Trailways Elects New Board Members
Fairfax, VA
Trailways Transportation System (Trailways) added two members to its Board of Directors at its Fall 2007 meeting in Alexandria, VA. Roman Cornell, vice president national sales for ABC Companies, Inc. in Winter Garden, FL., and Larry Hundt, president of Great Canadian Trailways in Kitchener, Ontario, are new members of the Board of Directors for Trailways Transportation System (Trailways). They both were midterm replacements. Cornell joined ABC Companies' sales division in 1995 as an account executive, and filled various sales positions for the company until appointment to his current position in September. He has been involved in the motorcoach business since his youth, and learned the business from the body shop and garage up. He is the third generation of his family to be associated with ABC Companies. His late father, Ron Cornell, was Chairman of the Board of ABC Companies and a Trailways board member until his death last August. Roman Cornell has been elected to the Trailways board to fill out his late father's term through 2008. He also holds a board position for ABC Companies. Roman's grandfather, Clancy Cornell, is founder of ABC Companies, and current Chairman of the Board. I look forward to bringing in some new Team Trailways members from regions of North America that are not adequately represented in the Trailways family'" said Cornell. "I also want to do my part in bringing ideas to the board table for making the Trailways organization even more of a better business group than it is today," he continued. Larry Hundt also began his 35-year motorcoach industry career at a young age. When he was a University of Waterloo student, he began running weekend bus shuttles for students who wanted to go into Toronto, a 90-minute trip. "There was a much-needed service and we were running about 250 full buses a year. After my second Waterloo year, I got a summer bus job. After that, I became a college dropout and a bus boy." In the ensuing years, Hundt has built his company fleet into 41 full-sized motorcoaches. As a Trailways board member, Hundt looks forward to strengthening the Trailways brand and tackling hot industry issues. "We have a unique brand that is the strongest in North America, yet we need to do some things to give us even more of an edge over our competition. Trailways members need to exploit the affiliation to the max - it makes the best of business sense." Hundt would also like to see his fellow Team Trailways members embrace green operations initiatives such as chemicals recycling and stricter controls on unnecessary engine idling. There is also opportunity for motorcoach companies to use their "green"advantages to make a point to government officials - about how many cars they take off the roads - and how much the industry contributes in operations taxes," he continued. "The U.S. does give some rebates to operators for fuel, but in Canada, we get nothing, even though we are part of the solution to energy use," Hundt added. "Other forms of transportation are heavily subsidized by government, yet our industry is on a one way road - we send it all in but get nothing in return." For more information contact Gale Ellsworth at 703-691-3052; or visit the Trailways website at www.trailways.com. Established in 1936 as North America's first organization supporting and promoting independent motorcoach owners and operators, Trailways continues to expand throughout the continent and Europe; providing scheduled-route, charter-and-tour transportation, and a variety of travel-related services that include air, rail and cruise ship connections.
