NATCHEZ — The Natchez Transit System took home two top awards at a recent transportation conference.

The Mississippi Public Transit Association named NTS Innovative Transit System of the Year, and NTS Executive Director Sabrena Bartley was named Statewide Transportation Director of the Year at MPTA’s recent 40th annual conference in Jackson.

MPTA is a trade association inclusive of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, local transit authorities, vendors and transportation professionals.

The award to NTS was given “in recognition of its innovative leadership and its extraordinary accomplishment of constructing the first comprehensive regional rural transportation center which will serve as a model for the state of Mississippi and other rural communities in our nation.”

NTS opened the state-of-the-art Natchez Regional Transit Center in 2013 and expanded its service area and transportation services. The center houses NTS, a maintenance facility as well as private transportation and bus businesses.

“Our goal is to be a one-stop center for rural community transportation,” Bartley said. “We have had a number of cities and towns looking at how … we really make transportation work in southwest Mississippi.”

The City of Tupelo recently contacted Natchez to learn more about how to use NTS as a model in Tupelo’s transportation efforts, Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell said.

“I’m really proud to know the Natchez is the role model,” Grennell said.

Grennell said Bartley “very much deserves” MPTA’s director of the year award.

“There’s no question about it,” he said. “With both the Natchez Senior Center an the transit system, she has been a mover and a shaker. She’s the type of department head (who) serves as a role model in terms of being able to have a vision and take her departments to the next level, and she is just a wonderful asset to Natchez.”

Bartley, who has worked for the city for 16 years, said she is grateful to have been recognized for her work to make rural transportation accessible to residents on southwest Mississippi.

“This kind of came from trial and error, and it’s great to be recognized for awesome work,” she said.