The AAA School Bus Driver Award recognizes a bus driver who has proven dedication and puts forth outstanding efforts when providing safe transportation for students. We are happy to share that this year, the honor was awarded to bus driver Christopher Aldi of South Colonie Central School District.
Aldi has been driving for South Colonie since May 2019, after retiring from his pharmacy career. For most of these four years, Aldi has been transporting special needs students. He takes extra time to form connections with these students and their caregivers.
“I am super surprised, it feels great to be recognized by the staff. When you’re driving a bus, you have precious cargo. As a parent, you have to trust those bus drivers to get students to school. Now that I am in the driver’s seat, I make sure the priority is to get everyone to school safely,” said Christopher Aldi on his award.
Colleagues at the South Colonie Department of Transportation said it is not just Aldi’s driving ability and interpersonal skills that make him an outstanding bus driver, but also his reliability. Without committed bus drivers like Aldi, some students would not have a way to get to school. Aldi understands this and acts on it every day.
“Chris has always been a very dependable employee with a near-perfect attendance record. His help to cover additional runs has been invaluable. Chris is the type of employee that you wish you could have more of,” Peter Tunny, South Colonie Transportation Director.
We are thankful to have drivers that take the care to see each student as an individual that they can have an impact on. Bus rides can be the first and last step of a student’s school day, and a friendly face like Christopher Aldi’s makes all the difference.