Ray White of Cranbrook has been recognized with a signal honour — and a well-deserved one.

The longtime bus driver for School District 5 has been named the ASTSBC's (Association of School Transportation Services of BC) School Bus Driver of the Year, the association's second annual such award.

White was nominated by his peers - the bus drivers of School District 5 — as well school administrators and student representatives. The award was announced recently by the ASTSBC.

"Ray has exemplified what his peers felt a bus driver should aspire to be," said Bill Gook, Superintendent for School District 5. "He’s very concerned about the kids, he's very concerned about safety. He's driven for the school district for 25 years with zero accidents.

"He's probably put over 2 million miles on his bus, driving the kids."

White is also involved with the Cranbrook Girls Bugle Band's summer program, providing transportation for them.

White has also put together some unique bus safety programs for the kids and other drivers, Gook said. "Those are something we have in place in our district, and that's because of Ray."

White is being flown down to Vancouver in July, all expenses paid, where he will be presented with his award.

The Association of School Transportation Services of BC is a province-wide organization comprising everyone involved in school transportation, including the 1,760 public and private school system bus drivers, facility operators, school district administrators, contractors and suppliers.

Frank Marasco, President of the ASTSBC, who works for School District 83 (North Okanagan-Shuswap), himself had White for a bus driver, when Marasco attended St. Mary’s Independent Catholic School in Cranbrook. He said the award was started last year to honour a bus driver for Education Week. A panel appointed by the ASTSBC executive selects the award winner out of submissions from throughout the province. This year there were six submissions province-wide.

The Association is also considering creating a similar but separate award for those bus drivers who deal with special needs students.

Marasco said a bus driver is often one of the most important and consistent figures in a student’s academic life. “As you go through school, you change teachers from year to year. When you’re in high school you have multiple teachers. But you can have the same bus driver throughout your whole career.”

Marasco said that in his school district there is one driver who is on his third generation of passengers — the grandchildren of students he drove years ago.

He added that a school bus is the safest mode of transportation on the road.