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Cliff Clare, Jr Thomas Top Performer in 2024. Cliff Clare, Jr., was named National Salesman of the Year by Thomas Built Buses at the National Dealer Meetings held in San Antonio Texas, May 4th 2024. This is the first time this award was presented. Congrats Cliff and thank you customers for making this a reality. Pete Fenderson placed third amongst all Thomas Account Representatives. |
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Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. "Forged in Yellow" Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., is proudly featured in this Thomas Built Buses Video. |
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2023 Nominee for Dealer of the Year Matthews Bus Alliance was honored at the 2023 Thomas Built Buses National Sales Meeting, May 4th 2024, San Antonio, TX as a Platinum Level Dealer and the Southeast Region Nominee for Dealer of the Year. Daoud Chaya, VP Sales and Marketing, TBB, referenced our PERFECT "10" Score for the Year with the Daniels Group, Customer Service, Independent Surveys. Thank you to our great customers and TBB. Congrats to George Logan and New England Transit for being named Dealer of the Year. |
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SE TRAINER OF THE YEAR MAY 4TH, 2024: At the Thomas National Dealer Meetings in San Antonio, TX - Ali Rampartab, was once again named Southeast Region Trainer of the Year. Congrats ALI! |
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2021 Southeast Dealer of the Year 4/26/22 Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc was named 2021 Thomas Built Buses Southeast Dealer of the Year for the 3rd time in 4 years as the National Sales Meeting held in Savannah Georgia. |
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The GOAT Retires! 12/17/21 Glenn Matthews and Tim Bevier were on hand to honor and celebrate Mitch Moyer''s Retirement as Director of Transportation from Volusia District Schools. At Matthews, we love our great customers and Mitch is great reason why. His employees appropriately call him the Greatest of All Time ( GOAT T Shirt). Lori,
me, and our entire team, have enjoyed working with Mitch and his great team. A true partnership in providing great support for the drivers and technicians at Volusia County. Those who serve the children. He brought fun and excitement to the work place and it is obvious his teammates love working for him. Congrats Mitch and enjoy whatever is next in your life. The Matthews Family! |
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Be Au Sm 10/13 Team Matthews started the day exhibiting at the FASBO conference in Orlando. Low and behold, Josh from Be Au Sm was the keynote speaker. Later that day we had our fall festival for employees and a few local customers who showed up to enjoy the food, friendship, and music by Brian Malpass who is Au Sm! Shaun also showed up that day and later posted the following comments on LinkedIn. "This past June I delivered the opening Keynote for the Florida Association of Pupil Transportation in Daytona Beach, FL. I believe they had around 82 Vendors that they introduced each in the opening session. One vendor in particular received a standing ovation and that was Glenn Matthews, Lori Matthews and their team at Matthews Bus Alliance. Not only did I get to see Glenn, Lori and their team yesterday at the FASBO Conference but I was able to take a quick trip to their facility for their Client and Employee Appreciation day while in Orlando. I also got to see up close an all electric school bus. Can''t say enough Au Sm about the solutions and services they provide for our Public K-12 Transportation Porofessionals in Florida. Their mission is evident and their impact is felt by all those that work with them. Be Au Sm!This past June I delivered the opening Keynote for the Florida Association of Pupil Transportation in Daytona Beach, FL. I believe they had around 82 Vendors that they introduced each in the opening session. One vendor in particular received a standing ovation and that was Glenn Matthews, Lori Matthews and their team at Matthews Bus Alliance. Not only did I get to see Glenn, Lori and their team yesterday at the FASBO Conference but I was able to take a quick trip to their facility for their Client and Employee Appreciation day while in Orlando. I also got to see up close an all electric school bus. Can''t say enough Au Sm about the solutions and services they provide for our Public K-12 Transportation Porofessionals in Florida. Their mission is evident and their impact is felt by all those that work with them. Be Au Sm!" |
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Palm Beach Driver Appreciation Event 9/9/21 Matthews Bus Alliance Proudly Sponsors Palm Beach County Schools Driver Appreciation Event. |
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Lafayette Delivery 7/8/21 Matthews Buses Florida presented Lafayette District Schools with more new Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liners using the innovative Daimler Truck Financial Lease/Finance Program. Pictured are left to right: Terrell Murphy-Fleet Technician, Coach Joey Pearson-Director of Transportation and Facilities-Pete Fenderson-Account Manager, Matthews Buses Florida, Scott Nagy-Team Matthews Rapid Response and Ritchie Paige-Chief Mechanic Lafayette District. |
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FAPT 2021 Relax and Recharge 6/20 - 6/24 FAPT conference held in Daytona Beach. Great to be Back! |
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St. Johns County Training Days 6/15 - 6/16/21 Engine Emissions & Electrical Troubleshooting Training for St. Johns County School District from Ali Rampartab, Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., Full Time Trainer. |
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Polk Hot Dog Day 6/7/21 Team Matthews back to "cooking for customers" at the Polk County, Bartow school bus garage. |
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2020 Employees of the Year 6/2/21 2020 was a difficult year for all. The Matthews Mobile Service Team went above and beyond from day one of the pandemic. They never stopped working to keep customers buses up and running safely throughout. To understand the impact of our road service team one only needs to listen to the words of some OCPS school bus drivers. "We love our Matthews Road Techs!" Why? Because they keep our buses up and running!" For their outstanding efforts in 2020, the entire road service team was named, "Employees of the Year," at our recent Employee appreciation day. Our entire team spent the day at Discovery Cove for a day of fun and fellowship. |
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OCPS 2022 Delivery Doc Ford spent his final day at work before retirement, which was well earned with 30 years of fleet service, accepting OCPS's New 2022 Thomas Saf- T-Liner C2 buses. Congrats Doc! Everyone on Team Matthews truly enjoyed working with you and wish you the best! |
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Mater Delivery 5/27/2021 Principal Alexandra Castillo is pictured with Mater''s new 2021 Thomas C2 and Account Rep, Tim Bevier. |
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School Bus Fleet Video See Jouley Electric SBF Video Below |
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Let's Go Racing Sunday May, 23 2021, at the new Circuit of the Americas NASCAR race in Texas, Thomas Built and Jouley was featured prominently on the #2 Brad Keslowski Car. |
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Polk County 2021 Inspection 4/29/21 Polk County District Schools Transportation Team visited Matthews Bus Alliance to do a pre-delivery inspection on their new Thomas Saf -T-Liner C2 buses with the TM43/ TM16 compressors - BH2233 RAC "Bullet Proof" AC System. This system has a standard 6 year warranty! |
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2021 Manatee County Delivery 4/20/21
Josh Wombaugh, Fleet Manager, is pictured with Bob Dolan, Business Development Manager, as Josh accepts delivery of Manatee County District Schools new 2021Thomas C2 buses. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," Manatee! |
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Charlotte Delivery 4/1/2021
Charlotte District Schools took delivery of six(6) Thomas Built Buses C-2''s this past week. Pictured is Charlotte Schools, Transportation Director, Tony Conte, with MBA, Account Manager, Cliff Clare, Jr. Tony and his Team are very excited to have these state of the art new Thomas Built C2 Buses in their fleet with Rifled Air Conditioning AC Systems. Prior to this purchase, Charlotte was a 100% Blue Bird Fleet. Charlotte will now benefit from Team Matthews on site warranty service and lowest cost of ownership. |
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Desoto Delivery 4/1/2021
Desoto District Schools received their three(3) New Thomas Built Buses, C-2''s. Pictured are the Technicians of the District from L-R Hector Herrera, Brandon Philbrook, Rich Johnson and Fleet Manager, Randy Faul, after being handed the keys from Matthews Bus Alliance Account Manager, Cliff Clare, Jr. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," Desoto! |
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Osceola 2021 3/23/21
Arby Creech, Director, Bob Dolan, Business Development Manager MBA, Don Rowls, Assistant Director, and Edger Espiet, Lead Mechanic, were on hand to accept Osceola County District Schools, New 2021 Thomas C2 School Buses. These buses feature the RAC TM43 AC compressor AC System with extra TM 16 compressor for independant dash AC. Arby was right about the TM43 set up. 5 + years and no compressor failures. Keep in mind with our TM 43 set up you also get a TM16 dash compressor vs competition $2500+ value! |
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OCPS AC Training 3/10/21 Orange County Public Schools technicans received specialized air conditioning systems training from their local Orange County, Pine Hills, 2019 SE Thomas Built Buses Dealer of the Year, Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., Trainer of the Year, Ali Rampartab. |
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Braun Wheelchair Lift Training 3/9/21 Volusia County Braun Wheelchair lift training from MBA in house trainer, Ali Rampartab. |
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Monroe 2021 3/9/21 Monroe District Schools Director of Transportation, Randy Fabal receiving the keys to their four(4) new 77 passenger C-2''s from Account Manager, Cliff Clare,Jr. at the School Districts brand new Transporation facility in Key West. |
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Matthews Get a Charge! 2/24/2021
With increased interest in Jouley Electric Buses, Matthews Bus Alliance , installed its' own DC charging system. New 75KW chargers can charge a 225 kw battery system in 3 hours (between runs). The 75 KW charger can be set up with 4 charging receptacles and simultaneous charging is on the horizon. VW grant money will pay up to 75% of the charger costs so you may want to use these funds to get what works best in school fleet operations. |
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Your EV Training Source 3/1/21 MBA''s full time trainer, Ali Rampartab has completed the HV1 High Voltage Safety Course for training owner/operators and drivers for EV Jouley buses. He also completed HV2 Training. This is a High Voltage Safety and Maintenance Training for all Service and Maintenance Technicians. He is set to attend HV3 Training next week, at the C2 Saf-T-Liner Plant at High Point, NC. This HV3 Training will allow Ali to: 1: Decommission the HV-system/ Commissioning of the HV-system. 2: Troubleshooting and Diagnostics of the HV system. Presently MBA Inc. has 5 Technicians that are completing their Online Training for HV1 & HV2 High Voltage Safety Training. Ali will be Training all of our technicians and the school district''s Operators/Drivers and Technicians, that purchases our EV C2 Jouley Buses. All Techs and School District''s Techs and First Responders will have to take this HV1 & HV2 Safety Training. |
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Jerry's New Mercedes Jerry Pabon pictured on site at Broward County Schools with his new Mercedes Sprinter Service Van. Whether you choose Diesel, Propane, CNG or Electric to fuel your Thomas C2 School Buses, Matthews Mobile Techs got you covered. |
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Jouley Gets a HD Charge! 2/26/2021
Jouley stopped in Lakeland Florida at the local Harley Davidson Dealer to get a charge before returning home to Orlando from her week long tour of Florida. |
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Maryland Jouley Order Planning out your EV school bus implementation strategy and implementing that plan can be challenging. Highland Electric Transportation (HET) can assist school districts in simplifying the entire process like they are doing for Montgomery Maryland. See article below about their Maryland project. |
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Jouley Gets a Charge 2/24/2021 Jouley gets a full charge in City of Okeechobee on its way to Manatee County Schools during its' Tour of South Florida. Pictured are Mayor Dowling Watford and Cliff Clare, MBA Account Representative. |
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Broward County Jouley Demo 02/23/2021 Shawn Dickinson Shop Supervisor, Tommy Fitzpatrick, Fleet Manager, Rolando Alvarez, Acting Executive Director, Caley Edgerly, President Thomas Built Buses, Kay Blake Director of Operations, Louis Geudes, Shop Supervisor are pictured in front of a Jouley C2 Electric School Bus. The Thomas Built All Electric Jouley was driven down from Orlando to Broward County for the demonstration. Broward County's Transportation Team got to ride, drive, and fully inspect the All Electric Zero Emmissions school bus powered by a Proterra Battery System. |
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2021 Special Jouley Open House Event 2/17/21 March 3 - March 4th 10:00 AM - 4 PM Team Matthews will be hosting a special "Love the Jouley Bus" Open House at our headquarters located at 4802 West Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32808. Thomas Built Buses, Proterra Battery System, and Highland Electric Transportation will be on hand to answer any questions you may have. Highland Electric offers a unique program to help customers with financing, infrastructure, bus purchase, and service costs pertaining to the Jouley C2 Electric Bus. Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., will be charging Jouley with our newly installed Delta 26KW 480Volt charger. Whether or not you have immediate plans to take advantage of the VW grant money available or are interested in just checking out Jouley, please RSVP to: dmartin@matthewsbusesflorida.com Please include the date, names of attendees, and estimated arrival time. If you are not interested in EV, we would still love to have you visit us. JOULEY ride and drives will be available throughout the day. Come meet your Matthews support TEAM. Glenn Matthews |
