SCHENECTADY, N.Y.– Enrollment is officially open for the Top Transportation Teams awards program that puts a spotlight on the best school transportation providers in North America.
The program was launched last year by Transfinder Corp., the leader in school transportation logistics and hardware. Top Transportation Teams is designed to provide recognition to unsung heroes in the school transportation industry and provide tools for districts to improve their operations by learning from others.
Last year’s winners came from two categories: Districts or contractors with more than 100 employees and districts and contractors with 100 or fewer employees. The six winners of the first Top Transportation Teams award came from four states: Indiana, Michigan, New York and Texas.
Teams enroll in the program by visiting TopTransportationTeams.com. From there they will upload their team’s email addresses. Team members will then receive anonymous surveys, answering a variety of questions about their department, such as: Morale within the department, leadership, safety and benefits. Team members are comprised of transportation supervisors and directors, routers, dispatchers, drivers and others considered core to the transportation department.
The winners will be selected solely on the responses to these anonymous surveys.
“We speak with transportation leaders all the time and are constantly amazed at the work they do under extreme pressure,” said Antonio Civitella, President and CEO of Transfinder. “They often go unnoticed. We sought to change that with the Top Transportation Teams program and it worked. We saw last year teams bursting with pride for the work they do. It was honoring and humbling to be a part of this effort and we are looking to make this program even bigger this year.”
Each winner will be highlighted in School Transportation News as well as in news releases, social media posts and webinars. Representatives from each of the winning teams will be featured on a leadership panel discussion at the STN EXPO in Reno, Nev. on July 15 to discuss what makes a Top Transportation Team.
“We are excited and honored to host the 2nd annual Top Transportation Teams awards presentation and educational panel session at STN EXPO in Reno this year. It takes a lot of time and effort to build a culture of high performance and it is important to recognize those achievements amongst school districts and private fleet contractors.” said Tony Corpin, Publisher & President, School Transportation News. To enroll, visit http://www.toptransportationteams.com.
About last year’s winners:
The winners in the over 100 employees category were: Franklin Township Community School Corporation in Indiana; Klein Independent School District in Texas and Garland Independent School District in Texas.
The winners in the 100 or fewer employees category were: Marshall Public Schools in Michigan; Pembroke Central School District in New York; and South Lewis Central School District in New York.
“When I first heard the news, I could feel the excitement and sense of pride course through my veins in a state of disbelief,” John Fergerson, Klein ISD’s director of transportation, said last year.. “Of all the school districts in North America, we were chosen. Then as I settled down, I realized that I knew all along that we would be named one of the finalists because we absolutely have a Top Transportation Team because of our employees.”
Ferguson’s comments illustrate why Transfinder started the program in the first place.
“It is a privilege to honor these teams,” Civitella said. “It excites me that they were excited about this award and felt pride in it. It was well deserved. We are also excited about the opportunity other school transportation operations will have this year to receive this recognition.”
To learn more about the Top Transportation Teams award program, visit www.toptransportationteams.com.
About Transfinder:
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Schenectady, New York, Transfinder is a national leader in intelligent transportation systems, providing transportation management systems and services to municipalities, school districts adult care facilities and police department. Transfinder award-winning technology routes one in three students in North America. The company is one of the fastest growing companies in New York’s Capital Region, according to the Albany Business Review. At one point, Transfinder landed on Inc. magazine’s fastest-growing private companies list for 11 consecutive years. Transfinder has offices in Austin, Texas, as well as China and India. The software and hardware company has repeatedly been named a Best Place to Work, a Top Workplace and Best Company to Work for in New York State. For more information, visit www.transfinder.com.
