School Bus Fleet, November 2018

32 SCHOOL BUS FLEET NOVEMBER 2018 WWW SCHOOLBUSFLEET COM FASCINATING PEOPLE How did you get your start in the school bus industry My next door neighbor was Ray L Westmoreland who was the assistant superintendent at Houston Independent School District ISD My mom and his wife got together and decided I could meet a need that he was having problems with at the time I eventually worked my way up to director of the vehicle management section Current job duties Currently I am retired I retired 12 years ago but I was only retired for one month Then I worked as a transportation consultant for Region 4 Education Service Center based in Houston up until August 2017 Then I permanently retired Top achievements I have all types of achievements The Texas Association for Pupil Transportation had one of the first state association websites I also set up a pupil transportation e group so that members could post questions and get responses from their peers In 1999 when I was the director of transportation at Humble Texas ISD we developed the first 71 passenger electric school bus conversion with the assistance of Houston Lighting Power We used mining equipment and batteries and the total cost of the conversion was under 70000 per bus we actually converted two buses both of which were originally Blue Bird gasoline models This proved that large buses could run on batteries Our first problem was that it was producing too much energy and blowing the circuits so we had to dissipate some of the energy We accidently ran it over 90 miles on a charge We took one of the electric bus conversions on a trailer to the National Association for Pupil Transportation conference in Denver Colorado in 1999 for display Outside interests I love photography and traveling in an RV I currently have a 2018 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 36U diesel pusher It has basically the same engine and transmission as school buses We just returned from a 3800 mile trip over 38 days We were in Hammond Louisiana for warranty work Memphis Tennessee to see Elvis home Amana Iowa for a motorhome rally Rapid City South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore Crazy Horse Memorial Devils Tower National Monument and Badlands National Park Cheyenne Wyoming to feed the bison and Loveland Colorado to check out the mountains How did you get your start in the school bus industry We were moving from Jacksonville Florida after my husband got out of the military I applied for the position supervisor of pupil transportation at the Kentucky Department of Education as I had previously done air transportation in the Air Force Reserve I had the final interview by phone on the wrong day and got the job I have been here ever since and have not regretted a minute of it Current job duties I oversee all aspects of pupil transportation at the state level This includes doing audits and reviews of school district transportation operations training driver trainers and inspector instructors the third party examiner program and keeping up with all school bus driver qualifications I work with our state organizations provide information to legislators when needed and am on the board of the Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference SESPTC Top achievements My wonderful family is my top achievement I have a 1 yearold daughter and a 15 year old stepdaughter who is like my own I do my best to help mold them to be the best they can be I finished college later in life and I ensure that my oldest understands that if you work towards something you can achieve it if you want it Most interesting place youve been Pakistan I was stationed in Afghanistan and the floods of 2010 washed out most of Pakistan I was sent there on a humanitarian mission I met some interesting and fantastic people One of the people climbed a communications pole with no shoes on just his bare feet Also the trafic and the way they drive was crazy They literally stuf people into the back of trucks to drive to and from places People even hang on to the back of vehicles What would most people be surprised to learn about you I lived in Japan from 1999 to 2002 as a military spouse I was going to bed when the terrorist attacks of Sept 11 happened I then joined the Air Force Reserve in 2003 Both Elisa Hanley left and her husband Anthony have served in the military Their children are Alyssa 15 and Erin 1 Attendees of the National Association for Pupil Transportation conference and other events have likely seen retired transportation director Jaime Gallego taking photos Born Waukegan Illinois Home Frankfort Kentucky Years in industry 45 Born Laredo Texas Home Deer Park Texas Years in industry 41 Elisa Hanley Supervisor of Pupil Transportation Kentucky Department of Education Frankfort Kentucky Jaime Gallego Jaime Gallego Services LLC Deer Park Texas