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Leon Training 1/29/21 Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. provided another training session for Leon District Schools staff in Tallahassee at the Site of the Compressed Natural Gas refueling Location. Ali Rampartab, Trainer Extraordinaire, provided training in the areas of computer science, diagnostics, manufacturer research on Diesel and Natural Gas engines, drivetrains and body components. Ali also provided an intro to "EV" School Buses and Battery Systems. Featured are the Leon staff in their "state of the art" training facility. Pete Fenderson, Account Manager |
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Collision Mitigation Available Thomas Built Buses now offers collision mitigation. Contact your account rep and/or click on link below for more information. |
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Jouley Attended FAPT Mid Year Directors Eric Reynolds, Sr. Director, Channel Sales Proterra Powered (864) 607-5538 presented to the FAPT Mid Year Directors in Ocala Florida, January 14 and 15th, 2021. The Thomas Saf- T- Liner C2, "Jouley" Electric Powered School Bus transported attendees to a sponsored dinner function. Directors who rode the bus commented on how much quieter and smoother the bus was versus the Blue Bird EV that also transported attendees. Eric detailed the Proterra Battery System and charging station options for us to the Directors. It was our goal to bring added value to the meetings by having Eric present the Proterra Battery System offered with Jouley and to explain charging system and infrastructure needs. By all accounts we accomplished this and more. |
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Somerset Academy 12/16/20Tim Bevier and Gary Montagna, celebrate the delivery of a new 2021 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," Gary! |
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Another Sprinter Hits The Road 12/14/20A New Mercedes Sprinter receiving its’ lettering before taking to the road for Team Matthews Mobile Service. |
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Jupiter Community HS 10/7/20Delivery of Jupiter Community High Schools Brand New Thomas Built Bus 47 passenger Lift equipped C-2. The kids and staff (pictured) came out to welcome their new addition. Helene McAfee, who was responsible for the fundraising and purchasing of their first new bus since 1998, was "Absolutely Thrilled" with the new bus delivered by Account Manager Cliff Clare Jr. |
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Broward District School Delivery Broward District Schools receives the first four(4) of forty(40) Thomas Built Buses C-2 77 passenger buses. The keys were presented to Broward Central Shop Foreman Dennis Freemyer by Matthews Bus Alliance Account Manager, Cliff Clare Jr., Also in attendance for the delivery were technicians at the Broward Central Facility, Conrad Williams, Ramsey Hanza and Vicente Mojica. |
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2020 School Bus Safety Week 10/22/2020Washington District Schools Transportation Superheroes celebrate School Bus Safety Week in front one of their 2020 Thomas Saf -T-Liner C2’s. |
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2021 Sarasota Delivery 10/7/2021. Bob Dolan, Business Development Manager, Pete Fenderson, Account Manager, and Jason Harris, Director of Transportation, are pictured here in front of one of Sarasota County’s New 2021 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2’s equipped with Rifled Air Conditioning Systems A/C. |
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Lee County District Schools Training 10/1/2020Pictured below is Lee District Schools Fleet Director, Pam Rivera and the technicians from the 6 Mile Cypress Compound undergoing recurrent Cummins Engine Aftertreatment training by Ali Rampartab along with Thomas Built Buses training for both Body and Chassis maintenance. This is the third in a series of Thomas Built Bus training provided by Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. |
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Early Learning Coalition Manatee County 9/29/2020ELCMC picked up their new 2021 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 powered by a Detroit Diesel DD5 Engine and cooled By the 3 compressor Rifled Air Conditioning 2233 System. Pictured left to right: Bob Dolan, Glenn Matthews, Terry Wilson - Transportation Manager, Rick Brannon - Bus Diver |
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In Rememberance of Justine H. Matthews Please see the link below. |
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Brevard Inspection 9/9/2020Brevard District Schools arrived in Orlando today at our facility to Inspect the first two(2) of 25 C-2 buses ordered this year. Pictured L to R is Matthews Bus Alliance Account Manager Cliff Clare Jr., Brevard District Schools Director of Transportation, Dr. Michael Miller, Technician Shane Wolf, Shop Foreman- Mike Feber and Asst. Director of Transportation Glen Bob Enstice. |
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Alachua 80 Bus Delivery 9/9/2020Alachua County Schools, Superintendant, Mrs. Karen Clarke, accepts delivery of their 80 Thomas C2 buses which were purchased under a special fleet replacement financing program. Pictured are Karen Clarke, Suprintendant, and Tim Bevier, as he shows Mrs Clarke the many driver safety features of the bus. Once all 80 are in service, Alachua County, will have the youngest average age fleet of buses in the state of Florida, thus reducing their operational costs while improving emmissions and safety significantly. |
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Pictured from left to right: Reginald Thomas, Aaron Hardin, Yaima Droese, Tim Bevier, Glenn Matthews, Mrs. Karen Clarke, Dr. Paul White. Thanks for Choosing Matthews, Alachua County! |
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DD5 Virtual Tech and Diagnostic Link 9/8/2020Pete Fenderson, Matthews Bus Alliance, assists Orange County Public Schools with their new Panasonic Tough Books, Nexiq Connectors, and Detroit Diesel remote diagnostic software link to the Virtual Technician services offered by Detroit Diesel on every DD5 engine. OCPS has two DD5’s in their fleet they are testing. Preliminary fuel mileage in other districts running DD5’s has been impressive. We are excited to see how they are performing at OCPS now they have this diagnostic equipment. |
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Broward Cummins Engine Training 9/8/2020Ali Rampartab, Matthews Bus Alliance Trainer, provides classroom Cummins Engine training for Broward County District Schools Technicians. |
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Alachua Inspection 8/12/2020
Alachua County Schools Transportation Team inspected the first of their 80 new 2021 Thomas C2’s at our Orlando location today prior to delivery next week. |
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Proud to be an American Citizen 7/30/2020
Roland Ferguson, became a US citizen today. Everyone at Team Matthews is proud of him for this accomplishment. He came to us from the Island of Jamaica and started working in 2018. Funny how things work out as Roland was Glenn Matthews Uber Driver one day and mentioned he happened to have a CDL liscence. Taken by his positive spirit, we hired Roland to drive for us part time delivering buses. He then became interested in any full time opportunities we had available, so we offered him a position in our detail department. Roland has an infectious positive spirit and is always up for a challenge. He is an extremely hard and fast worker. This is a big year for him as he also purchased his first home. Roland is the proud father of two boys and is quite a good singer. He led his team to victory in last year’s Employee Appreciation day whereby we were tasked with performing a song with the newly built stratocaster guitars built for charity. Congrats on becoming a USA citizen Roland! So proud of you! FAPT members will recognize Roland as he drove attendees at conferences to our sponsored events. |
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Polk County 2021 C2 Inspection 7/15/20
Don Stephenson, Director of Transportation, Greg Pitts, Fleet Manager, Jeffery Davis, Area Manager, and Clayton Keene, Lead Technician of Polk County District School Transportation visited our Orlando location and inspected some of their 50 NEW 2021 Thomas Built C2 Buses prior to delivery the following day. Polk county received their first TM43
AC compressor plus TM16 (standard independent dash system). Since first offering and installing TM43’s over 5 years ago we have seen zero failures to date of this compressor. Remember you get a 6 year standard AC Warranty with RAC! Everyone at Team Matthews appreciates Polk District Schools Transportation Team "Choosing Matthews." Polk has been a loyal Thomas customer since our 2008 arrival in Florida.
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Happy 4th of July 7/2/2020
From everyone at Matthews Bus Alliance, Happy 4th of July!
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Matthews Banner at Detroit 7/2/20
A 2018 Thomas Built Buses Dealer of the Year and 2019 Southeast Dealer of the Year, Matthews Bus Alliance Banner, pictured at the Detroit Diesel factory. We hope to resume customer tours of this amazing factory soon. Thank you Pam Esshaki for this honor. |
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History Made! 5/21/2020
Brian Lowe, Vehicle Maintenance Supervisor, and Craig Grandy, Vehicle Maintenance Coordinator, Pinellas District Schools, visited Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., to pre-inspect their 5 New 2021Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 Buses equipped with Rifled Air Conditioning and Seon 360 Systems. These buses are the first buses purchased by Pinellas from Matthews Bus Alliance. Thanks for Choosing (trying) Matthews Pinellas! We can’t wait to provide you with great on site service, training, parts, warranty, and customer service, " The Matthews Way!" |
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2019 Southeast Region Dealer of the Year 5/7/2020
Thanks to our great customers, Matthews Bus Alliance was named Thomas Built Buses Southeast Region Dealer of the Year for the second straight year. Congrats to Floyd Merryman and Team for winning the North American Dealer of the Year Award. Well deserved! Our Orlando based essential employees gathered in our showroom, socially distanced, to hear the news via Zoom call from Caley Edgerely, President. The rest of our team joined the Zoom call from home. |
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Glen Provenzano Award 4/29/2020
Glen Provenzano, Matthews Bus Alliance, Parts Manager, was presented with the 2019 Thomas Built Buses Silver Level Parts Excellence Program Award. Glen’s wife Val joined him at the office celebration for the Zoom presentation from Mike Hill, TBB Regional Parts Sales and Training Manager. |
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Ali Rampartab 4/30/2020
Ali Rampartab was named one of 3 finalist from the Southeast Region for 2019 Thomas Built Buses, Trainer of the Year Award. |
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2021 OCPS 4/28/2020
12 of 40 NEW OCPS 2021 Thomas C2’s on their way to district including this Detroit Diesel DD5 powered unit. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," OCPS! |
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OCPS Inspection 4/23/2020
Morris Frye, Fleet Director, Orange County Public Schools, Doc Ford, and Grant Shaw, conducted a pre-delivery inspection With MBA’s Glenn Matthews, Epi Martinez, and Andy Stafford, of three different 2021 Saf-T-Liner C2 configurations (5 Wheelchair positions S.T.A.R.S, DD5, and Cummins powered 77 Pasengers) of their 40 bus 2020 order at our corporate location just a few miles down the road from OCPS’ new transportation facility. Morris Frye, is pictured here under a Detroit DD5 powered C2 with MBA Quality Control Manager, Andy Stafford. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews, again!" OCPS! |
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Volusia 2021 Delivery 4/22/2020
Mike Frazee, and Mike Paris, accept delivery of one of their new 2021, Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2’s from Tim Bevier, Account Manger, Matthews Bus Alliance. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," Mike and Mike! |
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New Online Parts Store 4/16/2020
Need parts 24/7 365?
Check out site below: |
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Manatee District Provides Sunshine! 4/16/2020 Bradenton, FL
Bus operators, Juanita Canaday, and Debra Valdez at a free WiFi location in Manatee County, Florida.
Despite the overcast, rainy day Manatee District School Transportation Employees are bringing sunshine to families who need it most in the community with free WiFi and meals.
Team Matthews is proud to support these efforts as an Essential Service Business.
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Martin County District 4/15/2020. Stuart, FL.
Martin District Schools, Tom Geralds, and Dave Robert, take delivery of (3) new 2021 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2’s from Account Manager, Cliff Claire, Jr. New social distancing and e delivery acceptance protocol procedures have been put into practice for all new bus deliveries. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," Martin County! |
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2021 Lake County Delivery 4/9/2020
New 2021 Thomas C2 being prepped for delivery today. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," Lake County! |
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Florida District School Buses Bring Wi-Fi To Kids 4/6/2020
See Video Below! Proud to call Manatee County Schools Our Customer. Pictured are Frank Farmer, Lead Mechanic, and Cheryl Bourque, Assistant to the Director, in front of one the counties new 2021 Thomas C2 Buses equipped with cost savings Detroit Diesel DD5 Advanced Technology that improves the environment. |
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Volusia Delivery 4/1/2020
Chris Boyer, Fleet Specialist, Volusia County Schools, accepted delivery of shiny new 2021 Thomas C2’s on the 3rd anniversary date of Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. It was fitting that this delivery was to Volusia County as they were the first official new bus customer delivery of Matthews Bus Alliance after we moved forward on 4/1/2017. Volusia joined the many other school districts statewide delivering meals via school buses driven by heroes to children in need. MBA is proud to support them all in these important efforts. |
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3 Reasons Diesel Beats Gas See article below |
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Hillsborough Heroes See the video below detailing the heroic efforts by Hillsborough County Schools Transportation Department utilizing their fleet of yellow buses and drivers to deliver food to the children of the county. Great to see new Superintendant, Addison Davis, leading the effort! Great work! Everyone at Matthews Bus Alliance and Rifled Air Conditioning Sysyems are proud to be Essential Businesses supporting the efforts of Hillsborough County in these challenging times. |
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Levy County Video Levy County Transportation In Action
See video below! |
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Knights in Shiny Yellow Armor! 3/19/2020
Levy District Schools to the rescue!
