid” shuttles introduced to transport more than 5,000 fans to Kyle Field each game day for free (sponsorship dollars cover the cost); pay-by-space and pay-by-cell visitor parking technology; ride-share, bike-share and car rental for students, faculty and staff; use of biodiesel fuel in buses; branding of the Aggie Spirit bus fleet; a comprehensive visitor parking program to offset permit prices; and a visitor parking and a garage signage wayfinding program.
In addition to managing the website and externally-delivered materials for all these programs, Broughton identified and secured creative sources of revenue to help offset her team’s costs.
Facing opposition from administrators, she led an advertising program for the racks in the department’s bus fleet, convincing them to try a pilot program using ads from other on-campus departments, Transportation Services officials note. The successful pilot garnered approval to extend the bus advertising program to non-affiliated companies as well, growing the program’s revenue stream from $25,000 to $150,000 per year.
They add that Broughton consistently assists others in the parking industry in developing their own marketing and communications programs and shares her knowledge in alignment with IPI’s mission of providing leadership, training, and professional development.
The award was presented to Broughton at IPI’s international conference on June 12. Both Peter Lange, executive director of Texas A&M’s Transportation Services, and Debbie Hoffmann, associate director, presented at this year’s conference.
“The conference and show is also an opportunity for us to see new technologies that we will be able to incorporate in our services in the future as well as continue to share best practices in the industry. With team members such as June Broughton, we continue to be seen as the benchmark for others in the parking and transportation industry,” Lange added.
This is not the first time Texas A&M’s Transportation Services has been recognized. In 2009, it was named Parking Organization of the Year.
Parking is integral to transportation flow, economic development, land use, law enforcement, architectural aesthetics and overall quality of life. With the parking industry’s wide-ranging impact, IPI members include professionals from cities, port authorities, civic centers, academic institutions, hospitals and healthcare facilities, airports, corporate complexes, racetracks, transit and transportation agencies, retail, hospitality, entertainment and sports centers, architects, engineers, financial consultants and urban planners, as well as the suppliers of equipment, products and services to the parking and transportation industries.
IPI’s purpose is advancing the parking profession through leadership, education, professional development, conferences, connections, data collection, advocacy and outreach.
Other awards were presented including Parking Professional of the Year to Rachel Yoka, vice president of strategic business planning & sustainability for TimHaahs, and Heather Medley of Texas Tech University was named Staff Member of the Year.
Nominations for these awards are accepted on an annual basis and judged by a select committee of industry peers appointed by IPI Board of Directors Chair Casey Jones, CAPP. Recipients, selected by the Professional Recognition Committee, were announced at its 2012 Conference and Expo in Phoenix, Ariz.
The International Parking Institute is the world’s largest association representing parking professionals and the parking industry.
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Media contact: Helen Sullivan, (703) 606-7622 (call or text) or sullivan@parking.org or Tura King, Division of Marketing & Communications at Texas A&M, at (979) 845-4670 or tura-king@tamu.edu
