Kathy Liebler                         Director of Public Information

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    Contact: Lowman S. Henry    (717) 939-9551 Ext. # 2934                     January 6, 1998

MALONE RE-ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF PA TURNPIKE COMMISSION
Bonney Daubenspeck Attends First Meeting as Commissioner

Harrisburg, PA -- Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissioners today re-elected James F. Malone, III as Chairman and Commissioner James J. Dodaro as Vice Chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Bonney C. Daubenspeck, a businesswoman from Erie, Pennsylvania, attended her first meeting as Commissioner having been sworn into office yesterday during a ceremony at the state Capitol. She is the first woman ever to serve as a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissioner.

"Commissioner Daubenspeck is a welcome addition to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission," Malone said. "We are working hard to develop an organization which is efficient, professional and fiscally sound. The creativity, experience and enthusiasm Mrs. Daubenspeck brings to the job will help to ensure that we achieve that goal."

"I am honored that Governor Ridge nominated me to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and that the Senate of Pennsylvania has confirmed my appointment," said Daubenspeck. "I have already had the opportunity to meet and begin working with the Turnpike's professional staff and I am encouraged by their level of professionalism, vitality and vision."

"As a wife and mother, I am concerned about the quality of life in our communities and about the employment opportunities available to young Pennsylvanians," Daubenspeck continued. "The Turnpike has always been more than just a highway, it plays a critical role in economic development and it contributes greatly to the positive business climate which we are working hard to cultivate here in Pennsylvania. Good roads are good business."

"In today's complex and rapidly changing world, the Turnpike -- like most organizations -- must periodically look inward to assess its performance, and to make the changes necessary to remain competitive," Daubenspeck explained. "A number of steps have already been taken in that direction, including the 1996 management study and last year's review of the Turnpike by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. Now comes the difficult task of implementing many of the key recommendations contained in those reports. The Commission has made significant progress in that respect, but still, much more needs to be done"

Daubenspeck is no stranger to the transportation industry. She worked for many years in her family's trucking firm, Lyons Transportation Lines of Erie, Pennsylvania, first as Public Relations Coordinator and then as Manager of Public and Government Relations. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Erie/Western Pennsylvania Port Authority.

Until recently, Daubenspeck served on the State Transportation Commission and had previously served on the Mayor's Task Force on Waterfront Development in Erie, the Coastal Zone Management Steering Committee and the Harbor Improvement Council. She was a member of the Pennsylvania State Planning Board during the administration of Governor Dick Thornburgh.

The new Commissioner joins Malone, Vice Chairman James J. Dodaro, Robert A. Brady, and Secretary of Transportation Bradley L. Mallory on the five-member Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

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