Blue Bird Corporation presented a $10,000 check to school bus drivers from Moore Public Schools south of Oklahoma City to help with temporary housing following last month’s fatal tornado.
The check was presented during a June 9 dinner that started this year’s Oklahoma Association for Pupil Transportation (OAPT) Summer Conference in Tulsa. Kim Hamilton, president of OAPT, said the money will assist in housing the six displaced Moore school bus drivers and their families while their homes are being rebuilt.
The EF5 twister on May 20 killed 23 and injured more than 385. A tornado a day earlier killed one, according to Trent Gibson, the state director of student transportation at the Oklahoma Department of Education. Then, on May 31, another EF5 tornado struck El Reno west of Oklahoma City, killing eight including school bus driver Billy O’Neal and injuring 115 others.
Blue Bird said the check consisted of both corporate and employee donations.
“Blue Bird is humbled to present a check to the six Moore Public School bus drivers whose homes were destroyed during the recent tornado,” added Phil Horlock, president and CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “We recently announced to our 1,500 Blue Bird employees a forthcoming corporate donation and our employees immediately requested to contribute their own money to the fund. This demonstrates that those in the transportation industry are a family—whether they build the buses, drive the buses, maintain the buses or support student transportation—we all look out for each other.”
Additionally, local Blue Bird dealer Ross Transportation donated $2,500 to the American Red Cross to assist victims of the Moore tornado. Bill Ross, president of Ross Transportation said he has not met one person in the state who was not in some way affected by the tornados.
“Serving communities throughout Oklahoma, Ross Transportation understands and sees first-hand the destruction that occurred to the city of Moore,” said Ross. “The company is thankful that we can contribute to the rebuilding process for the residents of Moore.”
