High-profile speakers added to upcoming conferences

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — David Kelly, acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will be a key speaker here at this month’s conference of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services.

Kelly will likely address his agency’s forthcoming final rule on enhancing school bus occupant protection.

Kelly’s presentation, on Oct. 24, will follow welcoming remarks from Jim Rex, South Carolina’s state superintendent of schools, on “The Greening of Education.”

The National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) conference, also in Myrtle Beach, will draw Rick Ridgeway, a man who has been called “The Real Indiana Jones.”

Ridgeway is a renowned adventurer, filmmaker and author. He now serves as Patagonia Inc.’s vice president of environmental initiatives.

In a presentation on Oct. 29, Ridgeway will share how the core values of Patagonia — a privately held company that makes clothing and equipment for sports like climbing, skiing, surfing and trail running — can be applied to school transportation.

Ridgeway will discuss how to build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis — the three components of the company’s mission statement.