By Open Plains Transit
Open Plains Transit (OPT), which serves most of western Nebraska with rural and intercity bus transportation extending into South Dakota and Wyoming, is honored to receive the South West Transit Association’s (SWTA) Annual Spotlight Award in the Hit the Spot – Electronic category for rural systems.
The winning entry, “Planting the Seeds of Collaboration!” was created to showcase the vital role public transportation plays in people’s lives, its impact on rural communities and how working together can spark regional change—especially in places like Cherry County, Nebraska.
“We were thrilled to win a Spotlight Award for our ‘little video’ with a big heart,” said Jonnie Kusek, Director of Transportation for OPT.
“I wanted to create a video that showed the heart of public transportation, so Valentine, NE—known locally as ‘Heart City’—was the perfect setting. Cherry County was a newer project we wanted to highlight, and October offered the perfect backdrop—beautiful colors, crisp air and a sense of freshness. We set out to show three things: the availability and connections of our service, how public transportation can boost rural economies and the power of partnerships.”
Kusek co-directed the video with Kate Littrel of White Shutter Media, who also served as videographer.
“Kate was an absolute trooper—seven months pregnant—this was her last shoot before having her baby, and I had her running between Cherry County, NE, and Rosebud, SD. We raced to capture as much footage as possible before we lost the light. Then the rain and sleet came, and we had to ground the drone. I’d worked with Kate on other Nebraska Panhandle projects, and she completely understood my vision for Cherry County.”
“I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Martha Siegfried, Sandy Lurz, the late Rodney Hockenberry, Kim Burge, Mark Hagge and our OPT employees—all the true stars of our video. I’m also deeply grateful to our local and regional media for standing beside us in our nonprofit public transportation mission. To the SWTA Nation—thank you for seeing the beauty we have the privilege of witnessing every single day through the services we provide across our region.” The video can be viewed on the OPT Facebook page.
Kusek joined fellow award recipients and marketing leaders to present their campaigns at SWTA’s Summer University Conference, held July 27–30, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The SWTA Spotlight Awards—reviewed by marketing and communications professionals from transit agencies and private firms—are among the industry’s oldest honors for marketing excellence, first presented in 1990. SWTA represents transit providers across Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.