LAFAYETTE PARISH — The Lafayette Parish School System rolled out the gratitude for its transportation team Thursday, April 17th by hosting a celebration that spotlighted bus drivers and other staff who keep students moving safely across the parish.
The event, held at the Acadiana High School stadium, featured a slideshow on the scoreboard of all honored employees names, donated T-shirts for all attendees from Love Our Schools, and a catered plate lunches from Kenworth of Louisiana. Buses transported employees to and from the celebration, where door prizes and awards were handed out.
A surprise presentation was put together that they played on the scoreboard for the drivers, that included a list of all of their names to honor them, along with a special closing message. I've included that special video in the story for attendees to see again and have as a special memory to hold onto or share with loved ones.
“I love them babies. They get on the bus crying or something, Ms. Robyn is right there.” said one longtime bus attendant, who was among several honored for decades of service. She says the children are the reason she does her job every day.
The school system reports that 98% of bus routes are fully covered, a figure that has seen significant improvement under the leadership of Ross Cloteaux, the district’s Transportation Operations Manager. LPSS credited partnerships with local sponsors such as “Love Our Schools” for donating T-shirts and Kenworth of Louisiana for providing the hot lunch.
Special recognition was given to employees with perfect attendance during the last two weeks of testing as they raffled off several raffle prizes—including Bose speakers and ice chests—to these dedicated employees. However, attendees had to be present to win.
I do also want to note by total chance on my sudden assignment this morning, my Mother happened to be one of those honored, but not anyone who was interviewed or featured. It was a serendipitous moment that I got the assignment, and had our two career paths collide.
