The plaque as revealed in the newly dedicated Ronald F. Kirby Training Center. Click on it for more photos of the event.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments dedicated one of its most important meeting spaces to the life and work of Ron Kirby, who served as Director of Transportation Planning from 1987 until 2013.

On countless occasions during his tenure as director, Ron brought together elected officials, transportation experts and interested residents from around the Washington region to meet and discuss common challenges and to identify opportunities for making the region a better place. Hundreds of those meetings took place in what will now be known as the Ronald F. Kirby Training Center. Many of Ron's colleagues, friends and family attended the ceremony. Executive Director Chuck Bean, TPB Chairman Patrick Wojahn, incoming COG Director of Transportation Planning Northern Virginia District Planner for VDOT and TPB Technical Committee Kanti Srikanth, and CAC member Steve Still spoke at the dedication.

Some of the most frequent meetings Ron attended in the Training Center were monthly meetings of the TPB Technical Committee and the TPB’s Citizens Advisory Committee. At meetings of the Technical Committee, Ron joined technical staff from the TPB’s member jurisdictions each month to review and discuss the latest data, research and policy information to find ways to further enhance ongoing planning and cooperation efforts. At the monthly, evening meetings of the CAC, Ron briefed committee members on upcoming items for consideration by the TPB and served as a resource during the committee’s discussions about regional transportation issues.

To these and so many other meetings and events, Ron brought decades of transportation planning experience, a collaborative leadership style, and a willingness to mentor and advise others that helped guide and enrich the conversations they fostered.

The Ronald F. Kirby Training Center will be a venue for many COG and TPB committee meetings, training sessions, workshops, focus groups, and staff gatherings for years to come. To see the materials distributed at the ceremony, please click below.