LONDON — National Express Group held its annual Values Awards celebrations on March 26 to recognize employees and teams across the organization for their hard work and dedication to living the company’s values, featuring awards in the Safety, Customer, People, Community and Excellence categories.

Representing North America at the Values Awards dinner in London and achieving the group’s highest honor in each value category were:

•    Mike Hamel, general manager, Charleston, South Carolina: Hamel won the People Award for his engaging management style and for the close working relationship he has established both with his colleagues and his local school board.
•    Angela Stone and Stevette Wilson (bus driver and monitor), Indianapolis, Indiana: Stone and Wilson received the Safety Award for their work in identifying a youth who was carrying a gun. Their prompt actions helped prevent a tragedy at the school.
•    The SolTrans team in Solano, California, won the Excellence Award for achieving a 71% reduction in vehicle accidents, a 75% drop in customer injuries and a 56% reduction in lost time injuries for their employees.

Also in attendance were bus drivers Patricia Clay of Burrillville, Rhode Island, and DeShawn Lomax of Pflugerville, Texas. Clay won the highest Community Award in North America for devoting her time to fit dresses for students who otherwise may have been unable to attend their high school prom. Lomax received the North America division’s Customer Award for turning an unfortunate situation into a valuable lesson. There was a delay in a field trip due to a funeral procession, so he pulled his bus over safely and encouraged students and teachers on board to pay their respects to the fallen officer.  

“I am proud to recognize these role models for living our company values and I am honored to have them on our team,” said David A. Duke, CEO of National Express. “This Values Awards dinner is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our employees who go above and beyond in the communities we serve.”