HomeMaintenance2021 Garage Stars Announced: Recognizing Shop Standouts

2021 Garage Stars Announced: Recognizing Shop Standouts

Earlier this year, School Transportation News called for nominations of outstanding fleet management professionals as candidates to be profiled in the August fleet management issue. 

STN received over 140 entries from school districts, private bus companies, school bus dealers, and vendors.

Ten of these individuals are featured in the 6th annual installment of Garage Stars, to be published in the August edition of School Transportation News magazine. The editors used the following 10-point criteria to determine the finalists.

  1. Community involvement
  2. Credentials
  3. Industry development
  4. Leadership
  5. Level of responsibility (with a focus on supervision)
  6. Life experience
  7. Time spent on the job
  8. Training capability
  9. Regulatory agency commendations,
  10. Value to the transportation program

Below is the full list of nominees:

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Joseph Accurso 
Technician in Charge 
First Student, Phoenix 

Matt Beal 
Fleet Coordinator 
College Station ISD, Texas

Matt Belasco 
Director of Maintenance, Operations and Transportation 
Pittsburg Unified School District, Calif.  
 
George Bell 
Lead Mechanic 
Temple Independent School District, Texas 
 
Marvin Benally 
Mechanic/Driver 
Edkey Inc Sequoia Charter School, Ariz. 
 
Troy Bennett 
Automotive Mechanic  
City of Winchester, Va. 
 
Kuldip (Shook) Bhagwandin 
Fleet Tech IV 
Orange County Public Schools Orlando, Fla. 
 
Billy Biedermann 
Fleet Manager 
Bandera ISD, Texas 
 
Bernie Bittner 
Shop Foreman 
Holy Trinity Catholic School Division, Saskatchewan  

Shawn Bowling 
Lead Mechanic 
Corning Union Elementary School District, Calif.  
 
Daniel Boyea 
First Shift Senior Automotive Repairer 
Shenendehowa Central School District, N.Y. 
 
Nigel Burrell 
Shop Foreman 
Hillsborough County Public Schools, Fla.  
 
Lowell Byrd 
Chief Mechanic  
Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Ohio 
 
Kelvin Chandiprasad 
Fleet Tech IV 
Orange County Public Schools, Fla. 
 
Dave Chapman 
Fleet Mechanic 
Madison-Grant United School Corporation, Ind. 
 
Johnson Charles  
Mechanic 
Wentzville School District, Mo. 
 
Larry Childers 
Mechanic 
Pike County Schools, Ky. 
 
Steve Chote 
Supervisor 
Flagstaff Unified School District, Ariz. 
 
Nicholas Clark 
Mechanic III 
Hemet Unified School District, Calif.  
 
Ray Colburn  
Mechanic 
Apple Valley USD, Calif.  
 
Gregory Coleman 
Mechanic 
Spotsylvania County Public Schools, Va. 
 
Daniel Costa 
Bus Driver/Grounds/Maintenance 
Live Oak Unified School District, Calif. 
 
Douglas County 
Fleet 
Douglas County School District, Colo. 
 
James Courtney 
Parts Specialist  
Alachua County Public Schools, Fla.  
 
Wayne Cox 
Lead Mechanic 
North Thurston Public Schools, Wash. 
 
Lewis Davenport 
Mechanic II 
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, N.C. 
 
Shawn Dawson 
Fleet Manager 
Westerville City Schools, Ohio 
 
Rickie Delong 
School Bus Mobile Warranty Technician/Field Technician 
All New Jersey Districts/H.A.DeHart, N.J. 
 
Anthony Diprisco 
Mechanic Foreman 
MSAD #35, Maine 
 
Donnie Dobrenz 
Transportation Lead Mechanic 
Sheridan County School District #2, Wy. 
 
Anuar Dominguez 
Mechanic 
Bethlehem Central School District, N.Y. 
 
Harvey Dunning 
Mechanic Supervisor 
Chesapeake Public Schools, Va. 
 
Todd Elfeld 
Shop Foreman/Lead Technician 
Aspen School District, Colo.  
 
Mark English 
Shop Foreman  
Mid-Praire Community School District, Iowa 
 
Brady Feck 
Petermann Bus Lead Tech 
Petermann Bus/National Express 
 
Thomas Feola 
Auto Mechanic 
Poughkeepsie City School District, N.Y 
 
Rob Fibich 
Service Manager 
Vancouver, B.C. / First Student Canada 
 
Adrian Force 
Mechanic 
Bath Central School District, N.Y. 
 
