The Transportation Director Summit returns to Nevada this summer for a two-day exclusive leadership event designed to empower student transportation leaders.
The training begins Friday, July 10 at the STN EXPO West conference. The first part of the event features a Welcome Networking Reception and Top Challenges Discussion hosted by STN Publisher and President Tony Corpin. To attend, participants are qualified as leading their transportation operations and must fill out a survey on their leading challenges they face. Corpin will facilitate discussion on those points. The participants will be matched with vendor partners who provide technological solutions that could assist with these operational challenges.
The exclusive leadership event continues Saturday morning in scenic South Lake Tahoe for an all-day networking and leadership training experience. Monday’s keynote speaker Bruce Turkel will provide training modules on “All About Them Leadership Lab: Turning Insight Into Action.” During the day, Turkel will discuss how his signature mindset can be used to strengthen communication with team members and align goals, which improve performance and create lasting leadership impact. Turkel’s four-part training includes learning to understand what people truly value, purposely communicating with clarity, building stronger connections through trust, and guiding teams through uncertainty to create successful results.
A Leadership Networking Retreat
The transportation directors will enjoy breakfast and lunch courtesy the vendor partners sponsoring the event. All participants wlll make new connections, engage in targeted discussions that address their specific challenges, and leave with practical applications and strategies to transform their operations. Transportation will be provided Saturday to and from Incline Village.
Applicants for this exclusive leadership event must hold the position of transportation director or a qualified equivalent and be able to attend both days of the Summit. Email for more information about qualifying for the Transportation Director Summit.
The Early Bird Deadline for main conference registration ends June 5, register at stnexpo.com/west. In addition to the Transportation Director Summit, the STN EXPO West conference features educational sessions, a dynamic keynote speaker, hands-on training and unique networking experiences.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – “For district nirvana, crush both student and driver experiences,” advised Jim Knight, who spent over two decades as head of global training and development for Hard Rock International’s hotels, casinos, dining and entertainment. “From a leadership standpoint, you can always ramp it up.”
“What I want to be for you is a catalyst,” the best-selling Culture That Rocks author told the transportation directors and supplier partners gathered at Topgolf Charlotte Southwest Saturday morning for leadership advice. “I know a lot about getting the right people around you and then loving on them, so they won’t want to leave.”
Leaders in attendance for the Transportation Director Summit at STN EXPO East said their priorities included driver retention, on-time performance, low absenteeism and reduced accidents. They also identified integrity, empathy, vision and communication as the most important leadership qualities. This lines up with top qualities acknowledged by popular motivational trainers, Knight confirmed, with the overall goal of building trust.
Drawing from the idea of a curated concert setlist, Knight led attendees through an exercise to pare down their most time-consuming work activities and prioritize the essentials with the greatest immediate impact.
Recruitment, Retainment Strategies in a Changing World
Organizational environments are either virtuous or vicious depending on who leaders hire, Knight explained during his fast-paced “edu-tainment” training.
He expounded that the vicious cycle sees morale and work culture tainted by negative school bus drivers, which in turn disturbs student experiences and may lower ridership. Targets missed and staff leaving mean mounting pressure and poor decisions, such as supervisors having to drive routes or lowering standards to put any warm body behind the wheel. In contrast, a positive driver and student experience leads to rave reviews and organizational growth at what will become known as an attractive place to work. This virtuous environment births more rock star leaders, Knight established.
“Stop recruiting like you’re filling seats – you have to build a band.”
– Jim Knight
While today’s average age of a U.S. school bus driver is 56, Knight underscored that the next generation of Millennial and Generation Z workers values individuality, flexibility and work-life balance. They are tech-savvy and socially conscious. For better or worse, he said, he’s noticed they don’t tolerate bad bosses, readily job hop, are prone to litigiousness and desire enrichment. They are generally visual learners with shorter attention spans, so he prioritizes pictures in training manuals.
He encouraged attendees to embrace generational differences from Baby Boomer to Generation Z workers and to tap into these characteristics when hiring new talent. While colorful hair or facial piercings, for instance, may give managers pause, he noted that student riders appreciate seeing role models who resemble them.
Rather than complaining about a talent drought, Knight advised actively seeking out potential drivers in unconventional places. Attendees suggested searching among fast food restaurants, colleges and trade schools, social media, stay-at-home parents, veterans, retirees, job boards, aides and custodians.
Framing the job through flexibility, purpose, stability, community and student impact helps, as does tailoring the hiring message to the recipient.
“If you want rock stars, you have to think differently,” Knight stated. “Stop recruiting like you’re filling seats. You have to build a band.”
He suggested using eye-catching AI-generated recruitment posters with humorous sayings or rock music puns, with an attendee contributing the promotional slogan, “Yellow air-conditioned office with corner windows!”
Knight stressed the importance of valuing the often-overlooked workers who are the backbone of the school district, sharing the story of how Hard Rock Cafe once utilized premade food to save costs, to the chagrin of its customers. Reversing course, the restaurant chain reintroduced fresh-cooked food accompanied by a marketing campaign featuring a leather-clad, fancy car-riding “rock star” who turned out to be a chef.
