A flattering, not-so-in-depth profile of PART director Brent McKinney in this week’s Triad Biz Journal:
For Brent McKinney, public transportation isn’t just about getting riders from one place to another.
To him, public transportation is the solution to a myriad of problems facing the state, from congestion and pollution to high fuel costs.
But it’s also something that helps foster a sense of community, which matters to the sixth-generation farmer and devoted Quaker.
“It does bring people together … it is that vehicle that brings people face-to-face,” he says.
……Despite his engineering background, McKinney feels he doesn’t completely fit the image of an engineer, which some view as focused entirely on numbers and not on people.
“He’s not that stereotype,” says Sandy Carmany, former PART board chairwoman. “He has the ability to communicate with whomever is talking to him.”
I know my old publication, the now-defunct Triad Business News, profiled McKinney several years ago, and I’d be willing to bet the Biz Journal’s done him before, too. Face it, they’re only so many newsworthy guys in an area like the Triad, so it’s inevitable that they get recycled. I remember my editor and I were struggling to think of someone to profile, and I sighed when he suggested then-High Point Mayor Arnold Koonce, who had probably been written up countless times. Turned out to be a good interview and a decent profile. I got a nice note from Koonce afterward. He has really nice handwriting.
