50 years and still going strong

Almont bus driver honored for her dedication

 

ALMONT — You know you’ve been driving school bus a long time when you start seeing third and fourth generation riders on your bus.

For Gretchen Hough, she’s pretty much been there and done it all for Almont Community Schools.

She was honored for her 50 years of dedicated service to the district’s transportation department last week.

And, she has no intentions of stopping driving any time soon.

Former Almont Superintendent Steve Zott could not be in attendance, but shared comments about Hough and her dedication.

In a prepared statement, Zott said, “it is with great pride that we honor someone whose name has become synonymous with dedication, warmth and unwavering service.”

He went on to say, “Fifty Years….let me say that again, 50 years of driving a school bus for the same district. Goodness, Gretchen started her journey with Almont Schools when many of our current staff members weren’t even born.” That’s more than just a career, it’s a legacy.”

Zott said Hough’s day is not a normal one. “This is a job that begins when most of the world is still asleep,” the former Superintendent explained. “Gretchen was up at 4 a.m., not once or twice, but almost every school day, for five decades. She prepped her bus, drove the morning route for three hours, returned home for a short break and then did it all over again in the afternoon. That kind of schedule would wear anyone down, but not Gretchen.”

Anyone who knows the dedicated bus driver knows it was the students she was transporting that kept her going, year after year, generation after generation.

Zott said Hough saw her students not just as passengers, but as people, too. Young minds with stories, worries, dreams and jokes to share. She remembered names.

She noticed when a rider seemed off. She cheered them on when they had a big game, or hard test. She was, in the truest sense, a constant in the ever-changing world of youth.

“Gretchen didn’t just transport kids,” Zott noted in his statement. “She connected with them. She showed up each morning with kindness, energy and a smile, even when she knew not every student would return that smile.”

Zott went on to add, “She greeted each child, every day, often knowing that a warm hello might be the only kindness some of those students would receive that morning. What Gretchen brought to our schools cannot be measured in miles driven, or hours logged. It’s found in the relationships she built, the lives she touched and the example she set every single day.”

The former superintendent concluded his remarks by telling Hough, “The heart of a school isn’t just in it’s classroom or board rooms. It’s in the relationships. Gretchen, you are one of the very best at building those. There is no measuring the impact you’ve had. Not just on the kids, but the entire community. You’ve been more than a bus driver. You’ve been a mentor, a cheerleader, a safe place. We can never thank you enough.”

Hough drove her first 45 years for the Almont district and although she still transports Almont students, the district has contracted their bussing needs with Dean Transportation for the past five years.

And Hough hasn’t missed a beat – still behind the wheel doing what she loves.