I know, I know, I am late with my blog! It seems like I am always trying to catch up these days, especially, after the holidays. Trying to cover routes, shortage of drivers, dealing with upset parents, personnel issues, and then…I receive that dreaded dispatch that a child has been hit because a man ran the bus’s reds. I don’t care how strong you are, it is very difficult to deal with, and you don’t get over it in just one day. This happened in a subdivision and the man in the vehicle was not going very fast. The young lady, a fifth grader, was transported by ambulance to Dell Children’s Medical Center. She is very blessed because she came away from this harrowing incident with minor injuries. By the way, the man that hit her was cited for passing a stopped bus and failure to display a driver’s license. There has got to be a way to implement harsher consequences against people who disregard our buses that are stopped, with stop sign out, reds going, and students loading or unloading. I realize I am preaching to the choir!

 Amidst all of this, I called Momma Jolene to vent, and she told me to quit looking at the half empty glass and focus on it being half full. I quickly realized she was right. So my new theme song that I try to listen to everyday is “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé…”It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day….and I’m feeling good!” It just makes everything better. My staff tells me to stick to my day job when I sing. Okay, I digress, back to the real world.

 I’d like to talk about budgets and my concern regarding the TAPT budget. In the past four years, the President and President –Elect have travelled to chapter meetings all over the state. As I began to plan my visits and calculating the travel expenses, it would cost TAPT approximately $4,000.00 for me to go to the chapter meetings. I became very torn about spending $4,000.00 to travel while we are trying to maintain a balanced budget, plan a conference, award scholarships, etc. I felt that this money could be better utilized in that facet than traveling. This was a very difficult decision and I discussed it with the Executive Committee and we all agreed that it was in the best interest for TAPT to forego the chapter visits…isn’t that why we have Area Director’s? As much as I would love to travel this big beautiful state and visit all the chapters, I do not feel comfortable spending that kind of money when we have Area Directors that represent TAPT Executive Committee. I am sending a letter to each of the Area Directors to read on my behalf. I will truly be there in spirit. I hope that all of our members understand and appreciate that the Executive Committee is very mindful of TAPT’s budget.

 I attended the Gulf Coast APT Winter Conference in League City and it felt like a family reunion. It was a great conference, with excellent presenters, a vendor show, and certification classes. It was also great to hear updates from the industry panel. I want to thank Marisa Weisinger and the GCAPT Executive Committee for all their hard work and having another successful conference.

 Speaking of conferences…I hope everyone is planning on attending our 39th Annual Conference and Trade Show in McAllen, Texas. It will be here before we realize it. The Executive Committee will meet in McAllen at the end of April to finalize all the plans of the conference. Registration should be opening around the first of March. We are very excited about all the events and being able to see our TAPT family again. Hopefully, I will be able to see you all real soon! I want to thank each one of you for being such an important part of my life! Until my next stop….

What a busy, but fun month! I LOVE October. October is the beginning of fall and the festivals, homecomings, National School Bus Safety Week, Kerrville Conference, and National Association for Pupil Transportation Summit. These are events I was able to participate in and enjoyed immensely.

The first part of the month was solely dedicated to our department and district. We planned so many things during homecoming and National School Bus Safety Week. It was jammed packed full of fun, energy, and recognition of our drivers. I hope all of you were able to recognize and celebrate National School Bus Safety Week in your own district.

One of my first stops on the road was on October 17th. I travelled to our beautiful state capitol for the Annual School Bus Safety Poster Contest Awards Ceremony. It always starts off with a proclamation from the Governor regarding National School Bus Safety Week. I have been attending this ceremony for several years and this year was by far the best.

I want to thank Rush Bus Sales for their continued support and sponsorship for the School Bus Safety Contest and awards. This event would not occur with their generous support! Also, big thanks to Deanna Wiggins and Sherri Lawson, who unselfishly give their time and support for this event to be so successful. Kudos to Carl Kirst for being the emcee and bringing Victoria Peterson, a student at Lockhart ISD, to perform the National Anthem and an American hymn.

The ceremony was beautiful and what a privilege to witness the students receiving their awards and trophies. We have the pictures of the ceremony posted to the TAPT website. If your district is not a part of this contest, I urge all of you to get involved. This contest is an excellent tool to teach our students about school bus safety. You can find the rules and guidelines on our website and it is not too late to get started for this year.

My next stop was on October 22nd at the CENTEX Chapter 18th Annual Fall Workshop, in Kerrville, Texas. Thank you CENTEX for another great meeting. On Friday, Rafael Salazar, chaired the golf tournament and Fritz Klabunde, chaired the bowling tournament. These two gentlemen did an excellent job and I appreciate them for always stepping up and ensuring these tournaments are fun and successful. Of course, our Vendors stepped up with their support to make this annual workshop a success. It could not have happened without them! Thank you…Thank you…Thank you!

