Norma Reginold
Norma Reginold is the co-founder of the grass roots organization Supporters for Regional Transportation or SORT. Created in 1992, SORT’s goal was to achieve a local source of funding for public transit. Following their motto ‘Public Transportation: Vital for some, supported by all’ Norma and her group set out to help pass the SMART bus millage in 1995. Norma and her group lead a campaign of presentations to organizations and businesses about the need for a local source of funding, created handouts and made thousands of phone calls to potential voters. One hundred members strong SORT was critical to the overwhelmingly successful passage of the first SMART tax.
Norma Reginold is an extremely independent woman. As a teacher in the Fitzgerald School District she used SMART buses daily to get to and from school. “SMART buses were always on time and I always felt safe on a big bus” said Norma. She gives credit to SMART for getting her to school even on snow days when no one else was there. Norma stated the ‘drivers were always kind and helpful’. One day the bus she was riding broke down. She realized she would not be in her classroom before her students. Norma asked the driver if he could radio the SMART dispatcher to have them call her school and tell them she would be late. They did and an adult was in her classroom with her students until she arrived a few minutes late for work.
In each of the millage election years, Norma and the members of SORT has helped in the passage of the SMART tax. Over the years they have kept pressure on the legislators by writing letters and meeting with them to explain the great need for continued funding of SMART and public transit. They have broadened their efforts and have a seat on SEMCOG’s Transportation Advisory Committee.
Norma continues her efforts to help people as a member of the South Oakland Citizens for the Homeless, helping to operate a day center and is active in St. Vincent DePaul. Both organizations purchase SMART bus tickets to help with the transportation of their guests to work, training programs and medical appointments. Norma is also a supporter of the train from Ann Arbor to Detroit working on getting funding for the pilot.