James River Transportation was named Operator of the Year by the International Motorcoach Group (IMG) at its annual meeting. The meeting was held August 6th – 9th in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
James River Transportation was chosen because of its:
- Exceptional safety and maintenance.
- Innovative approach to doing business.
- Commitment to the local community.
- Unparalleled support for the Travel and Tourism industry.
A desk top award was presented to Stephen Story, President of James River, but unique to IMG, a James River motorcoach was secretly transported to Nova Scotia where it was “wrapped” with a custom designed Operator of the Year theme. Diane Story Hall, and Dr. L Woodrow Story, officers and partners, also secretly travelled to the event for the presentation along other family members and JRT team members. While accepting the award, Stephen commented, “with our tracking system, I generally know where all of our vehicles are. I had to reset my phone recently and the tracking system app was never reinstalled. For months, my entire staff kept this secret from me. I was totally surprised and shocked. I also discovered that my app credentials were disabled just in case”.
The IMG is an invitation only partnership of the top transportation companies in North America. IMG members are committed to high levels of safety, service and reliability.
Being named Operator of the Year by IMG is perhaps the highest honor that can be bestowed on a transportation company.
The IMG was established in 1996 by a small group of motorcoach companies in order to act like a small local company, but have access to resources that only the largest organizations have. James River was a founding member of the group which has now grown to 57 companies.
The combined power of the 57 IMG companies:
- provides tremendous buying power for vehicles, supplies and services.
- exceptional access to the best vendors and travel partners.
- allows the development of world class training systems.
- facilitates the sharing of best practices.
James River has received numerous Safety Awards, multiple Innovative Operator Awards and exceptional customer service recognition. The IMG Operator of the Year award is the company’s greatest achievement yet. James River Transportation is a family owned full-service transportation provider and event planning organization with facilities located in Richmond and Norfolk. The company also has on-site operations at Richmond International Airport and Norfolk International Airport. Services include motorcoach and minicoach transportation, airport transfers, transportation management, contract services, and convention shuttles. The company has been in business for over 90 years.