Annette Brown had to turn off the stove and sit down the moment she learned she had been nominated and won School Bus Fleet’s 2026 School Bus Driver Hero Award. 

Her transportation director, Amy Rosa, called while Brown was preparing food for her grandchildren’s 4-H fair. Rosa began by asking Brown not to be mad, then explained that she had entered her for an award recognizing exceptional school bus drivers. 

“And, well, you won,” Rosa told her. 

“I said, ‘Just a minute. I need to turn off the stove and sit down because I have porcupine bumps,’ as my kiddos call them,” Brown recalled. “I said, ‘Oh man, that’s awesome, but I’m not sure I deserve that.’” 

Brown’s reaction exudes the humility of a driver who has spent more than three decades meeting students’ needs without ever expecting recognition. 

Sponsored by AngelTrax, the School Bus Driver Hero Award honors drivers whose commitment to safety, service, and student well-being extends beyond their daily responsibilities. Brown, a driver and longtime Bus Committee captain for Wa-Nee Community Schools in Nappanee, Indiana, was selected as the 2026 winner after Rosa nominated her for a career defined by compassion, leadership, and an unwavering belief that every child deserves to feel safe and valued. 

Finding a Career That Put Family First 

Brown did not originally plan to become a school bus driver. 

After the birth of her third son, she was working in inside sales for a musical instrument case company and began looking for a career that would allow her to spend more time with her children. Brown and her husband had recently returned to the Wa-Nee community because they wanted their sons to attend the district’s schools. 

The possibility of driving a school bus came up one morning at the bus stop, when her sons’ driver asked whether she had ever considered getting behind the wheel herself. 

Brown had not, but the driving didn’t intimidate her. Growing up, she had driven trucks and horse trailers on Chicago-area expressways for her father, who kept sulky racehorses as a hobby. She also transported logging equipment for his work as a logger. 

She began as a substitute driver, spending a year learning every route in the district before obtaining an afternoon shuttle assignment. Because Wa-Nee had little driver turnover, securing a contracted route required patience. However, her first regular route came with a reputation for difficult student behavior. Brown watched a recording left in the bus by the retiring driver and saw students throwing objects, talking back, and creating disruptions. 

“I was thinking, ‘What have I done for $17 a day?’” she said. 

On her first day, Brown established assigned seats, clearly explained her expectations, and learned every student’s name. She also made a point of finding something positive to say to each child, whether she was thanking someone for remaining seated or simply complimenting a shirt. By the middle of the school year, students were asking whether they could move closer to the front before their stops. 

“I figured out these kids were amazing,” Brown said. “They had just never been shown how to be respectful or receive respect. I loved them.” 

About 20 years ago, Brown considered leaving the school district for a more “lucrative” job as her sons approached college age. Instead, an opening in special needs transportation gave her an opportunity to remain in the profession she had grown to love. During the summers, she started a lawn care company to provide additional support for her sons’ college journeys. 

Why Brown Treats Every Student Like Family 

Brown upholds a straightforward philosophy. The students on her bus should receive the same care as her own children and grandchildren. 

“There are days that I spend as much one-on-one time with a child as their parents do,” she said. “I also know that I may be their first interaction with a human that day, and I choose to try to make a good day for them. Every day.” 

Brown’s genuine attention has helped her to notice needs that can easily go unseen. One winter morning, a student boarded her bus dragging his foot through the snow. When Brown asked whether he was all right, he lifted his foot and revealed that his shoe no longer had a sole. 

Brown told him that a bag would be waiting in the back seat that afternoon. He could take it if he wanted, and no one else needed to know. She went home, gathered shoes and clothing belonging to her husband and sons, and placed them in the bag. Her husband later asked where his tennis shoes had gone. 

“I learned if you have two pairs of shoes, give one away,” Brown said. “And so did my husband.”  

The student ended up taking the bag home. 

In another instance, Brown helped ensure that a student with autism could participate fully in his graduation. The school required dark dress pants and non-athletic shoes beneath the graduation gown, but Brown knew the student’s single-parent household could not easily afford them. 

With permission from her director, superintendent, and the student’s mother, Brown, her bus aide, and the aide’s husband took him shopping. They also organized a small pre-graduation dinner with his mother and former teachers. That student later attended college and earned a degree in computer engineering. 

“I learned to take the extra time,” Brown said. 

