THE COMET ELECTS 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS

(January 27, 2021) Columbia, SC – The Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (The COMET) announced the election of new officers to its Board of Directors at their January meeting, which was held today.

“We congratulate our new officers for The COMET Board of Directors and look forward to an exciting year of service to the people of the Midlands,” said John Andoh, Executive Director/CEO of The COMET.

The 2021 Officers for The COMET Board of Directors:

• Derrick Huggins is the newly elected board Chair. He has been involved with the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority since 2011 and has recently served as Vice Chair. Huggins was appointed by the City of Columbia. His experience includes service as the Vice President of Facilities and Transportation at the University of South Carolina.
• Allison Terracio is the newly elected board Vice Chair. She previously served as board Secretary. Terracio represents Richland County and is a member of Richland County Council serving District 5, which includes the neighborhoods of Historic Waverly, Edgewood, Shandon, Rosewood, Five Points, the Vista, St. Andrews, and the campuses of the University of South Carolina, Allen University and Benedict College.
• Christopher Lawson is the newly elected board Secretary. Lawson was appointed to The COMET Board of Directors by Richland County, late last year. He is a First Lieutenant in the United States Army where he serves as a transportation officer and brings experience as an outbound logistics supervisor for Ross Distribution Center. At 33 years old, Lawson is the youngest board member. He has been a rider and advocate of public transportation in Houston and Virginia Beach, as well as Columbia.
• Andy Smith has served on the board since early 2016 as the appointee from the City of Forest Acres. He continues his second term as board Treasurer. He previously served as board Secretary. In addition to his role as Assistant City Administrator/Finance Director for the City of Forest Acres, he also serves as Corporate Treasurer for the Orthodox Church in America.

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About The COMET:  The COMET is a service of the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority and provides countywide public transit services on 34 fixed routes, five ReFlex services, vanpool service for commuters, subsidy programs with Uber and Lyft and DART for transportation to grocery stores and at night, ADA complementary paratransit service throughout Richland and portions of Lexington Counties and eight Blue Bike bikeshare stations in Downtown Columbia. The COMET transports approximately 2.8 million passenger trips a year on a fleet of more than 80 buses, vans and trolleys. Transit services are provided under contract with RATP Dev USA, Enterprise Holdings, Lyft, Uber and Bewegen. For additional The COMET information, please call (803) 255-7100, TDD/TTY: 711 through the relay service, email: info@catchthecomet.org or visit www.catchthecomet.org.

Catch The COMET…We Will Take You There!