|
Announcements President Kathy announced -that our meeting next week will be at Walls Elementary School, thanking Superintendent George Joseph for making the arrangement. She also indicated that a sheet was being circulated to give members an opportunity to choose from three lunch choices being served by Little City Grill. The cost is $10.00. -she received a resignation letter from Curtis Stumpf, who is relocating to Colorado. -the Board has appointed Stacey Richardson to replace Curtis as the Club Outreach Director for the next Rotarian year starting in July. -Milkweed planting is scheduled for Friday June 24. -the June 16 Board Meeting will be at her house. -June 18 will kick off the Downtown Reading Project. She is still looking for readers. Amanda Senn announced: -due to the lack of an organizing Rotarian, Rotary is not participating in Grill for Good this year and encouraged members to participate through attendance at the event. She promised we will return and sponsor a booth next year. -a sincere Thank You to all the Rotarians who supported the effort in raising funds to help in securing and providing baby formula for needy families during the current shortages and escalating prices. -our next club Happy Hour will be held June 23 at The Battleground restaurant. The fun starts at 4:00PM! Bill Childers announced a reminder that tickets were still available for Saturdays “Bluffet” concert at the Kent Stage. A nine-piece band from Florida will be doing covers of Jimmy Buffet music and songs. All proceeds will go to support Portage County United Way. Program Roger Sidoti introduced Kent Rotarian Will Underwood as the speaker. Will had a 40-year career in scholarly publishing, the last 30 years at Kent State University, living in Kent as he, and his wife Karin, raised four children. He served on the board and various committees of the Association of University Presses, working in a scholarly world. Will has become a mainstay in our club’s 4-Way Speech Contest, as well as becoming the Chairman of the District 6630 Contest, now sponsored by our club. His topic: The Education of a First Year School Bus Driver. Will kicked off his presentation by providing motives in retiring from a university level environment and becoming a school bus driver. These included 1) serving the community in retirement, 2) not being tied down in an office every day, 3) shirts and ties not required, and 4) no meetings. All received good natured laughter from the membership in attendance. He started his bus driving journey as COVID had impacted the schools and was told getting his CDL would be the most challenging part of the job. And while it took him three attempts before passing, he soon realized that attaining the Commercial Driving License was the least challenging. He began by driving a large transport van for the school district. This included taking a student to Columbus once a week and transporting some students to Walsh High School from our district every day. Eventually, this school year he was assigned his own bus, getting the same route everyday driving his 2016 Bluebird All-American flat nosed bus. He emphasized, as a newbie in the hierarchy of drivers, his bus was always parked outside, meaning he had to remove the snow and ice each morning during the winter and do his exterior inspections rain or shine. Safety being the utmost importance, Will described the various safety equipment, such as mirrors and lights, that were part of every pre-trip inspection he made daily. He emphasized that he was totally responsible for the bus and equipment. He pointed out the three safety cameras in each bus, as well as the flashing red stop lights. He then suggested (again) that passing the CDL and learning all of the safety protocols may not have been the hardest part of his driving journey. Among some of the more challenging parts of the job of a driver he pointed out included: -Drivers ignoring the red flashing stop lights and driving through! He emphasized no one is allowed to drive through those lights. Kids will be kids and may dart across the street. It is one of the most dangerous situations. -Parents and adults who want to hold up the bus, even attempting to get on to have a conversation with him, or worse, dress down a student on the bus. Not only is this impacting the bus routing schedule, but it also creates another safety issue for all of the students on the bus. -Students who won‘t, or can’t follow safety rules, including eating on the bus, sitting in their seats, etc.… -The working culture of bus drivers, in contrast with his previous experience in higher education. Winding the presentation up, Will emphasized the various methods he used in developing a rapport with his students, as well as with his fellow drivers. He pointed out that building a relationship with his riders was rewarding and, as the year wound down, gave him a great deal of satisfaction. Throughout his presentation, he used humor and good-natured quips, that kept the membership chuckling. He received a rousing round of applause! Some of the many questions and comments included the following: -How long was his workday? Will explained that his first bus run each day was from 6:40am until 8:40am. His second bus run was 1:40pm until 3:40pm. -Are the lights ignored? Will indicated it is a $500 fine for ignoring the lights and yes, some do. Efforts are made to get license numbers or video evidence to prosecute the offenders. -What are you terrified of happening? Will immediately replied “accidents!” He again emphasized the concern for the safety of his riders! He also indicated that the critical need to check his bus every night at the end of his run to insure no one (especially young students) have fallen asleep and failed to get off. Responder Tom Larkin was the responder starting out with a good-natured challenge to the attendees that “you too can be a bus driver!” As the assistant superintendent, he was pleased when Will was interested in becoming a bus driver. He was confident that Will changed the entire day for students, either at the beginning of the route or the end, through the power of his personality and relationship skills. Noting that school safety is a challenge and the first adult many students see are drivers like Will. He thanked him for his service.
|
