Let us say thank you, John Jones
Living Choice Twin Waters resident, John Jones, has been a volunteer bus driver at the village for over 15 years. The Residents’ Committee wanted to pay homage for all those years of service and decided to throw a special Happy Hour for John. They faced a challenge, however. John does not like being in the limelight and he is uncomfortable being fussed over. So, in order to have John agree to the date, he was told the happy hour special event was for all the volunteer bus drivers.
The event was a great success – wife Cookie managed to get the reluctant John to the Leisure Centre where high-spirited residents awaited his arrival. They filled the room offering their thanks to John for his contribution to the village.
Regional Manager, Tracy Blair, made a speech before pizza was served, reading out Cookie’s recollection of how John became one of the bus drivers. It included how John and several other residents with suitable driving experience approached Director, Ian Tregoning, to sort out insurance issues so they could drive the village bus.
Tracy continued with how John is the regular driver for the Wednesday shoppers – he especially loves hearing the bits of gossip shared by the passengers on those trips.
Very few would know about the behind-the-scenes driving John does with our Maintenance Manager, Dave Forrest – collecting the bus from Kawana Island; returning the bus to Kawana Island; or even sometimes driving the bus to the workshop for repairs and inspections.
John drives because he enjoys it – he is methodical and fussy about safety. A proud, devoted, caring and humble man – he ensures everyone boards safely, checks in to see if they’re doing ok, waits patiently on outings and makes sure everyone is accounted for on the return trip.
Tracy finished the speech by acknowledging the other volunteer village bus drivers: Ian Lawson; Graeme Lavender; Bruce Shoemark; Graham Milliken; and Vince Higgs.
Thank you, John Jones, for being the wonderful man you are. And three cheers to all the village bus drivers!
Simone McKenna reports