“Who are your rock stars?” he queried. Valued and celebrated student transporters are the show, he said, so make them feel appreciated.
Similar to how volunteers show up for the cause and not for money, Knight encouraged attendees to have such strong workplace culture that student transporters enthusiastically choose to stay.
Team meetings, regular employee check-ins and open communication channels are a must, Knight emphasized. “If you want people to stay with you long term, you need growth and development,” he added.
White it may be tempting for a boss to zip straight to their office first thing in the morning, it’s more important for the team dynamic to take time for small talk and make employees feel loved, he said.
He reviewed a Gallup survey of over two million employees at 700 companies worldwide which found that a supervisor is the single most important influence in an employee’s decision to quit.
Additionally, Knight shared statistics from Heart-Centered Leadership by Susan Steinbrecher and Joel Bennett, Ph.D. showing that almost half of employees leave a company because they feel underappreciated. Almost 90 percent said they don’t receive acknowledgment for their work.
“People join companies. They leave individuals,” he noted.
He encouraged the leaders in the room to intentionally and authentically fill their employees’ “emotional bank accounts” to encourage them to stay. An attendee added that this is also an important concept when at home among families.
Just as every great musical group has a signature sound, every leader has a signature strength to offer their team, which Knight encouraged them to crank “up to 11” ala the music mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. And like superfans don’t just love the music but also desire the connection of a backstage pass to meet the artists personally, Knight stated that leaders should ask intentional questions and get to know their workers on a deeper level.
“I can teach someone with a good heart to drive a bus, but I can’t teach someone to have a good heart.”
– Gerald Henry
Director of Transportation
Lexington 1 School District (S.C.)
He also advised leaving job positions open longer to hire the right person.
“I can teach someone with a good heart to drive a bus, but I can’t teach someone to have a good heart,” agreed Gerald Henry, director of transportation for Lexington 1 School District in South Carolina.
Quoting Bob Dylan’s quote “there is nothing so stable as change,” Knight encouraged attendees to refocus their thoughts and resources to only their “circle of influence” to maximize happiness and effectiveness.
He also advocated for supportive mentorship opportunities, such as the inaugural School Transportation NewsPeer-to-Peer Mentorship Program, which grouped STN EXPO East attendees based on years in the industry, district size, fleet makeup and areas of interest.
Knight provided famous music industry stories to demonstrate that success can be achieved through perseverance and resilience. He cited the examples of Phil Collins taking over the Genesis lead singer duties from Peter Gabriel, a street performer who went on to become Lady Gaga, or a drummer losing an arm and reinventing his playing style like Def Leppard’s Rick Allen.
While every concert has a slow song where the lighters (or the cellphone flashlights) come out, Knight noted that moment is not when the show ends. Instead, the energy always ramps back up with a faster paced song.
“Each of you has the power to light up or extinguish the cultural flame of the district, via your leadership,” he concluded. “Light it up!”
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Speaker and author Jim Knight, left, smiles with STN Publisher & President Tony Corpin, right.
Jim Knight will present the keynote “Culture That Rocks: Set List on How to Amp Up the Company’s Culture (to Eleven) and Deliver Sustainable Results” on Monday, March 30, 2026, from 10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Registration is now open for the STN EXPO West conference, an innovative six-day training and networking event by School Transportation News taking place this summer in Reno, Nevada.
STN EXPO West brings together student transportation leaders to have conversations that are making the difference in the pupil transportation industry. The conference and trade show is scheduled to begin July 9 at the Peppermill Resort with a four-hour seminar providing modules on school bus and transportation security response from law enforcement officials. It concludes July 15 with a special half-day seminar taught by renowned industry trainers Dick Fischer and Pete Baxter, both National Association for Pupil Transportation Hall of Fame members.
STN EXPO West Overview
Other exciting experiences return this year, including the Transportation Director Summit, an exclusive leadership event that begins July 9 at the Peppermill and continues July 10 at the picturesque Chateau at Incline Village at Lake Tahoe. The Ride and Drive event in conjunction with the Green Bus Summit and Bus Technology Summit are on July 12. The STN EXPO Trade Show “Wonderland of Ideas” opens the evening of July 13 to expose attendees to the technological and green solutions needed to optimize their operations. The Trade Show continues the morning of July 14.
First, keynote speaker Bruce Turkel will deliver an impactful presentation July 13 on how to cut through the constant information overload and how to market your communication to stand out in the crowd.
Michelle Atwell, chief of safety countermeasures for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, also joins the STN EXPO West agenda to highlight federal actions taking place to combat illegal passing of stopped school buses.
Other special training opportunities include the National School Bus Inspection Training Program, “So You Want to Be a Transportation Supervisor?” and hands-on wheelchair securement classes. Educational sessions will break down the pressing issues that face the student transportation industry and provide practical solutions and strategies, including the use of AI, lap/shoulder seatbelt research, budgeting and employee culture.
Save $200 on main conference registration with the Super Early Bird special pricing, only available through April 10, 2026. Learn more about unique experiences and stay tuned for more agenda updates at stnexpo.com/west.
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