Ohio School Bus Drivers Honored In New Video

SOLON, OH — Over the weekend, a team of transportation supervisors put together a video honoring Ohio's school bus drivers. The video featured drivers and supervisors from around the state, all extolling the virtues of bus drivers.

"I wanted to do something special for all of the Ohio school bus drivers and staff that were going to miss being recognized 'in person,'" said Andrew Grasty, asst. transportation director for the Centerville City Schools.

With the new coronavirus prompting the continued cancellation of face-to-face classes, Grasty needed a different way to say thank you. That's when he thought of making a video.

" I thought, if only a video could be shared to all of Ohio’s transportation professionals, to ‘personally thank them’ for all they do each day to safely transport our children, as well as – in some parts of Ohio – currently working as essential workers to deliver meals and WiFi access points for distance learning," Grasty said. "I wanted this group of Ohioans to know they are recognized for what they do each day, even though for now, the wheels of the bus are not currently moving for students."

He reached out to his peers around the state and asked for help. Last Thursday, the team had a meeting on Zoom and coordinated what needed to happen to make the video a reality.

Grasty asked all members of the team to contribute a short video saying thank you the state's school bus drivers. The messages were sent to Sheila Dikowitcs, who spent Friday and Saturday editing the recordings into a coherent video.

"I think, if you look deep down into this video and how it came to be, you will see that it was made from the hearts of some wonderful school transportation administrators in Ohio, who work closely like a family - even though we're spread across the state," Grasty said. "I couldn’t have done it without their help. They are truly wonderful people that love what they do, and work each day to serve their teams...without a team, we wouldn’t be where we are today."

The video is below.

Grasty said these are the transportation supervisors who made the video come to life:

Angelo Caputo
Parma City Schools - Cuyahoga County

Beth Cain
Piqua City Schools - Miami County

Brenda Huff
Fairborn City Schools - Greene County

Sheila Dikowicz
Kirtland and Perry Local Schools - Lake County

Lisa Shirkey
Solon City Schools - Cuyahoga County

Mary Rodriguez
Greenville City Schools - Darke County

Donna Maggard
Northridge Local Schools - Montgomery County

Eric Shafner
Northmont City Schools - Montgomery County

Andy Trick
Centerville City Schools - Montgomery County

Andrew Grasty
Centerville City Schools - Montgomery County

Lori Fanger
Northeast Ohio Preservice Instructor
Ashtabula County ESC