Here, we share photos submitted to us by pupil transporters throughout the country that were featured in the Snapshots department of our October 2011 issue, our 2012 Fact Book and our forthcoming January 2012 issue.
Snapshots — Fall 2011/Winter 2012
A few years ago, Delores Hoover was going through some old photos and found this shot, dated 1927, of her father driving a horse-drawn "kid hack" school bus. Delores went on to drive buses herself. She and her husband, David, have been drivers for Prairie Valley Community School District (or various similar names) in Gowrie, Iowa, for a combination of about 70 years.
When Super Bowl XLIII came to Tampa, Fla, in 2009, organizers contracted with Hillsborough County Public Schools to shuttle halftime extras, according to Field Operations Supervisor Christine Hughes. Here, a few of the district's school bus technicians strike a pose while standing by for breakdowns.
In this historical photo from Missoula, Mont.-based bus operator Beach Transportation, company President Bob Beach stands next to a 1950 Superior body/GMC chassis bus that served Missoula County High School.
In August, a group of Thomas Built Buses employees drove 10 school buses — and a van for the return trip — from High Point, N.C., to Trenton, N.J. Third party driveaway companies weren’t available to deliver the buses on time, "so we decided to do it ourselves," says Ken Hedgecock, Thomas Built’s vice president of sales, marketing and service, who was one of the drivers. First Student ordered 101 Saf-T-Liner C2 SCR-equipped buses from Thomas Built for the new school year. Ten CDL-holding employees from Thomas Built — and one from First Student — drove 10 of the buses to make sure that they arrived before drivers were assigned routes.
On Oct. 3, Student Transportation Inc. (STI) employees across North America — including these from the contractor's Santa Barbara, Calif., terminal — wore blue T-shirts in support of the "Stomp Out Bullying" campaign. Oct. 3 is recognized as "Blue Shirt Day" by Stomp Out Bullying, and STI bus drivers, mechanics, monitors and office staff donned the shirts to promote the reduction and prevention of bullying on the school bus.
Mary Pohlmann, owner/operator and president of Nelson Bus Co. Inc. in Brandon, Minn., says this photo was taken the day of her son and daughter-in-law's wedding in October 2010. The wedding party needed a ride to Inspiration Peak in Otter Tail County to have pictures taken. Pohlmann says Nelson Bus is the contractor for a small school district in Brandon.
This photo was snapped by Pamela Iberer, a school bus driver for First Student's branch in Andover, N.J., shortly before Memorial Day in 2011. Pictured are fellow bus drivers Pete Belder (left) and Richard Clark. "It was nice to see patriotism so early that morning when Mr. Belder came to work to do his regular run," Iberer says, adding that Belder and Clark are friends, and both are well-liked by everyone at the bus yard.
Employees at Judson Independent School District’s transportation department in Live Oak, Texas, are committed to helping people in need. A group of employees comes together to form "The Yellow Santa" during the holidays and "The Yellow Brigade" during the school year. "We give our time to volunteer in the community," says Michelle Kern, president of The Yellow Brigade. "We do a yearly food drive for the San Antonio Food Bank, and we have raised well over 2,000 pounds of food and $1,000. We also visit nursing homes, plan festivals for the students in our community, and we help Habitat for Humanity."