One of the interesting aspects of the leadership team at The Trans Group is how many of them started as drivers and worked their way up.

One of them is Tim Flood. In 1987, he was in between jobs in the music industry, and a Trans Group ad calling for school bus driver candidates caught his interest. At the time, he was in his early 20s and managed a rock band in the area. He figured that he’d have fun driving a bus for the rest of the school year and then go back to another music job.

Trans Group President John Corr recalls that Flood had “longer hair than you’d want,” but he always came in early and did anything that was asked of him.

Corr got a hold of his resume and asked him to come on board full time. Flood agreed but said that it would only be temporary.

Instead, Flood became a long-term, integral part of The Trans Group’s success. Now as executive vice president, he oversees the management of all of the companies within The Trans Group. In all, they run nearly 1,000 school buses, transporting 70,000 children in many school districts throughout New York state.

Flood has also been a key contributor to industry groups like the New York School Bus Contractors Association (NYSBCA) and the National School Transportation Association (NSTA).

For his dedicated efforts at the local, state and national levels, Flood has been named 2009 Contractor of the Year by SCHOOL BUS FLEET magazine.

Committed to quality

Corr says that Flood’s leadership skills are an invaluable asset to The Trans Group, which has more than 1,500 employees. Flood makes good use of such techniques as Total Quality Management and benchmarking.

“Tim has raised the bar for quality of service and responsiveness to our internal and external customers, and he possesses the ability to jump into any situation or challenge throughout our operations,” Corr says.

Flood also proved his ability to rise to the challenge when he was president-elect of NYSBCA. When President Hank Kaufman suddenly passed away, Flood assumed the position “without a blip,” says Jennifer Carroll, executive director of the association.

About 10 years ago, Flood helped revive the NYSBCA Driving Skills Competition, more than doubling the previous participation and awards for all the entries.

In NSTA, Flood has served for several years as chair of the Association and Industry Development Committee, where he reports on and takes an active role in several key subcommittees. He previously served as chair of NSTA’s Safety Committee.

National Express Corp’s Barry Stock, who just wrapped up a two-year term as NSTA president, emphasizes Flood’s commitment to the school bus business.

“Tim works tirelessly and passionately for this industry,” Stock says. “We can always count on him for his leadership, thoroughness and follow-through.”

In 2007, Flood earned NSTA’s Distinguished Service Award. In 2000, he was named NYSBCA’s own Contractor of the Year.

Family Man

In his free time, Flood enjoys music, golf, hockey and good food. But most of all, he is dedicated to his wife and three children.

Corr, who is not only Flood’s boss but also his brother-in-law (Flood married Corr’s wife’s sister), says that Flood will “travel to the end of the world” for his family. And, Corr notes, Flood is deserving of another title: Father of the Year.