"The School Board of Levy County will provide meals at no cost to ALL children 18 years of age and under or to Students with Disabilities 21 years of age or under. This includes ALL children who attend private schools, charter schools, or home schools, children who do not yet attend school, children visiting family members, or children in families that are homeless.
Children must be present to receive meals. The meals are not available or provided to adults. Again, the goal is to feed ALL children......"
Joseph Wain
Coordinator of Transportation
School Board of Levy County |
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Lake Highland Preparatory School 3/4/2020
Conan Bickford and Craig Holloman accept delivery of one of their new Thomas C2’s from Glenn Matthews and Tim Bevier at the local Orlando Matthews Bus Alliance headquarters. These buses are powered by the Clean and Quiet Detroit DD5 engine. Lake Highland Prep students will stay cool with the RAC Max AC system on these buses. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews" LHP. |
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Very Sad News 02/24/2020
Broward County, Fla. - According to Mary Tactermann of the Broward County Florida School System, John Lyles passed suddenly and unexpectedly over the weekend. So far no details of his death have been given.
Pictured are Tommy Fitzpatrick, John Lyles, and Cliff Clare from a recent Thomas Factory Tour.
Everyone at Matthews Bus Alliance is deeply saddened by this news and our hearts go out to the Lyles family and Broward County Schools. |
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Orange County Loves The Bus 2/20/2020
OCPS staff show the love for their Thomas C2’s!
"Thanks for Choosing Matthews OCPS!"
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Washington District Celebrates Delivery 02/20/2020
Washington District staff attended the delivery of their latest order of 2020 Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liners for Transportation Specialist Dawn Spooner. The delivery was to the South location in Vernon Florida. The proud staff are left to right:
Steve Rudd, Mechanic; Sam Brady, Mechanic; Michael Israel, Driver; David Hodges, Driver; Grace Roche, Driver/Trainer; Pete Fenderson, MBA Account Manager and Mae Peterson, Monitor
Dawn Spooner
Washington County School District
Transportation Specialist
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New Intellipark Option Available on Thomas Buses November 19, 2019
By Whitney Kopanko
ELYRIA, Ohio - Thomas Built Busesis offering Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems’ Intellipark Electronic Parking Brake as optional equipment on two of its school bus models.
The school bus manufacturer will offer the parking brake on its Saf-T-Liner C2 and as factory-installed standard equipment on the Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley electric bus as of July 1, 2020.
Thomas Built Buses is the first school bus original equipment manufacturer to make Intellipark available on some of its buses, according to Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems.
Intellipark is designed to help prevent rollaway and runaway crashes by automatically setting the parking brake if the driver exits the vehicle without setting it. Additionally, the parking brake offers an indication of parking brake status.
"Developing advanced safety technologies that help keep student passengers safe and support school bus drivers is a critical mission at Bendix, and we’re delighted to combine efforts with Thomas Built Buses in this important step," said Scott Burkhart, vice president of sales, marketing, and business development for Bendix.
"Intellipark provides unique benefits, complementing the other safety features built into our buses and further helping to back up the drivers piloting them," said Anca Matache, product planning manager for Thomas Built Buses.
Intellipark’s rollaway prevention capability is made possible through interlocks, which are installed in critical areas such as the speed sensors, ignition, foot brake, and door, that can engage the parking brake electronically in circumstances where the system determines that the vehicle is stationary and should have the park brakes activated. The custom interlocks also prevent unintentional park brake release.
Intellipark replaces the traditional yellow push/pull knob with a switch that is designed to require less effort and doesn’t deliver the popping "sting" that comes with manually activating a 120-psi hand-controlled brake valve. The new switch still maintains the familiar yellow symbols and text, along with integrated LEDs that indicate the status of the parking brake. It also offers increased durability and additional cycles over the current pneumatic system, according to Bendix.
"Based on the extensive testing of Intellipark that we’ve done on the road with drivers, the enhanced ergonomic design - along with being able to tell at a glance whether the parking brake is set or not - truly raises the bar," said Rebecca Carter, Bendix product manager for specialty valves.
Intellipark, which this year was named a Heavy Duty Trucking Top 20 product, has gone through Bendix’s vehicle testing process, along with the real-world experiences of test fleets - exposing the system to a wide range of potential conditions over hundreds of thousands of park and auto-park cycles.
In addition to school buses, Intellipark can be used on almost any air-braked vehicle, including motorcoaches, tractor-trailers, and single-unit trucks. Additionally, school districts and fleet managers can use information from the data Intellipark provides through Bendix SafetyDirect to enhance their safety programs and driver training efforts.
2/18/2020 Glenn Matthews
This option is now available for purchase on FLDO ITB: 2020-16.
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Auto Reversing Door a New State Contract Option February 17, 2020
By Whitney Kopanko
HIGH POINT, N.C. - Thomas Built Buses has introduced a new feature for some of its school buses: auto-reversing doors.
The first-of-its-kind feature is available on all versions of Thomas Built Buses’ Saf-T-Liner C2 and allows the front entry doors to reopen automatically if they sense an object or obstruction in the doorway, according to a news release from the school bus manufacturer. In operation, an audible alarm will sound and the doors will automatically reverse motion to return to the fully open position.
"Safety is our number-one priority, and even one incident of a child, backpack, or article of clothing getting caught in the entryway doors is one too many," said Caley Edgerly, president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses. "While this new feature does not replace the need for drivers to be aware at all times, it is one more tool to assist in making sure that school buses remain the safest form of transportation to and from school."
In the event of damage to the stepwell, the auto-reversing door system is equipped with a manual bypass option that will disable the obstruction detection and allow the driver to complete their bus route, according to the school bus manufacturer. Disabling the auto-reverse feature reportedly does not prevent normal operation of the entrance door.
The auto-reversing door feature is now available for order on FL DOE ITB:2020-16.
Story originally published by SchoolBusFleet.com. |
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Clay County 100 New Buses |
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New Option Available: Mobile Eye Introducing Mobileye Collision Avoidance & Lane Departure Detection System.
As part of our continuing effort to promote school bus safety and positive driving habits, Matthews Bus Alliance is proud to be the exclusive provider of the Mobileye Collision Avoidance and Lane Departure Detection System for Florida School District Fleets.
This video shows how the system works: |
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FLDOE: ITB 2020-16 Pricing and Ordering Guide Please refer to the PRODUCTS section of this web site to view and download our "OLD SCHOOL" 2020-16 Pricing and Ordering Guide. |
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2020 ASBCA "Love The Bus" Event 2/5/2020
Matthews Bus Alliance helped support the American School Bus Council Association, "Love the Bus" gathering held just a few miles from our Orlando location at the Orange County Public Schools, NEW Pine Hills Maintenance garage. We showed our LOVE by putting on one of our famous Hot Dog Lunches for attendees. We also supplied a brand new 2020 Thomas, Saf-T-Liner C2 Demo, powered by the all NEW Detroit Diesel DD5 cleanest and most fuel efficient engine. This bus also showed off Florida’s best working and most reliable NEW Rifled Air Conditioning 3 compressor standard AC System. Kristin Radesca, Sales Coordinator, Brad Hull, Mobile Parts Manager, Glenn Matthews, Owner, Road Techs, Marc Allen, David Wilson, William Ferraro and Trainer, Ali Rampartab, were on hand to lend support. Jed Routh, Vice President of Sales and Marketing attended on behalf of Thomas Built Buses. Bill Wen, Kim Frye, and Morris Frye, are to be commended for hosting ASBCA and all attendees for such a great event at their amazing new Pine Hills facility. Everyone at TEAM Matthews are thankful for being invited to participate in this national "Love the Bus" Event. |
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Palm Beach County 2020 1/31/2020
Bob Dolan, Matthews Bus Alliance, Business Development Manager, is pictured with Palm Beach County District Schools, Shane Searchwell, Transportation General Manager, Carl Boucard, Transportation Director, Joel Reyes/System Manager,
Crystal Washington/General Manager Operations
Diana Neto/Senior System Manager
Marguerite Jean Charles - Analyst Records
Kieth Heaven/Warranty Control
for delivery of their 90 Thomas C2 buses ordered in 2019. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," again Palm Beach County! |
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Clay County Inspection/Open House 1/22/2020
Dr. Mike Kemp ( Director of Operations ), Derald Sweatt, Director of Transportation, Chris Dowell, Maintenance Supervisor, Glenn Matthews, and Tim.Bevier are pictured at the Matthews Bus Alliance Open House and Clay County Schools inspection of one of their new 100 Thomas C2’s. "Thanks For Choosing Matthews," Clay County! |
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Clay County 2020 Delivery 1/30/2020
Derald Sweatt, Director of Transportation, accepts the first of 100 Thomas C2’s ordered from Team Matthews, Tim Bevier, Account Manager. |
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2020 FAPT Mid Year Directors Meetings 1/17/2020
Team Matthews is excited to sponsor the 2020 Mid Year Directors Dinner at Maria and Enzo’s with the other Florida school bus dealers. Looking forward to a great night in our hometown at Disney Springs to kick off the new decade. |
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Welcome to the New Decade! 1/16/2020
Great News! We now offer "upfront" savings vs the competition on the 2020 FLDOE State Contract. Not only are these savings New and Exciting, you can also now purchase Type A and MFSAB buses. There are also new Florida School Bus Specifications (i.e. standard LED lighting and stainless steel mirrors,) to be aware of and other exciting new options to consider. Please contact your Team Matthew’s Account Manager/s for help with these savings and understanding the new FLDOE Pricing and Ordering Guide.
Several different engine options are available on the new contract, including the Detroit Diesel DD5, and "Jouley" electric. Fuel economy savings, less re-gens, engine braking safety, and longer service intervals are now enjoyed by Florida customers who Demand Detroit. This NEW diesel technology and the most advanced electric solution will be available for "ride and drives" on C2 buses at our upcoming Open House during the FAPT Orlando Mid-Year Directors Meetings, January 22 - 24th.
Diesel buses are the most cost effective, durable, and reliable for Florida County School District Fleet Operations and are GREEN for tailpipe emissions. The Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) supplied over the past 13 years are doing their job to reduce tailpipe emissions. School board members need to know that today’s diesel school buses are cleaner than gasoline and propane for carbon emissions and certainly more cost effective and reliable for consistent fleet operations. With the new DD5, these advantages can be even greater. School Boards shouldn’t be fooled by those referencing Pre-2007 (black smoke) diesel emissions when presenting a case for alternate solutions. A clear, clean choice to make the biggest environmental impact for this new decade is to replace Pre-2007 emissions school buses with today’s clean diesel buses. These reliable clean diesel buses will serve districts well for the 2020 decade and beyond. See key "Facts about Fuels" from EPA Engine Certifications on the pictured chart:
"Choose Matthews," and receive award winning on-site service, training, and the only proven 3 compressor air conditioning system, with a 6 year "no finger pointing" warranty. Note: The competition is offering 3 compressor AC options as well with their 2020 bid offerings, so a true "apples to apples’ cost comparison can now be done. With Matthews, there is still no need to shuttle buses back and forth to our dealership for warranty repairs. In fact, if a bus is required to come back to our shop, we will pick it up and return it to you at no extra cost. Therefore, you can now get the life cycle cost savings of the Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2, along with our trusted "Matthews Way" mobile service for less upfront money than the competition.
