Newsmaker: Charles Rompala

Residence : Munhall

Family : Wife, Wyona; son, Jason

Occupation : Assistant manager of road operations for Port Authority of Allegheny County

Background : Started working at the authority in 1993 as a bus driver and has worked on nearly every bus and rail route in its system; later promoted to road supervisor in the bus traffic operations center and now serves as assistant manager of road operations, coordinating and managing more than 600 detours and 50 special service events each year.

Noteworthy : Named a Superstar of Transit by the Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association during its 33rd annual spring conference last month in Hershey. He was honored for outstanding job performance, including working to keep the agency running during winter storms. A few days before the association's event, he received a certificate of appreciation from the Local Emergency Planning Committee, an agency of the Allegheny County Emergency Services.

Quote: "It was a complete shock. I had no idea that I was even nominated. I