HIGH POINT, N.C. — A safe ride during a storm last year won school bus driver Sharon Scott high praise from one her young riders and first place in the Thomas Built Buses Children’s Choice School Bus Driver of the Year essay contest, the company announced.
In the words of second grader Matthew C., of Ridgefield, Conn., “The sky turned gray with swirling colors … Trees started swaying and after three stops … Sharon turned the bus around and brought us safely back to school.”
Scott, a 16-year veteran driver, said she loves her job because she can work with young children while still making time for her own.
“I love working with children. They truly are one of life’s greatest gifts,” she said.
Scott will receive a $1,000 Visa gift card, and Matthew will be awarded a $1,000 educational savings bond and a laptop computer. Both will receive Thomas Built jackets and Saf-T-Liner C2 lunch boxes.
Shepard Elementary in Mooresville, N.C., provided three runner-up drivers and their passengers. Eight-year-olds Madison O., Tamia H. and Nicholas L., nominated Dianne Swartz, Shari Dilday and Bernadine Stickle, respectively. All runners-up and their students will receive jackets and lunch boxes.
Madison praised her driver’s skill in negotiating a tight turn, writing, “She never makes us lean to the left, so that means she can drive very well.”
Thomas Built Buses said it created the contest in 2006 during its 90th anniversary as a way to recognize and thank bus drivers everywhere for taking care of their precious cargo. Representatives from the National Association of Pupil Transportation and Thomas Built Buses judged the entries.
Read the winning essays online.