Another benefit when "Choosing Matthews" is our New and Improved Parts Department at parts@matthewsbusesflorida.com, online at www.buspartsexperts.com, or (800) 330-1175 ext. 408. We have added employees, new software, better processes, delivery trucks, more parts storage, and inventory to better support our great customers. |
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FLDOE: ITB 2020-16 Bid Results Great News! Amazing results and HUGE savings vs. competition on Thomas C2’s for districts using FLDOE ITB: 2020-16. You can access the Pricing and Ordering guide using the link below or in the Product section of this web site. |
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Jouley To Highlight Jan 22- 24 Open House Thinking of going Electric? Thomas Built Buses Electric C2 = Jouley will be at our Orlando location January 22 -24 for the FAPT Mid Year Directors Meetings (Same dates). Come see it and meet our Electric Experts. This will be a working open house for visitors to tour our facility and see what the latest in school transportation has to offer. Please contact Deanne Martin ext 401 if you are planning to attend. Thank you! |
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Pasco Takes Delivery of More DD5’s! 12/4/2020
Emmett Thompson, Supervisor of Transportation Maintenance, is pictured with a brand new 2020 Thomas C2 powered by the ULTRA Clean Detroit Diesel DD5 Motor. Pasco now has 76 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2’s powered by Detroit. Thanks For Demanding Detroit and "Choosing Matthews," Pasco County! |
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Bradford District Schools Chooses Matthews! 12/4/2020
Bradford District Schools Transportation Team show off their new 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2’s and Team T’s. These are the first Thomas Built Buses ever delivered to Bradford from TEAM Matthews. Thank you Bradford for Choosing Matthews! |
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Alachua County Drivers Barbecue! 10/29/19
The Alachua County District Schools Transportation TEAM hosted a Barbecue Lunch sponsored by Matthews Bus Alliance. Superintendent, Karen Clark, Transportation Director, Reggie Thomas, and Director of Operations, Paul White honored Georgia Merriex with a plague and cake in honor of her years of service as a school bus driver for the district. Georgia is retiring this year. Pictured (left) in front of a Brand NEW 2020 C2 are Aaron Hardin, Fleet Supervisor, Tim Bevier, Account Manager, Yiama Droese, Lead Area Manager, Bob Dolan, Business Development Manager, Glenn Matthews, and Reggie Thomas, Transportation Director. |
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Pictured (left) are Bob Dolan, Board Member Leanetta McNealy, and Glenn Matthews. Below is Superintendent, Karen Clark, with Georgia Merriex, and Glenn Matthews. |
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First of 95 Marion C2 Deliveries 10/4/2019
Tim Bevier, Account Manager, congratulates Guy, "Chico," Moore, Fleet Director, on the first of their 95 NEW 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 Buses with 6.7 Liter GREEN Cummins Diesel Engines. These buses will $ave Marion District Schools in Fuel over their life of 15 -20 years while reducing their carbon foot print immensely. These buses come standard with Matthews’ Rapid Response Warranty Service and Free On Site Training. Gatekeeper Cameras and Synovia GPS systems were installed by our new install partner Southern Transit in High Point, NC. Thanks for Choosing Matthews, Marion County! |
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Ken Hedgecock’s 40-Plus Years 10/3/2019
It is with great appreciation, Lori and I will be saying good bye to a Rock Star in the industry at the end of this year. Ken and I have been around for a while and have seen our share of things in this business. Ken’s support of us in FL over the past 11 years and especially the past few has been simply amazing. We would not be where we are today without Ken’s support and guidance. It is particularly gratifying to know that we were the last Thomas Dealer of the Year named during his 40 year plus tenure at Thomas. Thanks for Choosing Matthews, Ken and Best Wishes from everyone here in Florida. You will be missed by all in this industry and you made a big difference for so many. The children who have rode, are riding, or will be riding the yellow school bus are safer because of you. The schools have saved money because of you. Us Thomas Dealers are much better off because of you and your caring leadership. Thank you so much for being a guiding light to Lori and me. Sales meetings simply will never be the same. You will be missed by all of us. Enjoy your much deserved retirement. You earned it!
Glenn Matthews
Click on link below for School Bus Fleet Article: |
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Thomas Built Delivers Nearly 1,200 DD5’s |
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Daimler Video This great Daimler Video (link below) features a Florida County School District C2 School Bus. Did you see it? Proud to be their Dealer of choice and 2018 Thomas Built Buses Dealer of the Year. Thanks for Choosing Matthews! |
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Marion County Inspection 9/25/2019
Marion County Transportation Fleet Supervisor, Guy Moore, and Andy Nestor, inspect one of their 95 new 2020 Thomas Saf-TLiner C2 CLEAN DIESEL POWERED buses at our Orlando Pre-Delivery Facility. These buses include Rifled Air Conditioning Systems and Gatekeeper Camera Systems. In addition to inspecting the quality, fit and finish, of the buses, the Marion team was able to verify the camera, radio, and GPS installations. As part of Choosing Matthews, customers are encouraged to visit our facility in order to do these pre-delivery day inspections to ensure the buses are ready to "Rock and Roll" upon delivery. These inspections are part of the Matthews Way and are available to ALL OUR CUSTOMERS. Thanks for Choosing Matthews Marion County! |
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Pasco County visits Detroit Diesel 9/20/2019
The Pasco County Transportation Team of Christine Secone, Lyndsay D’Ascenzio, Robert Borsky, Emmett Thompson, and Tad Kledzik are pictured with MBA Business Development Manager, Bob Dolan at the Detroit Diesel factory where 40 of their New DD5 Diesel C2 Clean Bus Engines were built and 36 of their 2021 Clean Bus Engines will soon be built. Thanks for Demanding Detroit Pasco! |
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St. Lucie District Schools 2020 C2’s Director of Transportation Jacunti Prince Ephfrom accepts delivery of one of their new 2020 C2’s from
Account Manager, Tim BeVier. Thanks for "Choosing Matthews," St. Lucie! |
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St. Lucie District Schools 2020 C2’s Jame Ryan shop foreman, Tim BeVier account Manager, and Mark Cochenhour Vehicle Maintenence Manager, pose in front of another one of their New 2020 C2’s!
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Somerset Academy new 2020 C2 9/9/2019
Tim BeVier, MBA Account Rep, congratulates Gary Montagna, Director of Transportation, for the delivery of their new 2020 Thomas C2’s. Thanks for "Choosing Matthews" Somerset! |
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Lee County District Schools Delivery 8/20/2019
Tim Bevier, Account Representative ( bus delivery driver for the day), Roger Loyd, Acting Director of Transportation, Logan Leonard, and Glenn Matthews stand in front of one brand new 2020 Thomas C2 of the 47 purchased from Matthews Bus Alliance. Thanks for Choosing Matthews 100% this year, Lee! |
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2020 Sarasota Delivery The first of 22, 2020 Thomas C2 buses was delivered to Sarasota County District Schools. This was one of 10 Detroit Diesel DD5 powered C2’s that will save the district 10% in Diesel fuel by doing what the bus is designed to do each and every day. Which is, deliver kids to and from school, safely and reliably. Pictured is Bob Dolan, Business Development Manager, and Jason Harris, New Transportation Director. Sarasota District Schools has Chosen Matthews for the past 11 years! |
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We are Thomas Video Check out this video from TBB! |
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Arby Creach the Rock Star! Lori Matthews, presented 6 Matthews Bus Alliance Built six strings to the Osceola County Schools Music Department at last weeks Osceola Transportation Department’s kick off luncheon. Building these guitars was part of team building exercises at our "Rock and Roll" Employee Appreciation Day held July 24th at our Orlando, Fl Headquarters. Hopefully these guitars will inspire some future Rock and Rollers! |
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Volusia County Schools Transportation Heroes Matthews Bus Alliance is proud to support the Volusia County School Transportation Heroes who get Volusia County students to and from school everyday. The future is truly riding on their buses everyday! We would like to thank Team Volusia for Choosing Team Matthews! |
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Cooking With Customers 8/8/19
Cliff Clare, Jr., and Collier County Director, John Kazinzki man the grill for the Driver In-Service Event. |
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2019 "Rock and Roll" Day 7/24/2019
TEAM Matthews spent the day as Rock Stars with "our rock and roll C2 T shirts and our typically bad attitudes."
First up was motivational speaker, "Special Forces", Paul Dembrowski, #47 from the New England Patriots. Paul offered a truly inspirational message for us to live and work by, "The Matthews Way!"
Legendary Speed Painter - Rock Demarco, then did a live painting performance featuring Lori’s favorite, "The Prince of Darkness," Ozzy Osborne, to be hung in our corporate offices. Rock donated a portion of his appearance fee to his foundation that provides art supplies to children in local hospitals. Visit the link below to Rock’s website.
Next up was a proper rock star lunch catered by Puff and Stuff. Following lunch, we did team building exercises with 6 teams of 10 making Fender Stratocaster type guitars for charity. This activity concluded with a poster and video being created for each group to be shared with the recipients of the guitars. The guitars and mini amps will be donated to the Osceola District Schools’ music department in a upcoming transportation department event. Who knows maybe a future Rock and Roll star will be born using one of these Matthews Made Strats.
So after a truly amazing day, what do you do to finish it off? How about a Rock and Roll concert? At 4:30 pm, The team boarded an Academy Tour Bus to Tampa to see Dave Matthews (no relation). He played an AC/DC cover tune that night which was cool as "It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll" was our special themed saying on the back of our Rock and Roll C2 T shirts.
It took 10 years for Team Matthews to make it to the top as Dealer of the Year and on July 24th we definitely got to Rock and Roll! |
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"Thank you Customers Event" and FAPT 7/9/2019
Team Matthews really enjoyed spending valuable time with customers at the 2019 FAPT Trade Show. Our "Thank You To Customers," Dealer of the Year Event at Lafayette’s Music Room was a big hit. Jon Cabrera and Band rocked the night away as customers enjoyed food, beverages, fellowship, dancing, and fun, The Matthews Way! The special collectible Dealer of the Year, Turvis Tumblers given out will no doubt be used for many years to come. Pictures below are from both events. |
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"Thank You To Customers" Event 6/14/19
Customers attending the 71st Annual FAPT Summer Symposium in Orlando are invited to a special, "Thank You To Customers Event," July 9, 5:30 PM at Lafayette’s Music Room for Matthews Bus Alliance being named Thomas Built Buses Dealer of the Year! There will be food, music, beverages, special guests, and a lot of cheer for everyone to enjoy. |
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Larry Hermes and Martha Kenna Retire! 6/27/19
Glenn Matthews was on hand to celebrate the retirements of Larry Hermes and Martha Kenna (Larry’s Trusted Assistant) at the Polk County District School Transportation Facility in Bartow, FL. Congrats and Best Wishes from Everyone at TEAM Matthews on both your retirements! Pictured below is Rob Davis saying some nice words about Larry and Martha’s years of dedicated service. |
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2019 FAPT Summer Tech Workshop 6/14/2109
Ali Rampartab, Platinum Award Winning Trainer, Matthews Bus Alliance, and Eddie Greg, Thomas Built Buses provided technician training at the 2019 FAPT Summer Tech Workshop in Daytona Beach, FL. Thank you to the majority of the technicians at the event for "Choosing Matthews" to receive their training this year. |
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Nassau County Delivery 6/6/19
Clinton Owens and Greg Bennett, Fleet Technicians, accept delivery of their new 2020 THOMAS C2’s from Tim Bevier, Account Representative, MBA.
"Thanks for Choosing Matthews," Nassau! |
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Volusia 2020 Delivery 6/3/19
Volusia County took delivery of one of their 24 new 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2’s at their end of year celebration. The entire Volusia County Transportation staff was able to witness the quality that goes into each and every new Thomas Bus delivery from Team Matthews.
"On behalf of the Student Transportation Services Team for the Volusia County School District, I want to thank you for being a part of year ending recertification and training earlier today. As you know, our theme was the Blues Brothers, "Everybody Needs Somebody". That can be applied in many different ways and in our professional relationship with Matthews Bus Alliance, we have many reasons to be grateful that we have connected with you and your top rate organization." Mitch Moyer, Director.
Glenn Matthews, President/CEO, guest speaker at the event showed the "Every Mile Matters" and Dale Earnhardt, Jr Driver Appreciation video’s found in the video section of this web site as part of his presentation. After all it is Daytona, Fl!
Thank you Volusia County for having us and "Choosing Matthews!"
Pictured: Jim Wade, Chris Boyer, Mike Frazee, Mitch Moyer, Glenn Matthews, and John Wilson.
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Volusia and Clay County Inspections 5/30/2019
Mike Frazee, Supervisor of Maintenance, Mike Parris, Supervisor of Maintenance, and Chris Schmitt, Technician of Volusia County along with Derald Sweatt, Director, Clay County, toured the Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 plant and inspected their new 2020 buses on order from Matthews Bus Alliance. The group also toured Rifled Air Conditioning which is located just a mile away from the C2 plant. |
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Platinum Support Certification #3
5/30/2019
Matthews Bus Alliance received its’ Platinum Support re-certification after being audited on May 15, 2019. This is the 2nd re-certification since the initital certification March 2017. Thus #3! In summary, Paul Start, Market Growth Development Manager and program auditor, stated, "Matthews Bus Alliance is a harmonious group that exudes a theme of continuous improvement and a culture of excellence. Your personel are continuously searching for new ideas and better methods to operate. It is evident that the Dealer Principle and Change Managment Team are "All In" on the Platinum Support Program. To be in the program for three years and for their personnel to have such a high level of enthusiasm to be the best is an outstanding accomplishment!"
