Fulton Schools To Honor Its Bus Drivers

Staff Report

School buses are an icon of the back-to-school season, and their return to the streets signals the start of a new school year.

On Friday, August 8, Fulton County Schools will salute those who transport our most precious cargo – schoolchildren – at a special luncheon held in the Atlanta Marriott Marquis’ Marquis Ballroom Salon B. The program begins at 11:30 a.m.

Co-sponsored by the Fulton Education Foundation, Fulton Teachers’ Credit Union and NAPA Auto Parts, “Fulton’s Finest” is the school system’s first-ever recognition for extraordinary school bus drivers. A total 164 drivers and their guests will be recognized for excellent service, including perfect attendance and accident-free driving records, and will receive special “Fulton’s Finest” jackets.

Adding to the celebration, the honorees will get to relax as they are chauffeured to the luncheon in – what else – school buses driven by their supervisors.

Hosted on the eve of a new school year, which begins Monday, August 11, the banquet will inspire and motivate the 800+ bus drivers who will soon take to the busy streets.

Over the summer, routes and bus stops were carefully finalized and mechanics finished inspections and repairs to be sure the fleet would be ready for the first day of school.

In addition, nearly 100 new bus drivers were hired and trained, and all drivers were certified or re-certified in CPR, emergency first aid response, and Green Cross Defensive Driving. Sixty-six new buses, funded by eSPLOST, have replaced older, retiring vehicles.

The Atlanta Marriott Marquis is located at 265 Peachtree Center Avenue NW in downtown Atlanta.

Drivers who will be honored this year are:

Debra Ague

Paul Ames

Sheryl Arnesen

Thomas Austin

Jenny Backowski

Wesley Baker

Gwendolyn Baugh

Eugene Bettineschi

Frank Bivins

Candace Boren

Kidner Boursiquot

Georgia Bowers

Elisa Brosnan

Chester Brown

Terri Candler

Maria Carranza

William Caswell

Homer Causey

John Ciak

Akielia Cobb

Gail Coleman

Armando Colon

Robert Compton

Phillip Connell

Arthur Cooper, Jr.

Jaime Cordova

Chershonda Cosby

Carolyn Cost

Charyl Davis

Reba Davis

Carlos De La Rosa

Barbara Duncan

Wendell Duncan

Kevin Dunham

Lollie Dyer-Harp

Jenny Eppich

Lincoln Farmer

Susan Farmer

Shirley Figueroa

Nancy Freeman

Paula Freeman

Maria Fundora

Kimberly Gaines

Lisa Gantt

Travlis Gardner

Martha Gilbert

Towanda Glenn

Caryn Goldsmith-Armagon

Joeantter Green

Pamela Green

Patricia Greene

Donna Hall

Ronald Hall

Brenda Harden

Anthony Hardy

Anitra Hartman
Charlie Hatton

Shannon Haynes

Carla Heard

Patricia Hillery-Benton

Harry Hollingsworth Jr.

Peter Hussing

Josthene Jaboin

Cynthia Jacklyn

Philome Jean

Yves Jean-Pierre

Rosalind Jenkins

Johnny Johnson

Lenora Johnson

Mary Johnson

Vicki Johnson

Johnny Jones

Patricia Jordan

Douglas Kearns

Gwendolyn King

Margaret King

Cedrica Kinney

Beate Klokocka

Katrina Lacey

Edwin Lafargue

Stephen Langevin

Margarette Latortue

Jae On Lee
Young Lee

Felder Legendre

Robert Lloyd

Alexander Loboda

Patricia Logan

Jessie Long

Sonya Long

James Lown

Cleo Lozano

Carlene Mapson

Peter Martin, III

Sandra Martin

Cardell Matthews

Scott Matthews

Catherine McClure

Laverne McClusky

Marilyn McDaniel

Jeannette Mercer

Lori Miller

Margaret Mitchell

Susan Moore

Michael Nash

James Nessia
Sherry Nichols

Mary Phillips

Randy Pope

Twila Pryor

Kelley Ramsey

Akeila Randall

Delois Ray

Alice Register

Da’Vee Riley

Robin Rittenhouse

Timothy Robinson

William Robinson

Maria Margarida Roso-Borges

Camran Sadi

Thelma Sanderson

Richard Schneider

Frederick Seabrook

Rebecca Sensing

Damini Shah

Kathleen Shearer

Donald Smith

Elizabeth Smith

Mary (Jean C.) Smith

Tonya Smith

Glen Speck

Gwendolyn Spratlen

Clay Springfield

Sandra Standridge

Mike Stanescu

Nevada Steadham

Judith Stephens

Alan Sterrett

Mary Strickland

Wanda Thomas

Felecia Thompson

Rita Thompson

Yvonne Tolbert

Aceluis Toussaint

Delbert Triber

Alan Truesdell

Christian Turner

Constantine Turner

Katrina Upshaw

Robert Utter

Richard Wagner

Sheri Walker

Deborah Waters

Edward Weiss

Ruby Whitaker

Deborah Wilkerson-Mattox

Robert Wilkinson

Jo Ann Williams

Laura Gail Williams

Jack Wilson

William Wood

Gary Worthy

Homer Yandell

Ratana Zemanick

(Photo: Patch file)