NEW ORLEANS Pacific Western Transportation of Calgary, Alberta, has been named International Motor Coach Group Operator of the Year.

The award was presented last month as part of the IMG Strategic Alliance Meeting.

The IMG award recognizes a member company that excels in customer service, operations, safety, best practices, community and industry involvement, and overall engagement with IMG.

Pacific Western was singled out for its positive safety record, leadership in the communities where it operates and in the industry, and customer commitment.

The company has been around for more than 50 years. It was founded by R.B. Colborne and is now headed by Michael Colborne, president and CEO.

As Canadas largest ground passenger transportation company, with a fleet of more than 2,600 vehicles, Pacific Western operates North America's only fully-accessible, scheduled, inter-city motorcoach service; its airport shuttle operations carry more than 10 million passengers annually; its transit fleets transport 8 million passengers to work, school and home annually; its charter operations travel 7.6 million miles annually; its industrial employee operations move 6.2 million people to work annually, and its school bus fleets carry 45,000 students daily.

Separately, the IMG board elected officers for 2011. They are: chairman, Hank Garbee of Young Transportation in Asheville, N.C.; vice chairman, Geoff Lynch of Hampton Jitney in Southampton, N.Y., and secretary/treasurer, Stephen Story of James River Bus Lines in Richmond, Va.

Larry Benjamin of Northfield Lines in Northfield, Minn., was elected to the board for a three-year term.

The 2011 IMG Strategic Alliance Meeting will be Aug. 10-12, in Lancaster, Pa.

IMG is a consortium of 57 motorcoach companies operating in the U.S. and Canada. For more information, go to www.imgcoach.com.