News

Kudos to RDU for an outstanding event and celebration

The regional business community is well aware of the importance of our RDU International to the success of our growing region. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of serving on a panel of business leaders including Chris Chung with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, Margaret Chadwick with Wolfspeed, and Jim Sills with M&F Bank. This panel was part of an event where RDU welcomed keynote speaker David Neeleman – the CEO of Breeze Airways, our region’s newest airline – to our market.

The event was a celebration of the airport’s importance to our region, and included a thank you for a number of partners including area elected officials, regional economic developers, regional and state tourism leaders, and the Triangle Takeoff Coalition which worked tirelessly to restore air travel after the pandemic. The event also helped to reinforce our top priority of securing sustainable funding for RDU Airport, including identifying critical funding for a new 5L-23R primary runway, as evidenced by these three Triangle Business Journal articles (1, 2, 3).

One Month Away

The RTA Transportation Breakfast 2023 – a mainstay event in our region’s calendar – is just over one month away.
We have a fantastic and growing lineup of speakers and panelists for the event which will launch BRT across the Triangle, and highlight the upcoming regional FAST transit study.

We will hear from elected officials from across five counties, including:
Mary-Ann Baldwin, mayor, City of Raleigh
Harold Weinbrecht, mayor, Town of Cary
Leonardo Williams, Durham City Council
Michael Parker, Chapel Hill Town Council
Vivian Jones, mayor of Wake Forest and chair, Capital Area MPO
Brenda Howerton, chair, Durham County Board of Commissioners
Butch Lawter, chair, Johnston County Board of Commissioners
Susan Evans, vice chair, Wake County Board of Commissioners
Mike Dasher, vice chair, Chatham County Board of Commissioners
Sally Greene, Orange County Board of Commissioners

Confirmed business and transportation leader panelists include:
Jay Irby, First Citizens Bank, RTA chair
Donald Gintzig, Wake Med Health and Hospitals
Scott Levitan, Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina
Sig Hutchinson, chair, GoTriangle
Brandon Jones, NCDOT Division 5 Engineer
Bill Sandifer, RDU Airport Authority, EVP, Chief Development Officer

Please take a moment to register for the event. RTA members have at least one ticket included with their membership, but space is limited and our registration are now north of 200 people. 

Thank you, as always, for your membership and support. Have a great Freedom Day this coming Monday, which is the celebration of Juneteenth in North Carolina and across the United States.

Let’s get moving,

Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA Executive Director

Click here for prior RTA Member Briefings and RTA Blogs.