"Congratulations, Chris Alfonso, Continuous Improvement Coordinator and the entire Change Management Team for a job well done. The entire Matthews Bus Alliance Team is to be commended for the effort put forth in achieving Platinum Support Certification for the third straight year. We humbly view this certification as a starting point to gather more feedback from our great customers and adapt accordingly." Glenn Matthews
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Manatee End Of Year Cookout 5/29/2019
TEAM Matthews was on hand "cooking for customers" at the Manatee County Transportation Department End of the Year Celebration. Jason Harris, Director, announced he will be leaving Manatee to be the Director at Sarasota District Schools in June. Best Wishes Jason! Thanks for Choosing Matthews Manatee! |
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New Service Vans 5/31/2019
Two more service vans being readied to hit the road for TEAM Matthews! |
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Warning Loud Cheers! Click on the link below to see a great facebook video that reminds us how important our industry can be. When a customer receives a new bus it impacts a lot of people. Especially the kids! These (2) 2020 Jacksonville PAL, Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses, were our second group of Detroit Diesel, DD5 powered buses, delivered in the state of Florida. Congrats Jacksonville PAL! Thank You for "Choosing Matthews" and "Demanding Detroit!" |
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Levy County Driver Video Proud to have Levy Choose Matthews. Great video - click on link below. |
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Alachua County Visits RAC Factory Reggie Thomas, Paul White, and Yaema Droese visited the Rifled Air Conditioning manufacturing and installation facilities while in High Point, NC for their plant tour/ pilot inspections at Thomas Built Buses and Syntec Seating with Tim Bevier and Bob Dolan. |
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2018 Dealer of the Year! 4/8/2018
Matthews Bus Alliance was selected as the 2018 Thomas Built Buses Dealer of the Year for the very first time at the Thomas Built Buses North American Dealer Sales Meetings held at the brand new Gaylord Rockies in Denver, Colorado. Pictured are: Glenn Matthews, President, Lori Matthews, Operations Manager, and their Daughter Justine Matthews. Caley Edgerly, President TBB, in his speech cited many key factors for "Choosing Matthews," including market share, sales volume, large percentage sales increases year over year, and a Daniels Group Net Promoter Score of 100% customer satisfaction for 2018. He specifically referenced the Team’s passion for doing the right thing for Fl customers, employees, and community.
The News and Events picture slide on the main page of this web site highlights the attendees for Team Matthews, left to right: (Bob Dolan, Tim Bevier, Cliff Clare, Jr., Pete Fenderson, Ali Rampartab, Justine Matthews, Lori Matthews, Glenn Matthews, Rena Hafeez (2018 Matthews Employee of the Year), with Caley Edgerly. Matthews Bus Alliance was first honored as the Southeast Regional Dealer (first time ever) before ultimately being selected as the North American, Dealer of the Year. "To be selected as the ’Best of the Best’ for 2018 is unbelievable considering how amazing other Thomas Dealers are throughout North America." Glenn Matthews
Thanks for "Choosing Matthews", Ken Hedgecock, VP Sales and Marketing, Caley Edgerly, President, Link Roland, Regional Sales Manager, Jim Crowcroft, National Sales Manager, Ronnie Cobb, Regional Service Manager, Paul Start, Platinum Support Manager, Jamie Allison, Training Manager, Vance Nofzinger, Mark Childers, Ricky Stanley, Chirs Blaha, Sid Adams, Dee Dee Campbell, Mike Stotler, and the many other key people at Thomas Built Buses who support our efforts in Florida. Thank you to our great customers, employees, and suppliers. A final thank you to Kieth Courtney, Dave McCavoy, and everyone at Daimler Truck Financial.
This humbling honor will serve to help re-focus us as a TEAM so we work even harder for customers in 2019.
Team Matthews Florida Account Representatives Pictured Below: |
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MBA Recognized For Efforts in the Community At the 2018 Thomas Built Buses Sales Meeting, Matthews Bus Alliance received special recognition for the work we do in the community. We are proud of our work with the Hubbard House, Soldiers Angels, Hurricane Relief Efforts, Champions of Choices, and the many donations made to worthy causes. |
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New Customer Flagler County Chooses Matthews 4/16/2019
Andy West, Transportation Director, David Bowman, Lead Shop Technician, and Mike Judd, Fleet Maintenance Supervisor, Flagler County District Schools take delivery of their New 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses with RAC air conditioning. Tim Bevier, Account Representative, was on hand for the special occasion. Thanks for "Choosing Matthews," Flagler County! |
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Canterbury School Delivery Director of Athletics, Rick Keating, Canterbury School, Fort Myers, receives the keys to their new Multi Function School Activity Bus(MFSAB) from Matthews Bus Alliance Account Manager, Cliff Clare Jr. This is the schools first new bus in 13 years. Canterbury School looks forward to transporting their Teams and going on Field Trips with their students in their shinny new C2. Thanks for Choosing Matthews, Canterberry!
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Training Day 4/2/19
TEAM Matthews Bus Alliance technicians were at the Orlando location for a full day of training. Ali Rampartab conducted training classes for our team of technicians. Thanks for choosing Matthews, the best school bus technicians in the word! |
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Florida’s First Detroit DD5 Deliveries 3/28/2019
Pasco County District Schools started taking delivery of their NEW 40, 2020Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses powered with the ALL NEW Detroit Diesel DD5 engine. Tad Kledzik, Transporation Director, Emmett Thompson, Fleet Maintenance Director, and Jason Mendoza, Shop Manager Central Compound were on hand to accept the keys from Bob Dolan, Business Development Manager, Matthews Buses Florida. These 40 buses are the first of many Florida School Buses to be powered by this new diesel engine technology. The DD5 is a 4 cylinder diesel engine designed with todays technology to have less regeneratons as a result of Variable Cam Phasing, improved fuel efficency, and 35,000 Mile maintenance intervals. Matthews Bus Alliance looks forward to pioneering this new engine into the Florida market with Pasco County. Prior to delviery the buses were properly pre-delivery inspected and detailed at Matthews Bus Alliance, Orlando, by EPi Martinez’s PDI Techs and Chris Alfonso’s detail TEAM. Thanks for choosing Matthews, Pasco County! |
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Thomas Train The Trainer Ali Rampartab attended the 2019 Thomas Built Buses Train The Trainer event at the Detroit Diesel Plant March 12 - 15th, 2019. The training was about Detroit Components, Functionality, Manufacturing Process, Assembley Process of parts on to the engine block and cylinder head. It covered installation of electrical harnesses, fuel, oil and coolant components. The process included building DD5 & DD8’s from a bare cast block to complete running engines. Each DD5 and DD8 engine is put through Dynamometer testing checking for coolant, engine oil, fuel leaks, vibration, noise level, & horsepower ratings. Both DD5 & DD8 engines are being built with 2027 EPA Regulations in mind with little or no change to components required. Ali will be overseeing and providing Detroit Diesel training to Florida Customers and Team Matthews Technicians. Ali was once again recognized as Platinum Trainer for TBB yet again notching another Diamond on his ring. This means last year’s Southeast Trainer of The Year will once again be in the running for Southeast and National Trainer of the Year at the upcoming Thomas Built Buses Annual Dealer Sales Meeting. Good luck Ali!
You’re "The Best!" |
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Manatee and Osceola Visit Detroit Plant Jason Harris, Director of Transportation, Manatee County, and Arby Creach, Director of Transportation, Osceola County, visit the Detroit Diesel Plant with Bob Dolan, Business Development Manager, Matthews Bus Alliance. |
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Brevard District Visits Detroit Diesel On Tuesday 12 March 2019 Brevard District Schools Transportation Tech Foreman -Jefferson Smith, Bobby Baker, and Tim McCarthy visited the
Detroit Diesel Factory in Detroit MI with Matthews Bus Alliance Account Manager, Cliff Clare Jr.
The tour consisted of going through the DD5 and DD8 production line aswell as axle and turbo machining plants. The DD5 4cyl. engine after
years of testing is now being introduced into the Florida School Bus Market exclusively in the Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2. |
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Testimonial Click on PDF below to read a very nice letter from Arby Creach, Director of Transportation, Osceola County District Schools, FAPT President, regarding Team Matthews services. |
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St. Lucie County SEON Video Donald Carter, the Transportation Director for St. Lucie County Distict Schools, meets with Tim Bevier, the Account Manager for Matthews Bus Alliance, at the South County Bus Compound in Port St. Lucie.
Click on URL below to see St. Lucie Seon Testiminial Video. Sure love all the Thomas C2’s in this video. Thank you for Choosing Matthews St. Lucie County! |
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Lake County Students Science Project Click on the link below to see what one amazing Lake County District Schools student is doing about illegal school bus passings by motorists. |
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Amazing Performance We just received our 2018 Thomas Built Buses Dealer Scorecard and WOW! Our team scored 158.5 points which is 8.5 points higher then what is needed to achieve the highest Platinum Level status and .5 away from perfection considering all bonus points available. Great Job TEAM! Everyone at TEAM Matthews Florida is excited about receiving this award at the upcoming Thomas Built Buses National Sales Meetings in April. We are bringing our 2018 Employee of the Year, Rena Hafeez, Ali Rampartab, and the sales team with us this year to celebrate. Everyone at TEAM Matthews wishes to thank our great customers for "Choosing Matthews!" |
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2019 Brochures Available Ask your MBA Accout Representative for the ALL NEW 2019 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 and Detroit Diesel DD5 Brochures. |
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Collier District Schools Delivery Collier District Schools Fleet Manger, Michael Huff accepts the keys from Matthews Buses Florida, Account Manager, Cliff Clare Jr., of their 39 new 2020 Thomas Built C-2 77 passenger and Wheelchair accessible buses. Collier District Schools operates 355 buses on a daily basis. These buses were also equipped with Integrated Child Seats and a new driver safety device called Mobileye. This is a new product that gives the driver information of pedestrian, lane departure, speed limits, vehicles relative speed in front of them in a passive format designed to enhance driver situational awareness. The buses also are equipped with TM-43 Air Conditioining Compressors and a completely self contained dash AC system. Thank you Collier County for Choosing Matthews!
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Key West Delivery (Monroe County District) On 28 February 2019, Randy Fabal (Director of Transportation, Monroe District Schools) accepted the keys from Matthews Bus Alliance Account Manger, Cliff Clare Jr., in Key West, Fl., for their four(4) new 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses, one of which is a wheelchair accessible bus. The Districts Fleet of 63 buses not only serves the Schools of the district but also serve an intricate part of Monroe Counties evacuation plan during times of emergency which they did prior to the arrival of Hurricane Irma, 1.5 years ago. The buses evacuated hospitals, nursing homes and others need during the evacuation of the keys during that horrific event. |
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Love The Bus Event Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., hosted a potluck lunch for Love the Bus Month at our Orlando location on Valentines Day 2/14/19. Pictured from left to right are: Kristin Radesca, School Bus Sales Coordinator, Christie Andrews, Sales Admin, Christine Stogner, Commercial Sales Admin, DeAnne Martin, " The Voice of Matthews," Assistant to the President, and Peggy Zunk, School Bus Order Admin. |
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Accounting TEAM - Love the Bus Adriana Pratts, Dona Harden and Kevin O’Gorman (CFO). |
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Bus Detail TEAM - Love the Bus Roland Ferguson, Johan Montoya, and Steven Salinas = BEST TEAM EVER! |
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Meeting of the Minds! Cliff Clare, Jr., Matthews Bus Alliance Account Rep, Jim Crowcroft, National Sales Manager -Thomas Built Buses, and Richard Shively of Thomas Gulf Coast in Houston, TX meet for lunch at our Orlando location during our Love the Bus Event. |
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Pasco County Inspects DD5’s Robert Borsky and Christie Secone, Managers of Transportation Services, Pasco County District Schools, pictured with Bob Dolan, Business Development Manager, and Glenn Matthews, Owner, Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., in front of one of their 40 new 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 School Buses powered by the ALL NEW DETROIT DIESEL DD5 Engine. Robert and Christine were at Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., Orlando location 3/6/2018 to inspect, test drive, and select final placement of the camera’s on their new buses. Delivery of these new buses is anticipated in the next couple of weeks to Pasco County. These 40 buses will be the first DD5’s to be put into service in the state of Florida. The DD5 offers improved fuel economy, 400K B10 Life, and 35,000 mile service intervals. The DD5 will offer districts lower total cost of ownership, less re-gens, Virtual Technician, and easy access to TEAM Matthews Mobile Service. Everyone at TEAM Mathews wishes to thank Pasco County for Choosing Matthews and Demanding Detroit! |
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Osceola Chooses Matthews Arby Creach, Director Transportation, David King, and staff accept first of 40 new 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 school Buses. Matthews bus is proud to have received 100% of Osceola’s bus order this year. Glenn Mathews, Bob Dolan, and Tim Bevier were on hand to thank the county for trusting our service and partnership. Thanks for Choosing Matthews Osceola! |
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Matthews Sponsors OCPS Lunch |
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Clay County ESE C2’s Derald Sweatt, Transportation Director, Clay County District Schools, takes delivery of 14 brand new 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 ESE Buses from Tim Bevier, Account Representative, Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. Thanks for Choosing Matthews, Clay County! |
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2019 Rifled Air TEAM Rifled Air Conditioning Team in front of 2020 City of Lauderdale Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2 with Cummins Engine that we manufactured and installed a 3 compressor AC System with 2 In wall Evaporators, (1) Independent Dash AC System, 2- 3 fan skirt mount condensers and standard 6 year Fl warranty. Great Job TEAM! AC For Florida Customers Like No Other! 55k more BTU’s! |
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2019 Mid Year Directors Meetings At the 2018 Mid-Year Directors Meetings, Florida Directors, (courtesy of Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc.), had the opportunity to meet Caley Edgerly, President of Thomas Built Buses. Caley provided a Manufacturers’ Update while receiving valuable feedback concerning the many technologies available from TBB’s parent company, Daimler. Based on customer feedback, Thomas chooses which useful and affordable technologies to offer in the buses they build, like "Mobile Eye."
