Metro News

The organization announced the award and recognized Mr. Haley at its annual Blacksmith Awards ceremony and chapter banquet Wednesday evening.

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has named Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) CEO and General Manager Darryl Haley its “CEO Communicator of the Year” for 2022. The organization announced the award and recognized Mr. Haley at its annual Blacksmith Awards ceremony and chapter banquet Wednesday evening.

“It’s truly an honor to receive this recognition from the Cincinnati PRSA,” said Haley. “More than a feather in my cap, this award represents the hard work and dedication of our entire staff to bringing Reinventing Metro and the promise of Issue 7 from dream to reality.”

Since voters approved the new sales tax in 2020, as Metro’s fixed-route footprint has grown, so, too, has Mr. Haley’s. From guaranteeing higher union wages than any other time in Metro’s 50-year history, to launching new, expanded service to more corners of the county, to an invitation to the Biden White House for the signing of the historic Infrastructure & Jobs Investment Act, his impact on transit and quality of life in our region has gained local and national attention.

Since assuming the agency’s top office, Mr. Haley has overseen the acquisition of millions of dollars in federal funding to modernize Metro’s fleet, the launch of a new Rider Advisory Committee to better engage our customers, and the administration of the first ever Transit Infrastructure Grant awards to improve the county’s aging roads and bridges. Not to mention: Mr. Haley led his staff to all of these accomplishments while navigating a global pandemic and critical driver shortage.

“CEO Communicator of the Year” is just Mr. Haley’s most recent accolade. Earlier this year, he received the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials’ (COMTO) highest honor, the Thomas G. Neusom Founders’ Leadership Award, as well as the Ohio Public Transportation Association’s (OPTA) Leonard Ronis Leadership Award. He also was featured in Cincinnati Magazine’s “Cincinnati 300” profile of the region’s most influential leaders in 2022.

Each year, the Cincinnati PRSA’s Blacksmith Awards celebrate the region’s best public relations campaigns and tactics from the past year. The prestigious “CEO Communicator of the Year” award highlights one organization’s top leader who best exemplified and represented that organization’s brand to the community.