The School Transportation News transportation director of the year laces up for students and staff alike
Words & Photos by Taylor Hannon |
taylor@stnonline.com
G
reg Jackson never slows down. He sets the coffee timer at 2 a.m. each day, which gives him time to finish his morning run, or an early morning
yoga session. The fitness habits of the executive director of transportation and fleet services for Jefferson County (Jeffco) Public Schools near Denver keep him in shape. But that routine also keeps his stress levels down, which his wife, Melonie, appreciates as well. Partially as a result, Jackson tackles his life and
career with vigor and enjoyment—two of the many reasons School Transportation News this month selected him as the magazine’s 2019 Trans- portation Director of the Year. “If you don’t laugh at least four times a day while
at your job, you’re at the wrong place.” Jackson offered that advice before taking a bite of his whole- grain turkey sandwich, as he discussed his career, leadership style and accomplishments last month. Jackson explained there is always a reason to
laugh and smile. And even though he is not im- mune to being buried under the office to-do list, he said he believes laughter really is the best medicine. And Jackson isn’t all talk. While spending two
days interviewing him at Jeffco, not only did he make me laugh, but he had that same effect on ev- eryone around him. His smile is contagious, while his booming, joyous voice is heard rooms away.
On top of his daily routine, his color-coded meeting schedule is daunting to the casual ob- server. But it’s all a part of Jackson’s plan. One meeting, in particular, stood out. It was a discussion with a bus assistant and a driver who had their fair share of differences. Not
everyone is going to get along every day, after all. But all parties walked out of that meeting an hour later looking refreshed and happier. “Sometimes,” Jackson relayed later, “people need to get things off their chest. But at the end of the day, I remind them why they are here: To transport students to and from school safely.” Jackson joined the pupil transportation indus- try after seven years in the private sector. He said it was working as an account manager for Ryder Trucks that helped him hone the character traits that he has mastered today, but pupil transporta- tion was where he said he belonged. “Once I got into pupil trans, I fell in love with it,”
Jackson recalled. “It’s an industry that is centered around people. Not just students but also the drivers, the assistants, the office staff, everyone. That for me was a motivator. To be around and surrounded by good people, who are there for the purpose of what the goal is every day.” Student transporters love what they do, Jackson
added, and there is longevity in this line of work. Before working in school districts, Jackson was
traveling 80 percent of the time while focused on studying profit and loss statements. Then a family friend who was working at a school district sug- gested a career change. “The private sector was always a matter of per-
formance,” Jackson said. “[Student transportation] is about the people, the kiddos. It’s about making sure you are providing a service to the students in which they can have success. It wasn’t about a P&L anymore. It was about making a difference every day in getting kids to and from school.” In 2001, Jackson was hired as the transporta- tion supervisor at Denver Public Schools (DPS).
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