On January 23, 2019, TEAM Matthews hosted a special Open House to "Kick Off" the FAPT Mid-Year Directors Meetings, which took place in our hometown of Orlando. "Jouley," The Electric Bus, the NEW Detroit Diesel DD5, Cummins CNG, and Diesel powered C2’s, were on site and available for customers to touch, feel, ride, and drive. Factory representatives from Thomas Built Buses, Rifled Air Conditioning, Seon, AngelTrax, Syntec Seating, Zonar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Freightliner, Bus Parts Experts, Daimler Truck Financial, The Braun Corporation, and others were on hand to assist customers. A two person acoustic band provided entertainment, as customers and DOE personnel toured the facility while TEAM Matthews was in action.
Attendees witnessed firsthand the care that goes into every PDI and DOE inspection. Osceola County’s 40 new Thomas C2 buses were in the process of being prepared for delivery in the dedicated inspection bays. Each Platinum Support Certified Service Bay features its’ own set of hydraulic lifts, which are essential to completing a proper FL PDI/DOE inspection. Customers left impressed with the facility, our people, and what is NOW the Platinum standard for new school bus deliveries. "Being Platinum Support Certified makes hosting these types of special events pretty easy for us. Other than the band, food, and vendors, we operate this way on a daily basis," said Glenn Matthews.
At this year’s 2019 FAPT Mid-Directors Meetings, we introduced Pamela Esshaki, Assembly Quality Coordinator, and Doug Weatherly, National Sales Manager for Detroit Diesel Corporation, to provide our 2019 Manufacturers’ Update. Pam told her life story, which received rare applause from the audience, as she was the first ever female employee post-World War II, to work in the Detroit Diesel factory. Imagine for a moment her environment and experiences in a heavy duty diesel engine factory, back in 1974. Pam spoke of her battles to get a women’s bathroom installed in the factory. She spoke of the days when Roger Penske took over the company, and when he chose to sell it for the best interest of the long term future.
Today it is "HER PLANT," with many other women employed on the production line. Pam and her team personally ensure the quality of every DD5 engine built there. This editorial is much too short to highlight all the features and benefits of the ALL NEW DD5, and how it’s built. We encourage customers to take Pam up on her offer to provide them with personal plant tour. Every DD5 that hits the road will do so only after it is completely dyno tested at the factory. Detroit is the only manufacturer to do this on every single engine produced. Others may test one out of a thousand! The technology in this plant is astonishing and cannot be fully appreciated until seen in person.
When you buy a Detroit Diesel motor in your Thomas C2 buses, you will do so knowing it’s the only engine you will ever need for the 20 year life of that bus! Customers can expect the DD5 to be quiet, the best for the environment, offer the best MPG, lowest maintenance costs, and be the most technologically advanced motor in their fleet. All of TEAM Matthews’ training and on-site services Florida customers have become accustomed to, will be in play with this new motor. For facts on fuels visit:
www.thomasbuiltbuses.com/bus-advisor/facts-about-fuels/ |
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New #16 Service Van Hits The Road Scott Nagy, road tech extraordinaire’s new Freightliner Sprinter Mobile Service Van gets graphics before hitting the road to support our great customers. Scott will soon be lettering several school buses donated by Pasco County to Bay County to help them with the aftermath of Hurricane Micheal. Team Matthews is supplying the lettering and installation to Bay County. Scott is so excited to hit the road in his new van. This mobile service van is #16 of our fleet to support our great customers like no others can. |
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Training Ali Rampartab poses with Orange County Public School Technicians who he provided C2 Electrical Troubleshooting, Emissions, Multiplexing, and Diagnostic Training. OCPS has 650 Thomas C2’s in service every day that their technicians service. |
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Palm Beach County District Schools 2019 C2’s Palm Beach District Schools receives the 31st and 32nd of 60 Thomas Built Buses C-2’s ordered in 2018. Pictured are Shane Searchwell, (center) Director of Transportation, and Carl Boucard, (right) General Manager Fleet, receiving the keys from Matthews Buses Florida account Manager-Cliff Clare Jr. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," Palm Beach!
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Rifled Air’s New Lot in NC Rifled Air Conditioning Systems has opened its’ new paved, lighted, and fenced parking lot located on Fairfield Road in High Point, NC behind the RAC factory which is on Earlham Place. The lot was acquired to park buses awaiting AC installations and shipping to customers. This additional parking space will allow RAC greater flexibility in serving customers needs. |
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Thomas Built Buses - Why We Do This! Check out video below! |
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Levy County Chooses Matthews! Levy District Schools received their 2019 Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liner buses this week. The buses feature roof top AC systems from RAC! The staff was on hand to receive the latest order.
In the photo left to right are Fleet Technicians Marcus Glover, Eathan Bray, David Fisher, and Jarrod Houser, also Gary Masters (Director of Transportation), Pete Fenderson (Mattthews Account Manager), Joseph Wain (Training Supervisor) and Tina Young (Administrative Assistant).
Also on site was Matthews’ Technician Rapid Response Team Member, Scott Nagy who made some final adjustments.
Thank you to Levy District Schools for the continued relationship and allowing Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. to provide buses, parts, service, and training for your transportation needs. From everyone at TEAM Matthews, "Thanks for Choosing Matthews!"
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P.K. Yonge Developmental Research Center Amy Neal, of P.K Yonge Developmental Research Center at University of Florida accepts delivery of their brand new 2019 Thomas C2 from Tim Bevier, Account Representative, Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews," P.K Yonge! |
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THOMAS BUILT BUSES #2 CAR October 28, 2018
The Thomas Built Buses # 2 NASCAR Ford, driven by Brad Keslowsi, finished 5th at Martinsville after running up front most of the day. Attention: NASCAR/Thomas fans, the Die Cast Metal replica of this car is available to purchase. Contact your local account representative for more information. |
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Alachua County Cook Out Team Matthews joined the Alachua County District School Transportation Department, October 18th, 2018 in Gainesville, FL for an awesome Hot Dog Cookout, Compliments of Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. Bob Dolan (Business Development Manager), Tim Bevier, (Account Representative), Brad Hull (Mobile Parts Representative), Ron Vaughn (Road Technician Extraordinaire), and Glenn Matthews (Owner, Dealer Principle, President), joined David Deas, Transportation Operations Manager, Reginald Thomas, New Director of Transportation (Congrats!), and Paul White, Assistant Superintendent, to honor and serve the staff, drivers, and mechanics. Everyone at TEAM Matthews is excited to have Alachua County as a new bus buying customer. This is the first time Alachua County has purchased Thomas Built Buses since TEAM Matthews came to the great state of Florida in 2008. We all enjoyed a beautiful day supporting these great transportation professionals and we look forward to delivering and supporting their new 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 Buses soon. "Thanks for Choosing Matthews", Alachua County! |
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Osceola District Celebrates Safety Week Matthews Bus Alliance is proud to have supported Osceola District Schools Transportation TEAM’s celebration of National School Bus Safety Week.
"Our thanks again to Glenn, Lori, Bob,Tim and your entire TEAM for the outstanding support of National School Bus Safety Week, the Osceola Transportation Team, and all 26,000 students we transport each and every day."
Arby Creach
Director, Transportation Services
Osceola District Schools |
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Hurricane Michael Damages North FL Schools Pictured is Bay County School Bus Garage. North Florida Panhandle School Transportation facilities were hit hard by Hurricane Michael. Everyone at TEAM Matthews has the transportation professionals, children, families, teachers, administrators, and all those impacted by Hurricane Michael in our thoughts and prayers. "We as a TEAM are doing our best to help wherever we can," Glenn Matthews. This photo was take by James Manning, MBA Road Service Technician while at Bay County, Tuesday October 16th, while on site hoping to help out. James, Scott Nagy, Pete Fenderson, and Brad Hull have been traveling the area offering whatever assistance they can. |
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New TEAM Matthews Customers Everyone at TEAM Matthews Florida is excited that Pasco County, Alachua County, Flagler County, and Lake Wales Charter Schools have chosen TEAM Matthews. Lake Wales Charter buses were delivered already this summer in time for school start and the others will be delivered throughout the year this year. We welcome these new accounts to our family of customers statewide. Thank you for choosing Matthews! |
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More Positive Daniel Group Surveys The Daniel Group (Independent Auditors) routinely survey Thomas Built Buses Customers for several key areas of customer satisfaction with the product and services provided. As of 10/10/2018, Matthews Buses Florida, ranks 2nd among All Thomas Dealers Nationwide. The worst reported score for MBA in FL was a 9 out of 10!
