PELHAM, Ala. — School bus provider Transportation South recently hosted its seventh annual Love the Bus celebration, which honored Alabama’s best school bus drivers as voted by the students, parents and teachers they serve.

At the Feb. 11 event, Rhonda Holman, a 23-year veteran Hoover City Schools bus driver, was named the 2016 Alabama Love the Bus Driver of the Year.

Holman’s nomination was submitted by Tim Moore of Hoover City Schools and was read aloud at the event. Here’s an excerpt from the nomination:

“There is a sweet lady who loves to drive a bus. She has done it for 23 years and 6 months. She always comes to work with a big smile on her face and just loves everyone she meets. Her students on her bus mean the world to her. She has the ice cream truck come two times a year for her Special Ed students, teachers, office staff and mechanics. She has a huge Easter egg hunt every year for her students. She always arranges a special pumpkin patch for them, they even get to take home their own pumpkin. She always decorates for all the holidays for her students to enjoy. She always has a pizza party once a month for them. Most of her students are Special Ed students but that just makes them more special to her.”

Holman was unable to attend the celebration because of a recent diagnosis of cancer, which has now prevented her from driving. A separate reception was held on Feb. 16 to present Holman with the state’s top school bus driving honor.

“There are thousands of great drivers, but we also have many drivers that have a real heart for their jobs,” Transportation South President Bucky Law said at the Love the Bus event. “They realize that in a lot of cases when a student gets on the bus, their face might be the first smiling face they see all day long, and in the afternoon when they drop that student off, it might be the last. All of these drivers are like that, or they wouldn’t be here today. We are so proud to honor Ms. Holman with this great honor as the 2016 Alabama Love the Bus Driver of the Year.”

About 30 school bus drivers were nominated statewide, and more than 100 people attended the Love the Bus event at Transportation South. Each school system in Alabama nominated at least one driver, with some of the larger systems nominating more.

Also during the event, Kevin Snowden, state pupil transportation director at the Alabama State Department of Education, spoke about the exemplary track record of the school bus industry as a whole and within the state of Alabama.

Other school bus drivers who were honored as finalists included:

Daniel Alberts, Oxford City Schools
Osaremen Alebiosu, Fairfield City Schools
Morris Allison, Madison City Schools
LaNita Barger, Tuscaloosa County Schools
Bryan Bell, STS
Brenda Bethune, Madison County Schools
Jeff Blair, Morgan County Schools
Lula Boykin, Barbour County Schools
Marilyn Carboni, Shelby County Schools
Toney Causey, Autauga County Schools
Faye Chandler, Chilton County Schools
Nathaniel Coleman, Fairfield City Schools
Melanie Crowe, Calhoun County Schools
Tina Cunningham, AIDB
Kathleen Davenport, Alexander City Schools
Cynthia Douglas, Durham School Services
Sheila Dunkin, Bibb County Schools
Amy Golden, Pelham City Schools
Willie Green, Durham School Services
Teena Holderfield, Trussville City Schools
Jeremie Hoytte, Perry County Schools
Shauntell Hudson, Birmingham City Schools
Clinton Moore, Macon County Schools
Linda Newman, Pike County Schools
Belinda Oden, Alabaster City Schools
April Page, Birmingham City Special Needs
Vickie Poe, Walker County Schools
Robert Stewart, Greene County Schools
Charles Walker, Bullock County Schools
Travis Waters, Butler County Schools
Charlene White, Limestone County Schools
Kawanis Woods, Pike Road Schools
Dorothy Jackson, Hale County Schools