EDITORIAL DESK
AFTER SPEAKING WITH A FRIEND AND CO-WORKER OF THOMAS GALLA-
GHER AFTER HIS RECENT DEATH, I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT KIND OF LEGACY I WANT TO LEAVE BEHIND. Gallagher, a long-time icon of the industry and the father of Student Transportation of America Chairman and CEO Denis Gallagher, had made a sizeable mark in many people’s minds and hearts. According to one person, he “ate and slept school bus,” even waking in the middle of the night and jotting down notes about something yellow bus-related that he did not want to forget. I have worked in a number of different industries, but none have been
What Will You Leave Behind?
By Stephane Babcock
filled with so many people who feel so passionately about what they do. It can be as simple as a driver who is remembered some 50 years later for the way he was able to make one of his riders feel special every time she boarded the bus, or a transportation director who not only reaches out to his com- munity in an effort to make changes but reaches out to help those in other countries who can not afford the simple luxuries of shelter, food and school- ing. And neither perform these simple acts of kindness for any other reason than to help someone who needs it. We work in an industry in which the people involved create these “legacy
❝ I have worked in a num-
ber of different industries, but none have been filled with so many people that feel so passionately about what they do.❞
moments” every day. As mentioned, they can be the simplest of gestures. But it is during these small moments in time that can have the greatest effect on people. How many of you can remember when you first learned to tie your shoes? Almost immediately, the person stands out who sat there with you — either showing you the “double loop” or the “rabbit around the tree and back in the hole” trick to get you to lace up you sneakers. And I’m sure that more than one bus driver has been in the same position, one that makes him or her part of a story told decades into the future. Teaching a student a trick to tie their shoes or showing genuine interest in their day at school can have an everlasting effect. Legacy can also be defined in another way, one that lays out the history
and benchmarks made since the first school bus hit the road to serve as a means to an education that many might otherwise be without. Along the way we have seen the evolution of how a school bus is built, the way it is reg- ulated and the way that it continues to provide both stability and support to millions of school children on a daily basis. But, that number is beginning to dwindle in many states, as budget cuts are forcing the service to become a luxury and not a necessity for some. Tis month we tip our hats to the administrators that help run the school
districts many of you work for. Many we have spoken to in the past un- derstand the need for solid, safe school bus service and fight to keep the option open for as many students as possible. But, there is a limit, which is measured by the size of the transportation department’s budget. For those superintendents, school board members and school business officials who do not see the link between the school bus and a proper education, help them see the connection. Help them see how valuable your services are to keep test scores up, attendance high and funding secured. Legacy is difficult to measure. Small moments can sometimes create
waves that continue to ripple into adulthood. While other times it takes an entire industry to make a significant mark on the mind-sets of an entire na- tion. Take a moment today to determine what you want to be remembered for — personally and professionally. I can only hope that I have made a small mark along my journey, one that will someday live on in stories told by oth- ers with either a smile or a laugh. ■
54 School Transportation News Magazine April 2010
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