Chris Fornalczyk 
Bus Mechanic 
North East School District, Pa. 
 
Stephanie Foster  
Shop Assistant  
Pell City Schools, Ala. 
 
George Fredrickson 
Senior Mechanic 
Toms River Regional Schools, N.J. 
 
Charlie Garcia 
Lead Mechanic 
Tillamook School District, Ore. 
 
Jose Garcia 
Mechanic 
Woodlake Unified School District, Calif.  
 
Rizaldy Go 
Lead Mechanical  
Alum Rock Union School District, Calif.  
 
Greg Grimes 
Mechanic 
Franklin County Schools, Ky.  
 
Darren Horswill 
Shop Foreman 
Southland Transportation/Cold Lake Bus Lines, Canada  
 
Paul Howe 
Service Manager 
First Student/Irving ISD, Texas   
 
Zack Hudson 
Shop Foreman 
Winchester Public Schools, Va. 
 
Joe Huster 
Fleet Maintenance Supervisor 
Mehlville School District. Mo.  
 
Ismail Ibrahim 
Glenmore Shop Lead Hand 
Southland Transportation Calgary 
 
Kyle Jackson 
Fleet Manager 
Harrison School District Two, Colo.  
 
Jared Janice 
Lead Tech 
Round Rock ISD, Texas 
 
Cody Jones 
Head Mechanic 
Akron School District R-1, Colo.  
 
Jack Joseph  
Lead Mechanic  
Floyd County Schools, Ky.   
 
Sonny Kazim 
Fleet Tech IV 
Orange County Public Schools, Fla.  
 
Rob Lam 
Service Manager 
Toronto/First Student Canada 
 
John Lewis 
Mechanic 
USD 446 Independence, Kan. 
 
Zane Lewis 
Head Mechanic 
Mercer County Schools, Ky.  
 
Benny Linthicum 
Shop Foreman 
W&W Tire 
 
Dean Lothammer  
Southland Humboldt Mechanic  
Southland Transportation Ltd, Canada  
 
Timothy Mackey 
Shop Manager 
300/First Student- Spring Street Location, Mo. 
 
David Mallonee 
Lead Bus Mechanic 
Cecil County Public Schools, Md. 
 
Buddy Marino 
Shop-1 Foreman 
Gwinnett County Public Schools, Ga. 
 
Noble Marlow 
Lead Mechanic 
McCreary County School District, Ky.  
 
Bill McClaran 
Lead Mechanic 
Medford Township Public Schools, N.J. 
 
Scott McDonough 
Garage Supervisor 
Anaheim Union High School District, Calif.  
 
Scottie McKinzie 
Shop Foreman 
Fulton County School System, Ga.  
 
Tim McQuade 
Sr. Service Manager 
Seattle/First Student  
 
Edward Meindersee 
Lead Mechanic 
Pittsburg Unified School District, Calif. 
 
Jason Miller 
Lead Mechanic  
Covington Independent Public Schools, Ky.  
 
Chris Miller 
Lead Mechanic 
Saddle Mountain Unified School District No. 90, Ariz. 

Larry Mosley
Bus Mechanic 
Jackson Parish School Board, La.  
 
Bobby Mullins 
Breathitt county schools  
Breathitt County Schools, Ky. 

Angel Negron 
Fleet Tech IV 
Orange County Public Schools, Fla. 
 
Shawn Nielsen 
Lead Technician 
Madison School District 321, Idaho 
 
Nick Nolen 
Assistant Mechanic 
Western Brown Local Schools, Ohio 
 
Nagawo Nure 
Operations Manager 
Metropolitan Transportation Network, Inc. (MTN), Minn. 
 
Tamra Ohs 
Service Advisor 
Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Calif. 
 
Jon Perkins 
Head Mechanic 
Grandview C-4 School District, Mo. 
 
Mike Peterson 
Service Manager 
Anoka-Hennepin School District / First Student  
 
Martin Piedra 
Lead Auto/Diesel Technician 
Gwinnett County Public Schools, Ga. 
 
Derrick Pires 
Garage Manager 
Escambia County School District, Fla.  
 
Kenneth Powers, Sr. 
Head Mechanic 
National Trails School Bus. Mich. 
 
Tommy Prichard 
Lead mechanic 
J & R Diesel/Fairview Independent Schools, Mich. 
 
