TDOT Civil Rights Office Honored with Regional Awards
Friday, September 04, 2009 | 07:43am
Affirmative Action Program Staff & Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Recognized
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Transportation is proud to announce that its Civil Rights Office has earned two awards from the Southern Transportation Civil Rights Executive Council. The awards were announced at the recent 2009 Southern Transportation Civil Rights Training Symposium, comprised of eight southern states.
“I am proud of everyone working in our Civil Rights Office for the work they do to educate our employees about diversity at TDOT,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “They have made great strides in improving all areas associated with civil rights, and have taken our programs to the level they are now – award winning.”
The 2009 Best Practices Award was presented to the TDOT Civil Rights Office Affirmative Action Program Staff for its work on the quarterly Diversity Brown Bag Lunches. The lunches were implemented to promote better understanding of the diverse cultures of TDOT employees, and feature presentations by TDOT employees who volunteer to share information about their native countries. These lunches have included presentations on Mexico, Egypt, China, Nigeria, and others.
The 2009 Outstanding Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Award was presented to SRS, Inc. for an outstanding job in assisting TDOT in accomplishing its work program objectives. SRS, Inc. has participated in TDOT sponsored workshops on estimating and bidding for other disadvantaged business enterprises, as well as providing subcontracting work to other small businesses.
“Our staff has made, and will continue to make, considerable contributions in the field of Civil Rights and Affirmative Action,” said Cammie Davenport Woodle, Executive Director of the TDOT Civil Rights Office. “These awards are proof that TDOT is setting an example for other states in the southeast to follow.”
The mission of the Civil Rights Office is to ensure equal employment opportunity within TDOT, to level the playing field of disadvantaged business enterprises by promoting and providing opportunities to participate on TDOT projects/activities and to plan, implement and provide guidance to prevent discrimination in federal aid programs and activities.
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