Four employees for North American school bus contractor Student Transportation, Inc., recently received awards for outstanding company service in transporting local school children.

The four employees, two from the East Coast of the United States and two from Ontario, Canada, were given 2009 Honor Awards at a corporate reception held in Charleston, S.C. About 150 company employees and their families were in attendance.

Connie Garcia of Williamstown, N.J.,was recognized for 53 years of accident-free service. She began driving for the Monroe Township School District when she was just 20 years old and was the first African-American female driver in Monroe and Washington Townships. Henry “Hank” Martin of STA's operation in Altoona, Pa., was honored for creating Project Winter Warmth, a non-profit that has been providing warm winter clothing to Pennsylvania school children since 1992.

Bus drivers Ollie and Elsie Shantz, of Woolwich, Ontario, were also recognized by corporate employees and their families for safely transporting students for a combined total of nearly 70 years. Don Perry, of Brampton, Ontario, a Student Transportation of Canada/Parkview Transit bus driver, was honored for rescuing a woman from her shattered vehicle in 2004. Perry risked his own life in removing the woman from her vehicle and then administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

Tribute was also paid to the company’s military families, thanking them for their enduring courage and sacrifice. Among the military families honored were:

• Visalia, Calif., mechanic Rick Avery, who lost his son Jeffrey, a 19-year-old Army military policeman, during an explosion at a security checkpoint in Iraq in 2007.

• STA/Positive Connections Terminal Manager Edward Cazares, whose son Daniel is an Army driver currently on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

• Jeff Cote, of Manchester, N.H., who returned to drive a bus at STA’s Hooksett terminal after a 20-year career in the Air National Guard, which included three tours of duty in Kuwait.

“There are many within STA who are veterans of the Armed Forces and many more who have family members who are fighting or have lost their lives for our country,” said Denis J. Gallagher, the company's chairman and CEO. “They work hard every day for STA with those family members always in their hearts. We are deeply honored by the courage and sacrifice of all these fine employees and the STA family supports them in all that they do.”