HIGH POINT, N.C. — Thomas Built Buses has announced details for its sixth annual Children’s Choice School Bus Driver of the Year essay contest.

Students in kindergarten through sixth grade are invited to submit essays of at least 90 words to nominate their favorite school bus drivers. In their own words and through illustrations, students can describe what they think makes their school bus drivers special. The winning essays will be featured on the Thomas Built Buses website when the judging is complete.

Every year since the inception of the contest in 2006, Thomas Built has received hundreds of heartfelt essays from children across the U.S. and Canada who share stories of bus drivers’ overwhelming compassion and extraordinary actions that help make their days brighter, company officials said.

“A school bus driver’s primary responsibility is to get students safely to school and home again. The essay contest provides a platform for us to shine a light on drivers who do this and so much more. Many of the essays describe drivers who have become champions, admired mentors, trusted guardians and dear friends,” said Kelley Platt, president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses, “and we want to recognize those drivers in a big way.”

To enter the contest, visit www.thomasbus.com/contest for the complete rules and an entry form.

Entries must be postmarked by July 1. The grand prize winner will receive a laptop computer, and the nominated driver will receive a $1,000 Visa gift card. Grand prize winners and top finalists also will receive Thomas Built Buses jackets and Saf-T-Liner C2 school bus lunch boxes.