Metro News Release

For immediate release: July 16, 2003

Metro employees receive awards for actions on September 11, 2001

Three Metro employees received awards today from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta for their laudatory actions on September 11, 2001, immediately after an airplane taken over by terrorists struck the Pentagon.

Metro CEO Richard A. White received a medal for his leadership role in providing back-to-back rush hour service that morning to safely and reliably return customers to their homes. Many customers rode Metro for the first time that fateful morning when gridlock, unlike any before in the region, took hold of area roadways. Station Manager Jesse L. Robinson and Utility Supervisor Harold H. Euell also received medals for their quick thinking and actions which aided passengers to remain calm as they helped them get to safety from the Pentagon Metrorail station, where both were working, and the area near the Pentagon impacted by the tragic events of that day.

" We are so proud of Jesse Robinson and Harold Euell for their quick customer service action, without knowing at first exactly what had occurred and with no concern for their own safety," stated Metro CEO Richard A. White. " They assisted customers in remaining calm and reaching safety after the horrific events of that day, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase, ’stellar customer service." " Mr. White, a resident of Fairfax County, Virginia, will mark his seventh year this August as the CEO and General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Station Manager Robinson began his career with Metro as a bus operator in 1974, becoming a station manager in 1997. In that capacity, he has served at various Metrorail stations, including the Pentagon Metrorail station on the day of the terrorist attacks. Currently, he is the station manager at the Ronald Reagan National Airport Metrorail station. A resident of Washington, D.C., his wife Cynthia accompanied him to the awards presentation.

Utility Supervisor Harold Euell began his career in 1970as a bus operator with D.C. Transit. When Metrobus took over that private transit company and others, Mr. Euell continued his career as a Metrobus operator, giving him a total of 33 years with Metro. He joined the Rail side of the system in 1993 and cross-trained as a station manager and a rail supervisor.

Mr. Euell became a Rail Transportation Utility Supervisor in 2001 when he was assigned on that fateful day to the segment of Metrorail which includes the Pentagon Metrorail station. He retired from Metro in 2002, and returned as a part-time Metrobus operator in 2003. While still a bus operator, Mr. Euell became a member of the prestigious One Million Mile Club because he drove for one million miles without having a preventable accident. A resident of Washington, D.C., his wife Carolyn accompanied him to today’s presentation as well.

News release issued on July 16, 2003.