The theme of the event is Looking Down the Road ( while dodging the potholes).
Speaking with several delegates to prepare for the motivational speeches I discovered these are two unique audiences:
Transportation Supervisors. Overall supervisors are responsible for the safe and proper transport of over 5000- 8000 students every day. A supervisor or directors day begins at 5AM dealing with calls from bus drivers that came in on the sick line the evening before.
Many supervisors will frantically call sub bus drivers to fill those bus routes. If they can't find a driver, they may need to drive the bus. All transport must have a commercial drivers licence.
The rest of the day may be quiet or busy depending on weather. They routinely feild phone calls from parents ( where is my child? I don't like our bus stop). Or try to locate missing property ( students iphones, flutes, soccer shoes, etc).
One of the biggest challenges these supervisors have is staffing. School bus drivers work a full time job on a part time basis ( taking two shifts at 6 Am and 2 PM to drop students off). When the economy was suffering, directors of transport recruited a lot of displaced moms and dads who later re-enter there chosen feild, leaving gaps to be filled in placing bus drivers.
Motivating bus drivers can be challenging as they spend most there time out on the road. Savy transport directors motivate drivers with little things like thank yous and acknowledgement that go a long way. They hold training sessions and encourage drivers to visit the drivers lounge to interact and vent with each other.
I look forward to being an inspirational speaker for the transport directors, my motivational speech for this group is The Nerve to Serve... Say Hello to Humor & Goodbye to Burnout!
The second audience is comprised of school transport support staff. This group either technical ( mechics) or they work on the front lines, feilding calls from parents. The motivational speech for this group will be I Love my Job, it's the People I can't Stand!
This outstanding event features some outstanding transport inspirational speakers, check out the schedule here.