Congratulations to Tim Podas from Academy of Holy Angels for winning the Pressure Washer at the Open House!
Greensboro, NC – School bus drivers from across the U.S. and Canada tested their skills here in July during the 39th Annual International School Bus Driver Safety Competition.
The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) organizes the competition, which is held in conjunction with its annual meeting and convention. The competition comprises maneuvering through a challenging driving course and completing a written exam that tests knowledge of operational and safety standards.
Danny Stegall of Liberty (Mo.) Public Schools placed first in the Transit Class, while Larry Hannon of Centennial School District in Warminster, Penn., placed first in the Conventional Class. This is the sixth time Hannon has won a top spot in the competition.
Brandy Acevedo of the Monterey County Office of Education in Salinas, Calif., finished first in the Small Bus Class.
Here are the top competitors for each of the classes:
Transit
1. Danny Stegall, Liberty (Mo.) Public Schools
2. Tyler Reynolds, Virginia Beach (Va.) City Public Schools
3. Pamela Pagan, Center Grove Community School Corp., Bargersville, Ind.
4. Don Hanley, Kent (Wash.) School District
5. Dana Clark, Madison County Board of Education, Richmond, Ky.
6. Doug Smith, Snowline Joint Unified School District, Phelan, Calif.
7. Hannah Beard, First Student Inc., Grover, Mo.
8. Robert McManus, Beaumont (Texas) Independent School District
9. Steven Wright, First Student Inc., Olathe, Kan.
10. Sheila Van Weel, Forsythe Transportation, Chugiak, Alaska
Conventional
1. Larry Hannon, Centennial School District, Warminster, Pa.
2. George Soverns, Rittenhouse Bus Lines Inc., Smock, Pa.
3. Billy Wiseman, Kanawha County Schools, Charleston, W.Va.
4. Christine Fritz, Academy School District 20, Colorado Springs, Colo.
5. Mark Koelbl, First Student Canada, Calgary, Alberta
6. Charles Burro, Montgomery County Public Schools, Christiansburg, Va.
7. Brent Carman, Morgan Hill (Calif.) Unified School District
8. Bonnie Pool, First Student Inc., House Springs, Mo.
9. Michelle Schultz, First Student Inc., Grand Junction, Colo.
10. C. Arthur Birdsley, Hudsonville (Mich.) Public Schools
Small Bus
1. Brandy Acevedo, Monterey County Office of Education, Salinas, Calif.
2. Janet Turner, Greater Albany (Ore.) Public Schools
3. Karen Schoonover, Roanoke (Va.) City Schools
4. Randy Paxson, Durham School Services, Witchita, Kan.
5. Joanna Robson, Minneapolis & Suburban Bus Co.
NSTA Also held a contest among the drivers to select a slogan for next year’s competition. The winning slogan was, “Celebrating 40 Years of the International School Bus Driver Safety Competition: Still Thriving Towards Driving Safely,” which was submitted by Angel DeSousa of Tremblay Bus Co. in Fall River, Mass.
The 40th Annual International School Bus Driver Safety Competition will be held in St. Louis.
From School Bus Fleet – September 2009
From IC Bus
Hello Friend of the Environment,
We’re very happy to announce that Alexander Chen of Irvington High School in Fremont, CA has won the America’s Greenest School Contest! Alex’s essay “Irvington Vikings Sail Toward Sustainability” (one of nearly 2,000) won his school district an IC Bus plug-in hybrid electric school bus. He also won a $5,000 scholarship for himself. Way to go, Alex!
We created the contest as part of our effort to promote how school bus ridership can make the world a greener place. The response to the contest shows how much younger generations care about a green planet. Alex’s essay demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the many ways energy efficiency can be achieved at school, from installing timers on light fixtures to pursuing an effort to paint the school’s rooftop white. Alex and Irvington High School clearly have a profound interest in a greener world. As classes come to an end and we prepare for summer vacation, IC Bus wants to help everyone stay involved with the drive for a greener world.
In this spirit, we’d like to share some tips from author Terra Wellington. Her recent book, The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home, is a comprehensive real-person’s guide on how to help the planet and protect your family.
GO ORGANIC — Use organic food for your child’s meals whenever possible. Easy and widely available ideas include organic fruits, drinks, peanut butter, jelly and carrot sticks.
REDUCE WASTE — When going on outings, pack your lunches in reusable containers. This is more environmentally friendly than using disposable paper bags and plastic baggies.
RECYCLE — Use recycling bins for paper, cans and bottles. If your neighborhood doesn’t have recycling bins, work with your like-minded parents to get some.
BE PROUD TO RIDE THE BUS — Help the environment and clean up your air by using mass transit. This keeps additional cars off the road and helps you save gas, avoid traffic jams and cut down on greenhouse gases. The last tip is obviously one that’s close to our heart. Through increasing bus ridership, IC Bus hopes to help families and communities reduce their carbon footprint.
Did you know:
• Every school day, almost half a million school buses carry 26 million children to and from school — that’s a little more than half of America’s school children.
• According to the American School Bus Council, one full school bus takes 36 cars off the road.
• Every year, 3.1 billion gallons of fuel are saved by students riding school buses, and if school bus ridership were to rise just 10%, another 300 million gallons of fuel could be saved annually.
We hope this gives you some ways to extend your green efforts while school is out. Enjoy your summer. We’ll be in touch before school starts with more information on school bus ridership and other insights on how we can all make the world a greener place for our families and future generations. In the meantime, to learn more about IC Bus and our community sustainability efforts, go to ICBus.com/Community.
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- The sponsors – Thank you!
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- Our Marshalltown facility
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- Max, Dave, Owen, Terry, and Verlan
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- Group Photo
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- Kevin receiving the winning ticket to the NAPT Best of the Best.