We started out with the Past President Recognition of CENTEX, Gloria Fernandez. Everyone had the great opportunity to receive updates from the panel discussion with TEA’s representative Gary Marek, then myself for TAPT, and Earl Stewart for TASBT. The Keynote Speaker was Jolene Hawkins. She did a fantastic job talking about her journey with TAPT. It was an emotional hour of laughter and tears. After lunch, there were three excellent workshops presented by Jack Irvin “The School Zone Bus”, Charles Law “Responding to Complex Situations on the Bus”, and Fritz Klabunde “TASBT School Bus Inspections”. Then the following day TAPT Certification Classes were offered. Another great workshop and looking forward to next year in Kerrville, Texas.

I left the workshop, picked up my luggage, and headed to the airport to fly to Cincinnati for the 37th Annual NAPT Summit. It was a great conference and trade show. I was able to hear some great presentations and keynote speakers. The diversity of topics included bullying, budgets, employee issues, special needs, illegal passing, routing, and alternative fuels, just to name a few of the classes offered. I received a lot of good information from these classes and had a wonderful time seeing and visiting with friends from all over the United States.

On Thursday, October 27th, I was on the airplane headed home to the beautiful State of Texas, and picked up the airline’s onboard magazine. As I was turning the pages, an article “Precious Cargo” caught my eye. After I read the article, I was very disappointed that it never mentioned their passengers as “Precious Cargo”. Their list of precious cargo included silk, flowers, documents, movies, fresh seafood, vegetables, and even human organs. I realize they have cargo planes but I still believe the most precious cargo they carry is their passengers, including the flight attendants and pilots. Regardless of the mode of transportation….when people are being transported…they are the “Precious Cargo”! I feel a letter is due to the CEO of the airline that hosted this article. I will keep you posted if I receive an answer to my letter!

October was fast and furious and now it is November, the month to give thanks for all of our blessings. I am so thankful to serve as your President and to be able to represent this wonderful organization. As we all prepare for Thanksgiving, I hope you will join me and give thanks for all your wonderful blessings!

Until my next stop on this incredible journey…..

My journey as the President of TAPT began on June 29th and it has opened my world to a plethora of opportunities that I am so fortunate to be involved in. I want to be able to share this journey with my TAPT family….therefore, my blog! I hope you will enjoy this adventure with me.
McAllen Bound….
The Executive Committee held our first meeting down in McAllen on September 23rd and 24th. It was a very productive meeting and we were able to tour the hotels and convention center. The convention center is a new state of the art facility and we are very excited to hold our conference there.
We all have heard the phrase “the only thing constant is change”. Change can be disconcerting and at times very stressful. Let’s face it, nobody really likes change. But, sometimes change is necessary to remain true to our mission and help accomplish our goals.
Sometimes we have to throw away the map that we have drawn and look down the path we are headed. If we are going to stay on the road that our forefathers of this great organization began to pave for us, then we must make some detours to keep their vision going in the right direction.
How many of you are tired of hearing “due to budget constraints”? I know I am. This has become the answer to everything. We have to accept the fact that due to budget constraints we are going to have to make changes to our conference. Our goal is to make the conference affordable and efficient so that everyone can still plan on attending. People are becoming creative and have already begun to save their money.
One major change is that we are cutting the conference down by two nights. In lieu of events starting on Thursday they will begin on Friday and end on Tuesday morning with the Honoree Breakfast. We are very excited about these changes and hope you will be too.
We met with some of the officers from STAPT (South Texas Chapter) and discussed the roadeo and conference events. They are already working and preparing for the conference. This is an awesome group that is very excited that the conference will be in McAllen. They are working extremely hard for it to be successful. Thank you guys for making my life a little easier!
Start saving your money and making plans to be with us in McAllen.
2011 America’s Best School Bus Technician & Inspectors Competition…
It was such an honor to be invited to the 2011 Americas Best Competition held at Northeast ISD and to be surrounded by such talented individuals.
Thank you North East ISD for all you did and providing the facilities for this prestigious event.
I want to thank TASBT for all their efforts in insuring this year’s event was a success and making Texas proud. You are an awesome organization that we are very proud of. We certainly appreciate all you do and for setting the standard for our school bus technicians.
Of course the sponsors…this event could not happen without you and your support. You guys just rock!! Thanks for all you do!
There were contestants from all over the country. I had the wonderful privilege to meet some of these folks and chat with them about what they are so passionate about. I do have to give a shout out to our Texas winner, Scott Bettinger from Temple….Woo Hoo!
I think the title “America’s Best” is very fitting because they are America’s Best. Congratulations to all of the contestants and on behalf of TAPT we want to congratulate each one of you for getting this far in the competition. Despite who came in first place, they are all winners!
So, have you hugged your mechanic today? You should, because they are such a vital part of the safety process that the school bus industry provides, which assures us that the safest school buses are being used in transporting our precious cargo.
By the way, since I was so fortunate to be in the midst of the Best of the Best, I told them that there are several Texas school districts looking for a few good Mechanics!
Until next time…..
My next stop will be in Kerrville and then on to Cincinnati for the NAPT Summit! I will keep you posted.
I appreciate all of you and the job you do. I hope you enjoy reading about my reflections on the events I am so blessed to attend, reflect on the people that I’ve met, and the places I’ve been. Be safe!