Taking the extra time is exemplified in another story that helped inspire Brown’s nomination, which began when her bus aide, Sherrie, noticed an unused letter jacket during a trade day at the district’s middle school. 

The jacket was the right size for a special needs student Brown transported. He had earned athletic letters through his participation in unified sports but likely would not have been able to purchase a jacket. Brown and Sherrie decided to change that. Sherrie secured the jacket, while Brown contacted the athletic department, purchased the student’s name and letters, and hired a seamstress to customize it. 

“When we gave it to him, he was so excited that he hugged us big,” Brown recalled. “Although his speech at times is hard to understand, we knew what he was saying: ‘Thank you. Thank you. I love it.’” 

The jacket meant so much to him that Brown eventually had to encourage him to put it away when temperatures climbed into the 80s during the summer. 

For Rosa, the moment represented what Brown has done throughout her career. That is, identify a need, respond without fanfare, and make sure a student knows that someone sees and celebrates them. 

“This was not an isolated act,” Rosa wrote in her nomination. “It is representative of who Annette is every day.”

Listening to the Instincts of an Experienced Driver 

Brown’s attentiveness has also played an essential role in protecting students from danger. 

One morning, a student came to the door and told her that he could not attend school because his mother was not feeling well. Brown had previously noticed frequent changes in the expensive vehicles parked at the home, and something about the interaction did not feel right. 

She drove to a nearby parking lot and called Rosa, who encouraged her to trust her instincts and request a welfare check. Brown did so, and later learned that someone who frequented the home had assaulted the student’s mother and left her unconscious. The mother and child were placed in a shelter, and Brown continued transporting the student to school from the new location. Years later, he still occasionally checks in with her. 

“I am so glad I listened to my instincts,” Brown said. 

Her safety record reflects not only her driving skills, but also her awareness of what students communicate through their words, behavior, clothing, and surroundings. 

Brown understands that school bus drivers occupy a unique position. They see children at the beginning and end of the school day, observe changes over time, and often recognize when something is wrong before anyone says it directly. 

“We are seeing these students and the environment they live in daily,” she said. “We are so much more than just a safe driver. We are a family.” 

The Bus Committee Captain Everyone Knows 

For more than 20 years, Brown has served as Wa-Nee’s lead driver and Bus Committee captain. She contributes to district transportation policy development, mentors other drivers, and oversees the drivers’ benevolent fund. 

Her colleagues turn to her for guidance because she understands that successfully operating a school bus requires far more than driving. As Brown tells newer drivers, they must be the safety operator, route manager, guidance counselor, emergency response coordinator, nurse, vehicle inspector, traffic law expert, bus washer, early riser, and snow remover. Sometimes all in the same day. 

Yet, despite the demands, she tells them it can be “the most rewarding job you will ever have if you let it.” 

“You will make a difference in a child’s life,” Brown said. “Make sure it’s a good one.” 

Brown is also quick to credit the team around her. She said Wa-Nee’s administrators and transportation employees have created an environment where drivers feel heard, supported, and valued. 

After one especially difficult student encounter left her emotionally drained and feeling as though she had failed, Brown returned to the transportation office in tears. Rosa embraced her, helped her work through what had happened, and offered a new direction without belittling her. 

“If you work with others who enjoy their job, love the kids, and truly want to do their best, it rubs off on everyone,” Brown said. 

More Than 30 Years of Showing Up in School Transportation 

That being said, Brown’s favorite part of the job remains the relationships. She treasures being invited to graduations, weddings, athletic competitions, and other milestones. She especially enjoys hearing a current or former student call out, “Hey, Mrs. Brown!” when they see her in the community. 

Outside of work, Brown and her husband, Steve, enjoy time with their three sons, daughters-in-law, and seven grandchildren. She continues to help operate a lawn care business during the summer, spends time at the family’s lake home, serves on the Wakarusa Town Council and Wakarusa Nursery School Board, and enjoys biking, reading, and gardening. 

Even after receiving this recognition, Brown remains more comfortable recognizing others than accepting praise herself. 

“I do not do anything differently than most of the drivers in our school system,” she said. “We are truly blessed with some of the best.” 

But the stories accumulated across three decades tell a different story. They tell of a driver who shows up for students like they’re her own children. They showcase a leader who helps fellow drivers succeed and who understands that safety begins with the relationships built long before buses leave for the day. 

Brown summed up her career with one lesson: “You will get way more than you give if you just take the time.”