Dave Nelson, co-owner of Nelson’s Bus Service, Whitewater, Wis., accepted the 2013 Thomas Built Buses Dealer Trainer of the Year award at the OEM’s annual dealer meeting in Nashville, Tenn., on April 14.
Michael Stoller, Thomas Built’s manager for service education and the company’s Center for Education, recognized Nelson Bus Service for providing hands-on service maintenance and training to his customers.
Thomas Built Buses’ Train the Trainer program was developed in 2009 to provide customers opportunities for local technician training. Through the program, Thomas educates trainers across the country on how to provide customers with hands-on experiences and up-to-date technician information. There currently are 44 trainers in the program, who conducted a total of 660 classes in 2013. More than 30,000 technicians have been trained through the program since its inception.
“The dealers who are involved in the Train the Trainer program are delivering in very big ways this year,” said Stotler. “Altogether, our trainers conducted approximately three classes every business day in 2013 — leaps and bounds above when we started the program in 2009. “Dave Nelson is a great example of how powerful this training program can be. His commitment to training his customers and their technicians about Thomas Built Buses is a testament to his dedication.”
The winner of the Thomas Dealer Trainer of the Year award was selected from five regional winners who demonstrated outstanding training opportunities to their customers throughout the year. Regional winners include:
- Midwest Region: Dave Nelson, Nelson’s Bus Service, Whitewater, Wis.
- Western Region: Trace Tolby, Autosafety House, Phoenix
- Southeast Region: Ali Rampartab, Matthews Buses Florida, Orlando, Fla.
- Northeast Region: Phil Heller, Roher Bus, Duncannon, Pa.
- Central Region: Shawn Klein, Omaha Truck, Omaha, Neb.