"We take the PDI/DOE Inspection process very serious at TEAM Matthews, FL and we carry that through with our desire to provide the best "ON SITE" Service in the Nation. Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction! We NEVER drop a bus off at a customer unless we believe it’s right! All buses we deliver come through our Orlando facility and are inspected and prepared for our customers. We recently grew our mobile service fleet program to 16 road service technicians. From our FREE Service Trainer to our Highly trained technicians and customer support TEAM, we aim to please. It’s nice to get confirmation from the Daniel Group surveys that what we are doing is appreciated and working for our great customers." Glenn Matthews
Below is one of the comments made by a customer in a recent survey:
Customer stated that "the dealer has their business model built around their service and their competitors (Bluebird and International) can’t begin to compete with them. He added that the owner and his wife are personally involved with them, immediately follow up on anything they need, and their service technician comes right away (and often) whenever needed (sometimes he’s onsite every day). He stated that the dealer provides onsite repair and service without him having to do anything. The customer stated that the dealer really makes it easy on the customer. He added that the dealer goes the distance to ensure that they get everything they need." |
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TEAM Matthews Supports FASBO October 2-4 2018
Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., and Daimler Truck Financial are supporting Florida School Business Officials at their Annual Conference in Coral Springs, FL as a GOLD SPONSOR! "At TEAM Matthews we know it’s important as a major vendor to the districts to fully support the organizations that we do business with including FASBO and FAPT." Glenn Mathews
Pete Fenderson, MBA Account Rep, and Dave McAvoy, Daimler Truck Financial, will be presenting to attendees 10/4/18 on how to purchase tomorrow’s buses with Today’s money using "NO DEBT," Financing thru Daimler and calculating long term life cycle costs. |
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St. Lucie Accepts Its’ Shinny New 2019 Buses Tim Bevier, Matthews Account Representative, on hand to deliver new 2019 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2’s to Mark Cochenhour, Director of Fleet Services, Norman Denig (Pictured) and Terence O’Leary, Director of Operations/Business Services (Not Pictured). The 2109 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses feature Syntec Integrated 3 Point Harness SC3 Seats throughout, Rifled Air Conditioning 3 Compressor Systems, Seon Cameras, Braun Lifts, and much much more. Thank you St. Lucie County for "Choosing Matthews!" |
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Congrats to Tina Creech Sept, 21 2018
Tina Creech was named the first ever "Cheryl Phillips," Rifled Air Conditioning Systems, Employee of the Year. Cheryl Phillips, a valued team member and friend to all at RAC for the past 10 years past away suddenly this year . Cheryl and Tina worked closely together every day for the past 8 years and were good friends. Anyone who knows RAC, realizes how important Tina is to the company and how loved Cheryl was by everyone. Tina has been exceptionally strong for everyone in Cheryl’s absence. Cheryl’s son Zach works for the company and carries on the Phillips family legacy. Pictured are Dean Minor, General Manager, and Tina Creech. Everyone at RAC and Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., wishes to congratulate Tina for being named the first recipient of this special award to be given annually to the employee who exhibits the work ethic and humanity that is now the Cheryl Phillips legacy at Rifled Air Conditioning Systems. |
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2018 MBA Employee of the Year! Reena Hafeez was presented the 2018 Matthews Bus Alliance "Donnie Helm" Employee of the Year award at our Annual Employee of the Year Luncheon, September 19th, 2018 at our facility in Orlando, FL. Most of TEAM Matthews Orlando was in attendance to congratulate and celebrate Reena’s accomplishments. Everyone was treated to lunch from a local food truck service and shaved ice for desert. Fred Murphy, retired Director of Transportation and Assistant Superintendent Polk County Schools, offered a very inspirational speech to us focusing on loyalty. Fred certainly was a loyal customer of ours while at Polk County. He talked about how we as individuals and as a company earned that loyalty every day with our honesty and integrity. What we like to call "Our Legacy of Trust!" Everyone really appreciated Fred taking the time to speak to us so openly now that he is retired. It’s nice to know that these values matter to customers. Special loyalty gifts were given to employees by Glenn and Lori based upon years of service to MBA and our great customers in Florida. This being our 10th year of being in Florida, those with us since 2008 were given special engraved MBA watches. Thank you to Volusia and Lake County District Schools key personnel for being in attendance to help celebrate Reena’s accomplishments as Employee of the Year and our 10 Year Anniversary. Reena has worked in Florida with Lori and Glenn Matthews for the past 10 years in warranty. She does an amazing job supporting customers by filing claims for them with the various manufacturers. She is an unsung hero who shows up to work every day on time with a smile on her face and does a fantastic job for everyone. This truly was a special moment for all. Most importantly, Reena is the proud parent of 2 Salutatorians and the 2018 Valedictorian at West Orange High School here in Orange County, FL. Obviously Reena is a "class act" all around. Congrats Reena from everyone at TEAM Matthews for being named the 2018 Matthews Bus Alliance Employee of the Year! |
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Inlet Grove Community HS Chooses Matthews Dr Emma Banks and staff take delivery of the first new bus Inlet Grove Community High School in Rivera Beach, FL has ever had from MBA Account Manager Cliff Clare Jr. Thank you for choosing Matthews, Inlet Grove! |
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Palm Beach Maritime Academy 2019 C2’s 8-Thomas C-2’s being delivered to Director of Transportation, Daniel Barone of Palm Beach Maritime Academy by Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., Account Manager, Cliff Clare Jr. These are the first new buses ever delivered to the school. Thanks for "Choosing Matthews" PBMA! |
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Matthews Buses Florida Turns 10! 10 years ago, The Matthews, with their two young children moved from Albany, NY to Orlando, FL to manage the all new Thomas Built Buses Dealership for Central and North Florida. They quickly had to learn the market and develop a business plan that best suited the needs of Florida School District Customers. With over 9000 uncompleted recalls there was a dealer problem that needed to be solved. Lori Matthews created a strategy using mobile service vehicles with qualified technicians armed with a plan to complete all those recalls and provide excellent customer support. With a passion for providing Great Customer Service they embarked upon a very challenging task of doing things right for FL customers, with not much revenue at the time to support it. They developed a new winning culture at the Dealership. In doing so they noticed that Florida districts lacked REAL honest technical training thus, they decided to move Ali Rampartab, who was hired as the Service Manager, to a different seat on the bus, as the full time dedicated Trainer and Technical Support Adviser. They also hired two amazing women to run their service department in Donna Matura, who manages the road techs, and Norma Delung, who runs the shop. Moves that have worked well for them and their great customers. They made the financial commitment to grow the road service program as needed. They relocated out of an old antiquated leased building and purchased a new state of the art facility now recognized as one of the best school bus sales, service, parts facilities in the nation. At first many schools were skeptical of the mobile service business model but soon realized the benefits and cost savings of not having to shuttle buses back and forth to the dealership for repairs. Not to mention having an extra qualified tech at their facility. April of 2017, the business known as Matthews Buses Florida, Rifled Air Conditioning Systems, and Matthews Buses Commercial under the corporate umbrella of Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., became solely owned by Glenn Matthews. This marked the return of Lori Matthews to the dealership since her absence from 2013. With the Matthews back working together at the dealership, the energy and fun is back in the building. When you ’Choose Matthews,’ You get a whole entire team of customer driven bus dedicated professionals who love what they do!" Glenn Matthews
The commitment to the mobile service program is evident in the 15 vehicles their techs operate and their appearance, training, and qualifications. TEAM Matthews is constantly adapting and gearing up to meet the needs of its customers. If you haven’t experienced their "local everywhere" service, you really don’t know Matthews! Now with the NEW Detroit Diesel DD5 engine available as an option on the Thomas C2, Matthews is gearing up to provide exceptional warranty, parts, service, and training support ON SITE, "The Matthews Way!" The fuel and service mileage advantages of this diesel motor alone warrants a closer look. Daimler fully expects this motor to follow the success of its heavy duty DD15 predecessor by dominating the medium duty bus market. As part of Matthews’ Platinum Support Certification Commitment, they continue to reinvest in the dealership, employees, community, and customers. Over the past year and a half, since breaking out on their own, The Mathews’ have reinvested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the dealership and Rifled Air Conditioning to improve the overall customer experience. When visiting the dealership and RAC there is no questioning the commitment made to Florida school bus customers.
As TEAM Matthews embarks upon the next decade, as a FAMILY, they do so with confidence in their unique ability to adapt based upon its’ commitment to Florida Bus Customers and amazing employees. Lori and Glenn wish to thank all their GREAT Florida Customers for "Choosing Matthews!" |
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Manatee Video Features 2019 C2’s! See link below for ABC News Story featuring Jason Harris, Transportation Director, Manatee County District Schools, and their "First Class" 2019 Thomas C2 Buses. |
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CCPS Transportation - Experiences Mark Mero Mark Mero delivered a powerful message to the Collier County School Transportation Department, Drivers, and Mechanics compliments of Matthews Buses Florida on 8/8/2018 which happened to be our 10th Anniversary. There were tears, laughter, and understanding by all. The Superintendant, Camela Patton, followed CCPS Trans Director, David Olgive, with a special message to drivers, after David’s daughter delivered the most beautiful rendition of the National Anthem - EVER, on how CCPS teachers, employees, and drivers are going out of their way to make each students day a positive one. Mark Mero followed the Superintendant with a powerful emotional message that reinforced this CCPS policy. Mark’s message of hope is so inspirational after you learn how difficult Marks’ life has been at time’s. He ended his story with "If you or one of the students you are transporting is suffering, hang in there things do get better. You never know what a student is dealing with so please go out of your way to make them feel special. You are the first and last to see them each and every day they ride your bus." Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., is so proud to support Mark Mero and Champions of Choices. Please visit the Think Poz web site below and consider hosting Mark or donating to this very imporatant cause. All in all a great day at Collier County Schools! Glenn Matthews |
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DeSoto Hot Dog Lunch Today 8/8/2018 Desoto District Schools performed the yearly Back to School In Service symposium.
Matthews Buses Florida was invited to not only a Great Hot Dog Lunch with all the fixings but also "face to Face " question & Answer period with the MBF Staff of Jeff Slack and Brad Hull of the parts dept, Roberto Gonzales of the Service Dept and Cliff Clare Jr the Account manager.
Pictured are LtoR
Jeff Slack, Randy Faul, Desoto Fleet Mgr, Cliff Clare Jr., Robert Smith, Desoto Transportation Director, Brad Hull and Roberto Gonzales. |
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Check out our New Commercial Web Site Matthews Buses Commerical a division of Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., has a new web site. Check it out below. |
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Polk County Hot Dog Lunch and Driver Event Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., sponsored Mark Mero’s "Think Poz" Motivation Tour August 2nd, 2018 for Polk County School Bus Drivers’ Orientation. We also participated in the annual Hot Dog Lunch for the Transportation Drpartment and Staff/Technicians at the Bartow Garage Location - 8/6/18. See Video below from Mark Mero’s Presentation to Polk Count School Bus Drivers at Victory Lakeland. |
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Mark Mero Presents to Polk County Drivers 8/2/18 Mark Mero Presented an uplifiting presentation to the Polk County School Bus Drivers compliments of Matthews Buses Florida. See Video Link Below! |
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Another MBA Mobile Service Van Hits The Road A new addition to our fleet of 15 Mobile Service Trucks located state wide. Pictured - Local graphics folks putting the finishing touches before this 2019 Freightliner Sprinter is commissoned into service for our great customers. |
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Osceola District Chooses Matthews Bob Dolan, MBA Business Development Manager, presents keys to Osceola District Schools, NEW 2019 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 School Buses to Shawn Tucker, David King, Greg Roberson and staff. Osceola’s new C2’s are equipped with Rifled Air Conditioning Systems and Standard Braun Wheelchair Lifts. Everyone at TEAM Matthews appreciates Osceola ""Choosing Matthews!" |
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C2 Pine Box Derby Champ! This is where it all started. At the beginning Parker needed to figure out what type of car to make. Parker was going to run in the Pine wood derby with his Trail Life troop 9613 located in Malabar Florida. The theme was space. Parker was not into space ships or other space craft’s so this was a hard thing for parker to do. However the boys in the troop are encouraged to be creative with their cars. This pretty much allows the boys to make whatever they want. Parker told me he wanted to make a C-2 bus. I was surprised by this. I tried throwing ideas out there but parker was locked in to the bus Idea. Parker was fixed on the C-2 Thomas bus. Parker has always had a liking for the Safety liner school bus and likes to reed information on Thomas buses. One afternoon when I got home from work Parker was standing in the driveway holding a die cast model of a C-2 bus. Parker had saved up his money from doing odd Jobs around the property that we live on. With this money he bought the die cast model of the bus. Parker explained this was the bus he wanted to make for the pine wood derby. For several weeks now parker would work on this block of wood to shape it and paint it to create the C-2 bus for the pine wood derby. March 17th 2018 was the big day. Parker was excited to run the bus. Parker was competing with the Hawks. This is the level he is in with Trail Life USA. There were several cars in the lineup area that the Boys with trail life had created at home. All the boys in trail life did a fantastic job with their cars. We have a group of very creative kids in our troop and we are very proud of them. Parkers bus ran several times down the track. He started out holding second place. Then was holding first place with the last couple runs down the track. Parker received an award for 2nd place Hawks in troop 9613. Parker and Dad are very proud of parkers creation and accomplishment.
I have attached a couple pictures of parker and his C-2 bus.
Glen R. (Bob) Enstice
Quality Control Foreman
Transportation Services
Brevard Public Schools |
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Matthews Bus Alliance Daniel Group Score Matthews Bus Alliance has maintained a Net Promoter score for the past 12 months of 93.3% Thank you to our great customers for giving us such high marks and to our PDI/Detail TEAM in Orlando. Great Job TEAM! Customers can trust that we will continue to improve with a goal of 100%. |
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Mark Mero"Think Poz" To Appear Mark Mero is set to appear at Collier County Transportation "In Service" Date August 9, 2018 courtesy of Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. Glenn and Lori Matthews, freinds with Mark and his wife Darlene are proud to sponsor him at events throughout the state. Mark shares an upstate NY heritage with Glenn and Lori. His career and life story are an inspiration to anyone who experiences his presentations. For more information on Mark and his presentations click on the link below. |
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Congrats to Fred Murphy! Congratulations to Fred Murphy for receiving the much deserved Pioneer of The Year Award at the recent FAPT / SEPTC Annual conference. Fred’s speach was very inspirational to the Transportation Professionals in attendace . Everyone at TEAM Matthews is proud that Polk County chooses Matthews! A tradition dating back to Fred’s leadership during his tenure as Assistant Superintendant. Fred mentored many of the Directors in attendance. Arby Creach being one of them and is now the Director at Broward County District Schools and FAPT President. Arby presented this special award to Fred along with Jim Beekman, another Fred Murphy mentoree, and now Director for Hillsborough County District Schools. |
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FAPT /SESPTC Off To A Great Start Matthews Bus Alliance was proud to sponsor the FAPT Charity Golf Tournament along with Sun State International this morning. Pictured are Tim Bevier, Daryl Sweat, and Reggie Thomas. Fun was had by all and money was raised for FAPT charities. Great work Bob Dolan, MBA, who chaired the tournament for FAPT. |
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Proud to be a Major Sponsor Matthews Bus Alliance is proud to be a Major Supporter and Sponsor of this year’s FAPT and Southeastern States Conference starting with the Golf Tournament Sunday Morning. Then the Major event hosted with Thomas Built Buses Sunday Night. The Pirates Bash Monday Night and off site Hospitality/Music/Food and Beverages Monday and Tuesday nights with luxury shuttle. No surprise that at Team Matthews, we believe in fully supporting our great customers by giving back to FAPT and Southeastern States as one of the Big Three Major Suppliers. We also have a special keep sake memorable gift ( Logo Turvis Tumblers) for all attendees. RAC and Bus Parts Experts welcome all Southeastern States attendees as a participating sponsor with us in all events. We look forward to seeing everyone at Saddlebrook Resort in PASCO County for some fun and good professional interaction. |
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Christine Stogner
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Adriana Pratts
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Peggy Zunk
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William Ferraro
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TEAM Matthews Community Service 5/23/2018
Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. employees made a comittment during our Employee Appreciation Day to provide even more community serivce. This past Wedensday, Christine Stogner, Adriana Pratts, Glenn Jordan, William Forero, and Peggy Zunk volunteered at the Hubbard House in Orlando, FL by providing lunch to the guests and needed services. The Hubbard House provides a place to stay for families tending to sick or injured family members needing extended stay/ care at Orlando Health. The Hubbard House can provide a sense of calm during troubled times of injury or loss. Lori and I are so proud of our entire TEAM of giving employees. When you enter our building in Orlando you can feel the generosity of our amazing TEAM of people. Thank you TEAM! For more information on the Hubbard House, please visit the link below: |
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DD5 is Coming! Review information below (link) about the all NEW very exciting DD5 Engine coming this summer.
