HIGH POINT, N.C. — Whayne Supply Co. of Louisville, Ky., was named Thomas Built Buses’ 2011 Dealer of the Year at the school bus manufacturer’s annual dealer meeting last week.

Thomas Built President and CEO Kelley Platt presented the award to Frank Lewis, general manager of Whayne Power Systems, of Whayne Supply Co. Whayne Supply is the Thomas Built dealer in Kentucky — it offers sales, parts and vehicle service.

“Among Whayne’s noteworthy accomplishments is its work with state organizations to help Kentucky obtain the first and biggest federal hybrid school bus grant in the U.S.," Platt said. "In large part because of the firm’s efforts, Thomas Built Buses has delivered more cutting-edge diesel-electric hybrid technology school buses than any other school bus manufacturer in the country.”

She also noted that Whayne provides excellent customer service, and that Thomas Built regularly receives “wonderful comments from our customers who tell us that all of Wayne’s 11 main servicing locations provide second-to-none service support.”

The Dealer of the Year award is selected annually from four regional winners that demonstrate outstanding performance in customer satisfaction, customer service and support, financial performance and overall relationship with Thomas Built Buses.

In addition to Whayne Supply Co. in the government sales category, the following regional dealers were honored:

• W.C. Cressey & Son Inc. of Kennebunk, Maine (northeastern region)
• Sonny Merryman Inc. of Evington, Va. (southeast region)    
• Western Mountain Bus Sales of Nampa, Idaho (western region)

Moreover, gold, silver and bronze awards for dealership excellence were presented to selected dealers in recognition of outstanding performance in service, parts support and bus sales.