Hoglund Bus of Iowa hosted the Best of the Best competition on Saturday, April 18. The competition consisted of a written and hands on test of the mechanics knowledge of school buses. We took so many pictures that there will be a couple of posts on this subject! Congratulations to Kevin Talley from Southeast Polk CSD for winning!
He will be going to South Carolina at the NAPT, paid for by the IAPT, to compete for the national title.
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- Picture of the Best of the Best banner
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- Carl from Western Dubuque CSD in the skills test
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- Jason Logan from Indianola CSD and Mike Hillman from Waverly-Shell Rock CSD waiting for meeting to start
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- Les from Nevada CSD, Kevin from Ventura CSD, Mark from Central, waiting for meeting
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- Meeting of the minds
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- Jason Logan and Jeff Harbaugh going through instructions on the skills portion
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- Kyle taking skills test
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- George from Johnston CSD going through the skills test
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- Dale from Howard-Winneshiek CSD going through the skills test
Filed under: Commercial Buses, Diamond Coach, Hoglund Bus, Scott Gretsch, Winner
Minnesota Commercial Bus Salesman Scott Gretsch taking care of business.
The best ‘green’ essay will win a yellow hybrid bus
Warrenville, Ill.-based IC Bus, which describes itself on its website as the only manufacturer of hybrid school buses, says its bus reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 40% and improves fuel economy compared with a regular diesel school bus. The company created an essay contest to encourage students from kindergarten through 12th grades to start environmentally friendly programs in their schools.
“We feel strongly about the fact that every school bus takes 36 cars off the road, about the billions of gallons of gas that it saves per year for every school bus we have on the road,” says IC Bus president John McKinney.
Students who enter the contest, which is open until April 30, should write 500-word essays on the ways their school seeks to become green.
Christian Laskaros, a junior at Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills, N.Y., entered a few weeks ago. He described how small eco-friendly programs at his school, including a paper recycling program, fliers with energy-saving tips in classrooms and ceiling lights with timers, add up to make a big difference.
“I really hope (the judges) grasp the entire gist of the essay, how you can see nothing being eco-friendly one day, and the next day you’re looking at the bus you’re riding on in the city and how eco-friendly it actually is,” Laskaros says. “And you look at your water bottle, something so small, and realize how much damage it can do.”
For contest judges McKinney and Terra Wellington, author of the upcoming book The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home, the contest is all about who is the most excited about going green.
“I’m looking for that passion and emotion in the essay,” Wellington says. “I would love to see children who write these essays show how maybe they got their school involved. Children have a capacity to influence.”
Students can enter their essay at AmericasGreenestSchool.com, where they can read about hybrid buses and learn ways to create a more eco-friendly school, such as shutting off unnecessary classroom lights and packing “litterless lunches” in reusable containers.
Ten finalists will be posted on the website May 11-17, and the public will vote on who should win. In addition to the hybrid bus prize, the winning student will get a $5,000 scholarship, and a faculty sponsor can win $3,000 for educational materials.
From USAToday.com
Here are a couple of pictures from the MAPT/MSBOA Winter Conference that was held in Mankato, MN January 9-10. Congratulations to BJ Ison from White Bear Lake Schools and Steve LaTour from Benjamin Bus for winning the pair of MN Wild Tickets!
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- Roger Milner from Vision lines up his shot on goalee Sales Manager Jason Anderson.
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- Eric Burrill from Benjamin Bus takes a shot on goal.
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- Peggy Lian takes a shot on goalee Sales Manager Jason Anderson.
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- Betty from Trobec’s Bus Service, Sales Manager Jason Anderson, and Roger Milner watches Betty’s shot on goal.
HOGLUND BUS AND TRUCK KICKS OFF NATIONWIDE SEARCH FOR AMERICA’S GREENEST SCHOOL, WINNING SCHOOL TO RECEIVE HYBRID SCHOOL BUS
Students, Teachers, Parents Encouraged to Help Improve Environmental Impact of Schools Through New Campaign
Students returning to school from Winter Break can start the New Year off with a resolution for their schools to be more environmentally responsible. Hoglund Bus and Truck and the nation’s largest school bus manufacturer, IC Bus, is looking for America’s Greenest School – and Minnesota and Iowa students can help.
Students can enter by visiting www.AmericasGreenestSchool.com. On the site, they can learn more about making their school more environmentally friendly and submit a 500-word essay that describes what makes their school “green”. Activities such as setting up in-school recycling programs, keeping lights turned off when not in use, using environmentally smart landscaping and encouraging students to ride school buses instead of driving to school are all ideal solutions for creating a greener school.
The submission should describe how the school shows its commitment to going green, how it teaches its students the value of green living, how it shows its dedication to green transportation, or how it embodies the spirit of a greener planet.
“This program can help students, teachers and parents learn that they do have the power to make greener choices that will positively affect the environment,” said Terra Wellington, the author of the new book “The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth
Begins at Home” and one of the judges of the essay contest. “Making America’s schools greener is a winning lesson plan for everyone.”
Finalists will be announced after Earth Day and the public will be able to vote to choose who wins the title of America’s Greenest School. The winning school will receive a plug-in hybrid school bus from IC Bus, which can the fuel efficiency of standard school buses by 65% and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 percent. The hybrid school bus has an estimated retail value of $200,000. Sponsoring teachers have the chance to win $3,000 to use toward educational materials. The student who submits the winning essay will win a $5,000 scholarship. Hoglund Bus and Truck is excited to help local schools enter for a chance to win a hybrid school bus.
Parts Salesman Jim Lenz give Jim Klatt his new flat screen
