MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The National Association for Pupil Transportation’s (NAPT) annual gathering kicked off this weekend with a variety of informative workshops and presentations.

On Saturday, the group’s 34th Annual Conference and Trade Show commenced with two in-depth educational programs that require special registration: the NAPT Professional Development Series (PDS) and the Leading Every Day (LED) Initiative.

PDS offered an eight-hour overview of all aspects of pupil transportation. LED provided workshops on avoiding the “payback system” in the workplace and on how to find and keep a valuable mentor.

Sunday began with more PDS and LED offerings. Additionally, staff from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration presented a summary of the agency’s recently released final rule on school bus passenger crash protection.

Keynote presentations were delivered by comedian and author Mack Dryden, who spoke of “Laughter: the Miracle Medicine,” and longtime industry advocate Cal LeMon, who discussed the different leadership styles of women and men.

Sunday afternoon offered an array of breakout sessions, covering such topics as transit encroachment, internal auditing, special-needs IEPs and transporting homeless students.