Of all memories from his 36 years with Metro Transit, Senior Manager Revenue Collections Dennis Dworshak considers working with the blind community among his most rewarding.
Dennis invited students and teachers from a Minneapolis school for the blind to visit Metro Transit’s offices to review fare collection equipment with them. “We let them tell us how we could serve them better. They told us what worked well for them and what didn’t,” Dennis said.
Staff showed the students and teachers how to tap Go-To cards on validators, purchase from different types of ticket vending machines and make transactions online.
“One powerful moment was when we told them they were all eligible for discounted mobility passes. They said, `Thank you for that offer, but we want to save that discount for somebody who really needs it. Just help us know how to pay our fares, and we will train other people in the blind community how to do that,’ ” he said.
Being involved in the Leadership Academy as a mentor and working with interns also was very fulfilling. “We would take people from the organization who wanted to see what it was like to be in management. It was inspiring to see these candidates grow,” Dennis said.
Metro Transit underwent a lot of changes during his tenure. When he joined, the name was Metropolitan Transit Commission, and transit police worked under Finance. The transit police chief, who reported to the Finance Division Director, interviewed Dennis for his first civilian job after finishing military duty.
“I thought this would be a great start for me, just getting out of the military and doing public service,” he said.
Still in the Army Reserves, Dennis left MTC to serve in Kuwait during Desert Storm. ``When I came back, I went to the police chief’s office, and he said he wasn’t my boss anymore. I was with Finance,” Dennis said.
In retirement, Dennis plans to spend time helping his parents, who still live on the family farm, and his mother-in-law, doing more fine woodworking and volunteering with American Red Cross action teams to help people in emergencies, such as tornadoes or fires.
“It’s gone very fast. I’ve been so blessed to work under great leaders, with outstanding co-workers, and hard-working first-rate employees. I have no regrets at all,” Dennis said of his career.