Here at the MPTA, we want to thank and commend all employees of CATA in Lansing who stepped up above and beyond their normal duties on Monday night following the tragedy on the MSU campus. Once again, Public Transportation employees demonstrate their strong community spirit. We join with CATA CEO Brad Funkhouser and the message he shared with employees:
February 14, 2023
Dear CATA Employees:
As many of us struggle today with the tragic events that unfolded on campus last night, I write to express my sincere condolences for the senseless loss of life of three students and for those who sustained life-threatening injuries in the melee. As our community tries to make sense of the horrific acts of violence so close to home, I encourage you to take a moment to pause and check in with those who are most important to you. Connect with each other so that we can properly grieve and begin to heal together.
For those who find that they need additional resources to get through this very difficult time, please know that GuidanceResources, Sparrow’s employee assistance program, will be on site Wednesday, Feb. 15, and Friday, Feb. 17, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Day Room (Phone: 877-595-5284).
Please know that, as soon as CATA received word of a shooting on campus, I was on the phone with Michigan State University, the Emergency Operations Center and law enforcement to assess risks. Together, we determined a perimeter within which CATA’s service could safely operate, and we adjusted the perimeter as new information was made available to us. We remained in close contact with members of the EOC. Our priority was, first and foremost, to ensure driver and community safety. We will engage in future conversations about what we learned and what we can do better in the days ahead.
I want to thank each and every one of you for your dedication to the work we do on behalf of our riders and community partners. In times of tragedy the ability for individuals to respond to the call to service is instinctual and part of what makes us human.
Last night, our frontline employees, union leadership and administrative staff demonstrated that very human quality through their extraordinary service, putting the safety and well-being of those in harm’s way above their own. They worked late into the night and wee hours of the morning to transport and reunite students with their families. To say that I am proud of your selflessness is an understatement. Words alone cannot adequately express my deep gratitude to our workforce for showing up each day and facing, with courage and conviction, whatever fate has in store for us. If ever you doubt the impact we make in the communities we serve, look proudly upon yourselves and be reminded of our greatness together.
With deepest respect,
s/Bradley T. Funkhouser