Suzanne Thornburg Joins Trailways Board

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Suzanne Thornburg, CEO and President of Alabama-based companies Capital Motor Lines DBA Capital Trailways and Colonial Trailways, has joined the Trailways board of directors. Capital Trailways celebrates 92 years and Colonial Trailways marks 87 years in the bus business this year. When Trailways formed in 1936 both carriers were among the first to join its network.

With a 25-year career in banking and a board member of Capital and Colonial since 2011, Suzanne became CEO and President of the businesses in 2019. She is the first wife of the late Frank E. Montgomery III, the first family member who worked in the day-to-day operations of Capital and Colonial since his great grandfather Avery Austin Crow founded the first company in the 1930s. Frank purchased the businesses from family members in 2005 before his death in 2010. Suzanne joined the Board the following year in the interest of her then-minor children, who represent the fifth generation of family ownership.

“I am all in,” she says. “It is so important to me to protect our employees and move the company forward.” 

Suzanne worked in regional and corporate banking institutions located in Mobile and Baldwin County.  Experienced in financial management, Suzanne is especially conscientious about controlling costs, which sustained the company during the COVID-19 shutdowns.

“We slowly started coming back to life with military trips and our scheduled service partnership in July 2020,” said Suzanne.

Suzanne sees a sales-driven culture and a fresh perspective as the way ahead for Capital and Colonial. Her oldest son, Frank Montgomery lV, now on board as General Manager of Capital Trailways Madison-Huntsville location, reports that June has been the busiest month of the year. Frank worked as an intern with Colonial Trailways in 2019 in the Mobile location while attending the University of South Alabama and working toward his bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in marketing. He joined the business full-time after graduating in June 2020. 

Today, the businesses operate a fleet of more than 50 motor coaches, minibuses and trolleys from three operations in Mobile, Madison and Montgomery, Alabama with charter services that extend into Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana and to other points in the United States and Canada.

Devoted to her family, employees and the businesses alike, Suzanne includes Trailways in that sphere. “Trailways is a big part of our family’s business heritage. The affiliation helped us get to where we are today,” she says. “Now it’s my turn to collaborate and support the many operators and vendor partners in the Trailways system. We all need a network of people we trust. I’m honored to serve on its board to help build our futures together.”