FIRST TAKE Election Season WRITTEN BY RYAN GRAY | RYAN@STNONLINE.COM B


enjamin Franklin we all know, or should. But Benjamin Franklin Weigle? If you happen to work for the Bakersfield City School District in California, you likely


know him quite well. STN reported online last month that the current school bus driver and ex-Marine who served in Iraq was among the more than 500 candidates for President of the United States this month. Tere’s not a lot of information to go on in terms of his platform, but really, could he be much worse than the two mainstream candi- dates we had to choose from?


As of this writing, it was safe to say that Weigle, a write-in candidate not on the ballot in all 50 states, might secure a few hundred votes from friends and relatives by Nov. 8. Perhaps even more. Nevertheless, be on the lookout for him in 2020, when he says he plans to run once again. Te way the country seems to be headed, we very well might need him. Let’s turn to a different kind of election. Tis month,


we chose Shannon Evans, the executive director of trans- portation for the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, for our magazine cover as the 2016 STN Leader- ship Award winner. As you’ll read (starting on page 36), Evans is the consummate student transporter, and she is as close to an expert as there is in school bus routing. She is also an all-around perfectionist at her trade. Just two years ago, she inherited already one of the largest top-run fleets in the nation. But never one to rest on her laurels, or on the achievements of others, Evans has pushed the ball down the field towards the goal of enhancing the services for the district’s 130,000 school


Decisions


Speaking of elections, more professional and friendly campaigns were conducted this fall by the five NAPT members who vied for spots on the association’s board of directors. For those of you unable to attend the NAPT Summit in Kansas City, you can find those candidate statements at stnonline.com.


We also have asked readers about the factors they use in electing, or choosing, to purchase new school buses. We’ll be providing more information on this topic early next year in the magazine. In the mean- time, email me if you’d like to provide additional feedback on this topic or any others.


bus riders, as well as the more than 1,600 drivers and the 1,400 other employees she has on staff. We identified Evans as this year’s representative of


everything good and right in the school bus industry in terms of her expertise, leadership and eagerness to encourage all she comes in contact with to be better and to do better each and every day. She is among the first in her district and on a national stage to raise her hand and volunteer to share Clark County’s experiences, questions, challenges and lessons learned for the benefit of others. Leadership embodies many different forms, and while


there appears to be a shortage of leaders in Washington, D.C., we have an abundance of them throughout this great industry. Even as another kind of shortage afflicts school districts and bus contractors nationwide, that being of the school bus driver variety, Evans proves that one can rise in the ranks from behind the wheel to the director’s office, heading one of the most successful school bus operations in North America. Many reading this column certainly fall into this cat-


egory of leader, as well. Perhaps you work for or report to one, or maybe you know of a tried and true leader at one of your vendors, suppliers or dealers. If so, I’d like to hear from you. ●


Ryan Gray, Editor-in-Chief


10School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2016


CELEBRATING25YEARS


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