RTA Announces Newest Board Member Blake Hobson

January 15, 2014

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) announces the appointment of Blake Hobson as its newest board member, representing McHenry County. Mr. Hobson replaces Director Al Jourdan, whose term expired April of 2013. His appointment is effective January 1, 2014.

“We are excited to have Mr. Hobson join the Board. His extensive engineering background will be of immense value to the region’s transit system,” said John S. Gates, Jr., RTA Board Chairman.

Mr. Hobson has been active in several regional organizations, including serving as Director of Upper Illinois River Valley Development Authority, a state bonding agency and on the executive board of the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation. He serves on several committees for the American Welding Society (AWS), including the U.S. Representative to the ISO standards body for weld fasteners and holds several patents related to the field of welding. Mr. Hobson is a former McHenry County Board and Village and Township Trustee member.

Mr. Hobson previously worked at Ford Motor Company and Image Industries serving as Ford’s worldwide transmission planner, overseeing its $2 billion dollar program and currently serving as President of Image Industries, a weld fastener and weld equipment manufacturer based in Huntley.

Mr. Hobson has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA in Marketing and Finance from Northwestern’s Kellogg school of Management. Mr. Hobson has spent the majority of his life in Lake and McHenry Counties.