Scott Prusko  
Shop Foreman  
Township High School District 211, Ill.  
 
Jesse Ramirez 
Vehicle Maintenance Coordinator 
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, Calif.  
 
Ruth Ramos 
Mechanic  
Harlandale ISD, Texas 
 
Junior Roadlander 
Lead Mechanic 
Edkey Inc Sequoia Charter School, Ariz. 
 
Ross Robert 
Fleet Garage Leader (Foreman)  
Livonia Public Schools, Mich. 
 
Richard Rodriguez 
Mechanic 
Hays Consolidated Independent School District, Texas  
 
Kristen Rollins 
Transportation Supervisor 
Greeneville City Schools, Tenn. 
 
Tammi Ronald 
Fleet Team Lead 
4Seasons Transportation, Canada  
 
Lance Roundy 
Lead mechanic 
Central Consolidated Schools District, N.M  
 
Gracious Royster 
Location Manager 
First Student/Brockton, Mass. 
 
Dan Ruggles 
Bus Driver Extraordinaire 
Loleta Union Elementary School District, Calif.  
 
Calvin Sakamoto 
Tech I, LEAD for Hawaii Department of Education  
Hawaii Island-Hilo/Roberts Hawaii 
 

Van Sanasith 
Garage coordinator 
Alabama Council on Human Relations, Inc. Headstart 
 
Dennis Sapp 
Fleet Manager 
Southern Boone School District, Mo.  
 
Karlos Sarmiento 
School Bus Mechanic/driver 
Katonah-Lewisboro School District, N.Y. 
 
Ben Satterly  
Shop Supervisor  
Boyle County School District, Ky.  
 
Chris Schuster 
Head Mechanic 
Trinity Transportation/Garden City Public Schools, Mich. 
 
Frank Scotto
Head Mechanic 
Howell Township Public Schools, N.J. 
 
Roland Sharp 
Lead Mechanic 
Weld County School District RE-4, Colo. 
 
Darald Shrider 
Assistant Supervisor of Fleet and Operations 
Huron Valley Schools, Mich. 
 
Randy Shriner 
Bus Mechanic 
Middlebury Community Schools, Ind. 
 
Kenneth Shrum 
Head Mechanic 
Lebanon Special School District, Tenn. 
 
Mark Siebeneck 
Building and Bus Maintenance 
Continental Elementary School District, Ariz. 
 
Shawn Sinotte 
Director of Buildings and Grounds 
School District of Lomira, Wis. 
 
Scott Smith 
Fleet  Mechanic  
Dufour Escorted Tours Inc., Mass 
 
Tom Sullivan 
Lead Mechanic 
Dare County Schools, N.C. 
 
Chris Sutton 
Fleet Manager 
Douglas County School District, Colo. 
 
Joe Terpstra 
Assistant Director of Fleet Services 
Klein ISD, Texas 
 
Joel Thomas 
Technician 
Mansfield ISD, Texas 
 
Craig Thompson  
Transportation Director  
Marshall Public Schools, Mo. 
 
Brian Timberlake  
Head Mechanic  
Jackson R-2 School District, Mo. 
 
Eugene Turco
Lead Technician
Westerly Public schools, R.I.

Donny Valencia Sr. 
Shop Supervisor 
Farmington Municipal Schools, N.M 
 
James Wade 
Shop Manager 
Volusia County Schools, Fla.  
 
Richard Wagar 
Head Mechanic  
Berlin Central School District, N.Y.  
 
Dennis Wagner 
School Bus Mechanic 
Mohawk Area School District, Pa. 
 
Washington Township
Mechanics
Washington Township Board of Education, N.J. 

Vinson Weeks  
Lead Tech  
Durham School Bus Services, N.Y. 
 
Joseph Weick 
Mechanic 
Van Buren Public Schools, Mich. 
 
Robert Williams 
Assistant Director, Fleet Services 
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Texas 
 
Jeff Wilson 
Lead Mechanic Century Transportation 
Century Transportation Ontario 
 
Bruce Wolfe 
Mechanic 
Union Board of Education, N.J. 
 
Ron Yoder 
Lead Fleet Mechanic 
Three Rivers Community Schools, Mich. 
 
Michael Zhang Wu 
Lead Hand Mechanic 
Southland Cochrane, Alberta  
 
Marcelo Zuniga 
Head Mechanic 
Hendrick Hudson School District, N.Y. 

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