COLUMBIA, S.C. — Industry stalwart Donald Tudor has stepped down from his longtime post as South Carolina's state director of school transportation, but he's stepping into a new role that will keep him active in the industry.

Tudor announced his retirement, effective last Friday, in a note to colleagues.

"The last 20 years as the South Carolina director of school transportation have been a blessing for me, giving me purpose and mission in life," he said. "I recently participated in a medical test and noticed that my blood was still red; what a surprise — I was sure it was yellow."

Tudor also announced that his replacement as state director is Tim Camp, who has worked for Tudor for the past seven years. Camp has served in the roles of county supervisor and area supervisor for the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) and has at times attended national conferences when Tudor wasn't able to.

"I am confident he will effectively represent the SCDE and carry on the mission of student transportation," Tudor said of Camp.

Tudor began his role at the SCDE in 1991. Since South Carolina owns and maintains its school buses, Tudor and his staff oversaw the operation of a fleet that now numbers more than 5,000.

One of Tudor’s key accomplishments was working with Lisa Strebler to pass a state law prohibiting the use of 15-passenger vans for school transportation. Strebler’s 6-year-old son, Jacob, was killed in 1994 when the school van he was riding in was rammed by a large truck in Columbia, S.C. Tudor assisted Strebler in her campaign, resulting in the passage of “Jacob’s Law” in 2000.

Tudor has been a staunch supporter of the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) and the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), serving on the boards of both associations. He has also contributed his time to the National Congress on School Transportation and the Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference.

In 2004, SCHOOL BUS FLEET named Tudor its Administrator of the Year.

Having retired as state director, the industry veteran moves on to a new project: Donald Tudor Services LLC. He said that he plans to offer consulting services to school districts.

Tudor noted that he will be at the NAPT Summit and will also stop by the NASDPTS conference, both of which will be held in Cincinnati later this month.