Thank you for attending our first mobility maker awards and member party!
Earlier this month, we recognized some of the many people and organizations that are working to create a more bikeable, walkable Macon-Bibb County at our first-ever Mobility Maker Awards.
We celebrated everything we’ve accomplished together in the past six years at the Grand Opera House and then got a special first look at the My Bike Photo Series gallery at The MAC: McEachern Arts Center. It was an afternoon of fun, awards, photography, drinks, and good company! Thank you to everyone who joined us to help us close out another impactful Macon Bike Walk Month and celebrate our award winners. And thank you for helping us grow our movement to create streets FOR PEOPLE!
Congratulations to our 2021 winners!
Appreciation Award • Curtis Hertwig
Curtis Hertwig is a very important person in the Bike Walk Macon family. Curtis moved back to Macon around the time BWM started as a grassroots movement, and he was instantly involved and invested in our cause to create a better Macon for biking and walking. Curtis and Rachel (our executive director) began working together in 2016 to create and build Bike Walk Macon as a nonprofit organization.
At the first BWM board meeting, there was no question about who the board wanted to nominate to serve as the first board president. Curtis continued to serve as the BWM board president from 2017 to 2020. In addition to serving as Board President, he’s also served as BWM’s treasurer and volunteered at several events. He’s challenged us to be creative and innovative. He’s also one of our My Bike Photo Series photographers. Thank you, Curtis, for the countless hours you’ve dedicated to Bike Walk Macon!
AARP GEORGIA • 2021 PARTNERSHIP AWARD
This award goes to a group that stood through their partnership with Bike Walk Macon. There are dozens of organizations and groups that are so deserving of this award. But there is one group that has supported us the longest in so many different ways.
In 2018, dozens of AARP volunteers helped us close several miles of streets for Open Streets Macon and they’ve been providing countless volunteer hours since then. In 2020, they went beyond supporting us through volunteers and sponsored the My Bike Photo Series so we could continue the series and pay each participating photographer a stipend. In 2020, Bike Walk Macon received a Community Challenge grant to install a traffic calming project at each Open Streets event.
This partnership wouldn’t be so strong without our Board Vice President, Myrtle Habersham. She led the AARP Middle Georgia Chapter for several years and we’re incredibly grateful that she chose to share the AARP network with us. Alice Bennett has also been a true supporter and resource for Bike Walk Macon.
MBC PARKS & BEAUTIFICATION • 2021 GOVERNMENT DEPT. AWARD
This award goes to a government leader or organization who has made a tremendous impact in making Macon more walkable, bikeable and livable.
Our Open Streets Macon and traffic calming projects all come with their own set of detailed checklists and challenges. From closing a street to organizing volunteers to making sure every situation is safe for everyone, there is one city department that makes the business of staying busy easier. MBC Parks and Beautification, led by Michael Glisson is made up of a team that organizes our street closures, ensures that each street has adequate barriers, helps plan routes, and approves permits.
We’re incredibly grateful for our partnership with Parks and Beautification, but we’d also like to give them this award for the tremendous job they do with maintaining and beautifying more than 75 passive parks and green spaces, including more than (5) miles of paved walking trails. They also maintain downtown streetscapes, public alleys, and the tree canopy, all of which are extremely important for creating a comfortable and welcoming bike and pedestrian network.
BIKE TECH MACON • 2021 BUSINESS AWARD
Bike Tech Macon is a business that we know we can call on for whatever we need. And they will always say yes. They provide swag and door prizes for our events and they provide volunteers for our rides and Open Streets Macon. They’ve helped us get a great deal on purchasing bike racks to add throughout Macon and partnered with us to install Macon’s first Bike Parts Vending Machine. We can’t think of a more bike-friendly business in Macon.
We’d like to thank them for providing a welcoming space for people of all ages and skill levels to purchase a bike. They go far beyond selling bikes by hosting several group rides and community events. If you haven’t joined a Saturday morning Crank to Coffee ride, we highly recommend it. In the Summer of 2021, they’ll be moving to Downtown Macon so bicyclists can access their shop and Downtown bike lanes and the Ocmulgee Trail easier. We can’t wait to visit.
U CREATE MACON • 2021 IMPACT AWARD
This award goes to the most innovative transportation project or initiative in the past five years.
Our 2021 Impact Award was awarded to Charise Stephens with U Create Macon. Charise Stephens is a local bike leader who elevates youth biking to a national level with local initiatives. Charise and U Create Macon received 3 nominations for this award, including one from her son, Camden. He said, “My mom Charise Stephens is a force of nature and has developed a program that is getting national attention for its innovation. She has put youth biking on the map for Macon/Middle Georgia. I love her dearly and even though she is humble, she is deserving of this recognition.”
U Create Macon is a grassroots effort bringing diversity and inclusiveness to youth biking. Their efforts have produced national NICA winners and continues to innovate.
KAYLEE PRUITT • 2021 VOLUNTEER AWARD
Kaylee came to Bike Walk Macon and joined the Open Streets Macon committee and immediately took on the task of pulling together activity partners. She has served on Open Streets Macon committee for four years and our Shamrock ‘n’ Ride committee for two years. She painted Macon’s first green bike lanes with us, hosted several Bike Parties and other events at her places of business, and in 2020, she hosted two virtual bike rides and a Jane’s Walk.
She will get dressed up for a photoshoot. She will throw on her walking shoes to canvas a neighborhood. She always comes with extra help enlisting her husband, Justin, and friends. She works hard and when the work is complete, she loves to laugh about the day over a meal and a beer. She’s a friend, a volunteer, a cheerleader for Bike Walk Macon, and our 2021 Volunteer of the Year.
DSTO MOORE AND CHRIS SMITH • 2020 IMPACT AWARD
DSTO Moore brought the idea of a photo series to Bike Walk Macon. Using a photo of Nathan Smith who has since passed, DSTO had the idea to highlight many people through the month of May for Bike Walk Walk Month. But we quickly realized that one month was not enough for this important project. But how would we manage a year-long project with limited knowledge in photography and what would a project like this entail? Enter Chris Smith. Chris agreed to help us organize 11 more photographers, 65 featured bicyclists, and a gallery by becoming the project manager for the My Bike Photo Series.
Through the pandemic both DSTO and Chris kept this project moving forward. In a year where we were required to stay at home and socially distance. DSTO and Chris helped us share an impactful advocacy art project, while still being safe. These two helped us continue to make a difference in a world when no one could be together.
NIGEL FLOYD • 2021 MOBILITY CHAMPION AWARD
This is our highest award and it goes to an individual who has done the most through community advocacy to move the needle toward creating streets and communities for people, and not just for cars.
When we look at Macon’s streets today and see the miles of added bike lanes, the crosswalks, the improved street design, there is one person to thank for that, Nigel Floyd. Nigel has been on the Bike Walk Macon board since its inception. He has also served on the Pedestrian Safety Review Board. He has contributed countless hours to designing streets that are better for everyone. He’ll even get out on the street and do it himself. Nigel also helped draft the Complete Streets Policy that we recently presented to Macon-Bibb County and has helped advocate for its importance. There’s a lot of progress that can be made through our educational and community work, but ultimately we believe that better street design is what will encourage more Maconites to consider alternative modes of transportation. Better street design will decrease the number of crashes and fatalities on Macon’s streets. We’d like to thank Nigel Floyd, Macon-Bibb County Traffic Engineer for helping us create a better Macon-Bibb County through the design of safer, friendlier streets.