20 Years of STN: Reader Recollections
Trough September of this year, School Transportation News magazine is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its first published edition in 1991. Each month we’ll feature memories from our readers.
“I look forward each month to reading
your magazine and check the STN website daily. It is very informational. Having been in the school bus business for over 33 years, I still learn things every day from your publications. Keep up the good work.” — Mark Egan, Commtrans/Petermann
Bus, Pittsburgh “Although I was coming to STN (EXPO) for many years, the first time I attended as a
state director, I remember how kind [state directors] Maxine Mougeot from Montana and Vicki Barnett from Arizona were. Tey made sure I was always included and showed me the ropes. Introduced me to a zillion folks whose names took me years to remember. I also remember that first hospitality. Happy anniversary, STN. Like a fine wine, you just get better with age!”
— Diana Hollander, State Director Nevada Department of Education
“Te latest industry news is great, but the stories written “Being a technician in transportation, money for diagnostic
tools is hard to get. I went to my supervisor time after time for updated tools but was told there is no money for it. Ten [STN] had a article about how you need new diagnostic tools to work on the engines that they are putting in the school buses today. Tat article help me get some of the tools I needed.” — Steve Gruber, Phoenix Day School for the Deaf and the Blind
by actual bus drivers are probably my favorites. Keep up the great work! Retiring members of the industry usually write stories about their experiences in school transpor- tation. Love the ones about the older drivers and how children they used to drive to school have grandchildren now riding with their bus driver when they were in school.” — Doris McFarland, Paris (Ky.) Independent Schools
STN EXPO to Offer ‘The Great Opportunity,’ Names McDonald Co-Chair Attendees at this summer’s 19th an-
Pam McDonald
nual STN EXPO in Reno, Nev., will be presented with curriculum that uncovers the latest innovations and efficiencies in operations, vehicles and products to assist the industry in surviving these challeng- ing economic times. Leading the way for the conference and trade show, themed “Te Great Opportunity” and scheduled
for July 21-25, is STN EXPO co-chair Pamela McDonald, director of transportation and maintenance services at Orange (Calif.) Uni- fied School District. McDonald said this year’s theme will shed a different light on
“Te Great Recession” by revealing opportunities for student transporters to utilize ingenuity. “Te pupil transportation industry has always been exciting! I al-
ways say how much I enjoy the challenges of my career. I view every obstacle as an opportunity to improve our conditions,” she added. Te immediate past-president of the California Association of
School Transportation Officials, she is also a member of NAPT and the California Association of School Business Officials and chair of CASBO’s Eastern Section Transportation Professional Council. A frequent presenter at state and national student
12 School Transportation News Magazine January 2012
transportation conferences as well as an expert witness in legal cases, she was a California state delegate at the 15th National Congress on School Transportation and served on the writing committee for “General Operations” and “School Transportation Security and Emergency Awareness.” McDonald became an Orange Unified bus driver in 1986 and
was promoted to dispatcher in 1991. During this time she also was a paid-call firefigher and EMT for the Orange County Fire Authority. She was named Orange Unified’s interim director of transportation in December 1995, a title that became official in June 1996. She oversees more than 120 employees, including drivers, super-
visors, mechanics, dispatchers, trainers and clerical staff, and a fleet of more than 100 school buses and 200 white fleet vehicles and other equipment. In all, Orange Unified moves 30,000 students daily from home to school and on sports, field and activity trips. Joining McDonald as an STN EXPO co-chair for 2012 is Steven
Huillet, state director with the Oregon Department of Education. Huillet, a former school bus mechanic, is also the West region director for NASDPTS. STN also announced last month that J.R. Martinez will keynote
the show on July 23. Martinez, a wounded veteran of the Iraq war, recently won season 13 of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Visit
www.stnexpo.com for more information. ■
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