DeGross honored with WSBA mechanic award
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BEN DEGROSS
APPLETON — Ben DeGross, transportation supervisor for the School District of Glenwood City, was recently honored with the mechanics award by the Wisconsin School Bus Association (WSBA).
DeGross was acknowledged for his years of excellence and professionalism in maintaining school buses for Wisconsin’s children by the organization. Over the past 13 years, he has served the school district as a substitute driver, a regular route driver and eventually the transportation surpervisor.
DeGross was nominated for the award by Glenwood City High School/Middle School principal Patrick Gretzlock who also serves as the district’s transportation director.
Below is the letter that Gretzlock submitted to the WSBA in nominating DeGross for the award.
“Ben DeGross is qualified to receive this award, as he has become a living definition of outstanding. Ben will be retiring on August 31, 2021, after serving the School District of Glenwood City for nearly thirteen years. Ben began his time with the district as a substitute bus driver, transitioning to a regular route driver and culminating his time here as our Transportation Supervisor. In this capacity, Ben has served the district as our fleet mechanic – performing routine maintenance of all district-owned vehicles; working with the Department of Transportation to ensure our buses meet annual safety inspections; engaging in body work – saving the district thousands of dollars by performing work in-house rather than having it addressed via private enterprise.
Ben has been instrumental in our success since the school closure was enacted last March. Ben has played a key role in securing drivers to help deliver meals and school supplies to our students while school was not in-person. This past school year, as was the case in many school districts across the state, we were challenged to ensure that we had enough drivers to transport our students on a daily basis, let alone get them to extra-curricular events that meant so much to our entire community. While Ben’s role is to serve as our fleet mechanic, he has maintained his CDL in an effort to step in as needed. So a typical day may find Ben replacing a brake line on our 2007 Bluebird at 10 a.m., but it will find him degreasing his hands and putting on a mask to step into the seat of a route bus to drive home an excited group of five to eighteen year olds at the end of the day.
Ben’s time here at Glenwood City has allowed me to better myself as a leader as I have served as Ben’s supervisor. Ben has taken ownership of our transportation department, being instrumental in securing new buses over the past four years; ensuring that we have a secure and well-trained corp of route drivers, as well as a stable of substitute drivers that provides us flexibility that make most districts envious. Ben has implemented a training program to bring in more drivers while providing them experiences to learn and earn the proper endorsements to drive – empowering our route drivers to serve as trainers. Ben has also been instrumental in adjusting the compensation package for our drivers, which helps us maintain numbers that will ensure minimal disruptions in the service that we provide.
While this recognition is entitled Outstanding Mechanic, I hope that I have captured the role that Ben has played here at Glenwood City, not only as the person responsible for keeping our buses on the road every day, but as the person who provides countless opportunities for our entire student body – always doing it without looking for anything more than a “thank you.”
Submitted by: Patrick Gretzlock, Transportation Director”
The Wisconsin School Bus Association presented its annual industry awards honoring those who have achieved a level of excellence in Driving and Mechanics at the Awards Luncheon held Wednesday, June 23, as part of WSBA’s Annual Convention and Trade Show in Appleton, Wisconsin.
The following drivers were also acknowledged for their years of Excellence and Professionalism in transporting Wisconsin’s children during the convention.
•Nancy Willenkamp, Hortonville School District, Hortonville, 50 Years.
•Dean Chesky, Flambeau School District, Flambeau, 46 Years.
•Marc Zuelsdorf, Johnson School Bus Service, Horicon, 35 Years.
•Mike Williams, Kobussen Buses, Brodhead, 22 Years.
•Beth Herrmann, Mondovi School District, Mondovi, 20 Years
All of Wisconsin’s school bus drivers and mechanics are a critical component to safe school transportation ensuring each child has an equal opportunity to attend school. Their years of dedication and service are appreciated immensely.