What’s not to like?
Improved MPG
Longer Service Life 35000 miles
Less Regens
Virtual Connect Technology
Lowest total cost of ownership!
Service and Training from TEAM Matthews at your location! |
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Let’s Talk Compressors and BTU’s Below are the specifications for the TM-21 and TM-16 compressors.
FACT: All AC systems offered by Matthews Bus Alliance on FLDOE ITB: 2017-02 feature (2) TM-21 compressors with a capactiy of 65,000 BTU’s each. Thus total capacity of BTU’s = 130,000. We also feature a 3rd compressor = TM16 = an additional 55,000 BTU’s over our competition for total BTU capacity of 185,000 BTU’s.
NO WONDER RAC SYTEMS WORK BEST!
TM-16 COMPRESSOR
TECHNICAL DATA SHEET
Specifications
Permissible Speed 700-6000 RPM
Clutch Coil 12VDC or 24VDC
Rotation Clockwise & Counter Clockwise
Pulleys available are Type A, or Poly-V
Displacement 162.9 cm3/rev (10 cu. in.)
Refrigerant R-134a
Capacity 55,000 Btu/hr - IMACA
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TM-21 COMPRESSOR
TECHNICAL DATA SHEET
Specifications
Rotation Clockwise (only) viewed from clutch
Permissable Speed 700 - 6000 RPM
Clutch Coil 12VDC or 24VDC
Displacement 215 cc (13.1 cu. in.)
Refrigerant R-134a
Capacity 65,000 Btu/hr - IMACA
Adding Evaporators without the compressor capacity to drive them simply circulates more air!
All Rifled AC Systems offered on FLDOE ITB: 2017-02 are warrantied for 6 or 7 Years - STANDARD! |
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Brevard County 2019 Saf-T-Liner C2’s 5/9/2018
Arby Creech, Transportation Director (FAPT President), and Randy Wheeler, Fleet Director, Brevard County Schools visited Matthews Bus Allianace, Inc., to inspect the first of their 42 new Thomas 2019 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 Buses. The lift buses were equipped with the STARS seating system. All buses feature Rifled Air Conditioning Systems and some included the TM43 Compressor in addition to the independant Dash A/C System from Freightliner. Matthews Bus Alliance is the only dealer who offers chassis factory independant Dash AC with the TM-43 compressor and a 6 year warranty! Everyone at TEAM Matthews wishes to thank Brevard County for "Choosing Matthews!" |
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Boys and Girls Club Emerald Coast The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast recently received two more 77 Passenger Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liners and on Good Friday received A Thomas Minotour Type A Multi Function School Activity Bus (MFSAB).
Thank you to BGEC for continued confidence in our product lines and unmatched service departments.
Shown in Matthews Buses Florida hats receiving the MFSAB are Tom Locklier (blue shirt) and Bryce Hines (Black Shirt). Tom is a great "Team" leader with a get it done attitude.
Thanks for "Choosing Matthews," Boys and Girls Club Emerald Coast!
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Volusia County Inspects Buses Volusia County visited TEAM Matthews Wednesday 5/9/18 to inspect their new 2019 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 Buses soon to be delivered ahead of schedule. Pictured from Volusia County Transporation are:
John Wilson
Chris Schmitt
Angel Garcia
Jim Wade
At TEAM Matthews, We strongly encourage FL School Bus Customers to visit its’ bus suppliers to inspect new buses in advance of delivery and to see what’s the the commitment level from the dealer to you as a bus customer.
Everyone at Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., is grateful to Volusia County for "Choosing Matthews!"
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Congrats MBA for Platinum Re-Certification! A on site Thomas Built Buses Platinum Support Re-Certification audit was conducted at Matthews Buses Florida in accordance with program requirements on April 25, 2018. Initial certification occurred March 29, 2017.
Based on this assessment, Matthews Buses Florida has successfully maintained compliance with the 124 Platinum Support performance requirements and is recommended for re-certification.
The PS Auditor
"Chris and Team - Congratulations on your successful re-certification!!! This is no small achievement and your efforts and accomplishments were highlighted on the auditor’s report.
There were many positives listed by the auditor for which you can all be proud! Once again congratulations!!!"
Thomas Built Buses
Start, Paul
Market Growth Development Manager
1408 Courtesy Road, High Point, NC 27260
ThomasBuiltBuses.com
One Such Highlight Noted in The Report
Staff attitude:
Employees I encountered throughout the dealership demonstrated positive, friendly
and professional demeanors. There appears to be a strong "family" orientation to
the overall dealership management style as it pertains to employees, which in turn
positively contributes to the foundation for building strong customer relationships.
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Congratulations Dr. Moore - Leon County Schools Matthews Buses Florida was proud to participate in an appreciation luncheon for Dr. Michael Moore of Leon District Schools. Dr. Moore has served 11 years as Transportation Director and under his leadership the Department transitioned to Natural Gas Fueled School Buses. Dr. Moore will move on to another challenge within the District until retirement in two years.
Matthews Buses Florida is proud to have worked with Dr. Moore on the Natural Gas Project and provide "best in class" support and vehicles. We will miss our business partner and friend.
Dr. Moore leaves Transportation in the hands of Manny Joanos who has been a leader in several capacities serving the public as a Commissioner and within Leon District as well as private business. Mr. Joanos is a visionary who brought the Alternate Fuel Programs to the "Capital City" saving the taxpayers money while cleaning up the environment.
The district entered into a public private partnership with NOPETRO for the implementation of fueling stations in Leon County. The partnership afforded the district the ability to implement the infrastructure necessary to support the schools CNG fleet as well as their county white fleet. The fueling stations are open to the public which further reduces the districts overall fueling budget. The partnership is a model for other districts statewide looking to choose CNG. Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., will have its’ second CNG Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 Demo available this summer for FL districts to see. It features a Cummins Powered CNG Engine, Allison Transmission along with the RAC 3 compressor best in class AC system. |
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Ali Rampartab Southeast Trainer of the Year! 4/21/2018
Ali Rampartab was once again named, Thomas Built Buses Southeast Region, Trainer of the Year, at the Thomas Built Buses International Sales Meeting held at the Gaylord Palms Resort located in Kissimee, Fl. Since this years meeting was local, Ali’s family was on hand to see him receive this honor. Ali is the most decorated trainer of all Thomas Built Buses Dealers. Next time you see Ali, please congratulate him and ask him to show you his ring. Everyone at Team Matthews Fl is so happy to have Ali on our TEAM. His training and guidance benefits so many of our customers technicians and our technicians as well. His training ecompasses everything on Thomas Built Buses including Rifled Air Conditioing. MBA makes Ali availbale for free to our great customers. Great Job Ali, we are all so proud of you! Congratulations to Tracey Tolby for being named the overall Trainer of the Year. |
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Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. 2017 Awards Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., was once again awarded the prestigeous "Platinum Award" during the President’s Club Dinner, April 21, 2018, at the Thomas Built Buses International Sales Meeting held at the beautiful Gaylord Palms Resort, Kissimmee, FL. Team Matthews was proud to be the host dealership and were responsible for making sure all the show buses were detailed. Out of a possible 150 points, MBA scored 153 points due to bonus points earned by the dealership. 2017 represented the largest delivery of buses by far in Matthews Buses Florida 9 year history. Congratulations to New England Transit for being named Thomas Built Buses Delaer of the Year! An honor, we at Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., hope to one day win. Thank you to all of our customers for "Choosing Matthews" which earned us this status with Thomas Built Buses. A highlight of the weekend was guest speaker Bill Lambier who was a standout NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons. His presentation kicked of the introduction of Detroit Diesel DD5 engines available to order in Thomas Built C2’s this summer. The DD5 will provide impressive performance, durability, 35,000 - 45,000 mile service intervals, lower regens, and most importantly significant better MPG to Fl customers! Bill Lambier is now a coach in the WNBA which lead us into a discussion on the importance of hiring women in the male dominated bus delaership world. Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., is so very proud to have several women in highly important positions in our company including operations, administration, sales, service, and warranty managment. We all came away from this weekend with more knowledge and motivation to continue to strive for constant improvment for our great customers. We try to see things from our customers eyes! Customer Focused, Customer Driven! |
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Manatee County District Schools Chooses Matthews Bod Dolan presents one of 10 new 2019 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses to Manatee District Schools, Jason Harris (Transportation Director),Josh Wanbaugh (Fleet Maintenance Director), Velma Mooney (Driver Trainer). These are the first C2’s delivered to Manatee County since 2012. Thank you for choosing Matthews Manatee! |
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Matthews Advantage Pre-Delivery Process Every Thomas Built Bus delivered to our great customers here in the state of Florida goes through a multi-stage inspection process prior to delivery. First, the buses are checked at the factory before leaving. Then they are inspected at Rifled Air Conditioning. Once checked in at our Orlando location they go through a rigorous Thomas Built Buses PDI and FL DOE Inspection. After that a thorough cleaning and Final (wax) Detail is performed by our PDI staff. Johan Montoya is our new Detailer pictured below with the TEAM Matthews American Flag Hat and his detail tools in cart. Once complete, all buses are final QC’d by Chris Alfonso, Quality Control Manager, before being dispatched on a well planned delivery process to the customer. We encourage our customers to come see their new buses at our facility before delivery so we can make any desired adjustments. When at our facility, customers can confirm camera locations with Marty Riley, our on site Camera installer. All buses are put up on our lifts for a thourough inspection of the chassis, AC install, and underneath components - NO EXCEPTIONS! As part of our very detailed inspection process, all wheel lug nuts are tourqued using a tourge wrench to ensure the safety of the children and drivers. They are also tourqued properly at the Freightliner Chassis Factory prior to delivery to us. As part of our detailed process, our PDI techs inspect the entire bus including the roofs. Also pictured below is Brandan Groves "up on a roof" with safety harness attached. After delivery of the buses, a follow up inspection of our DOE/PDI to customers is analzyed by our QC Manager to identify any areas for possible improvements. At TEAM Matthews we strive for perfection. All of these processes are part of our Platinum Certified Support Efforts. Our goal is to deliver buses that the customer can immediately put into service. This is part of our "Legacy of Trust" with our great customers. We also realize there are no perfect buses or dealers but we strive for that every day for our great customers. Customers appreicate our desire and ability to respond quickly to issues as just one huge benefit when "Choosing Matthews." We are confident that we are the best in the business in responding to issues for our great customers. |
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Monroe County Bus Delivery Frank Avendano, Monroe County School District Fleet Manager recently received the keys to their new 2019 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 Buses equipped with the Thomas S.T.A.R.S seating system from Cliff Clare, Jr. The STARS seating system allows Monroe County to remove all seats quickly and easily. Both Frank and Randy Fabal, Director of Transportation, agree that STARS would have been a great help in the evacuation of the keys during huricane Irma. TEAM Matthews hopes everyone in Monroe County is doing well and recovering from Irma’s impact. This delivery marks the 5th straight year Monroe County School District has chosen Matthews to be their school bus supplier. TEAM Matthews Serious Mobile Service Program is very beneficial in helping Monroe County with warranty repairs. Thank you Monroe County for choosing Matthews! |
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Aaron Lewis
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Brian Holloway
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Orlando Employee Appreciation Day March 15th, 2018 Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., staff was treated to an amazing Employee Appreciation Day at our Orlando Florida Location. Brian Holloway former New England Patriot and Oakland Raider kicked things off with an inspiring motivational speech for the entire TEAM. Brian is a highly sought after motivational speaker and is endorsed by 3 US Presidents. Brian set the tone for a truly inspirational patriotic day. After Brian’s message, there was a food truck lunch experience by Tamale Company. Then things really "heated up" with Free Dap "Signal Flow The Hip Hop Show," in our Thomas Built Buses Platinum Certified Shop Bays. If you have been to Disney Springs you may have seen their act. They are Freestyle Rappers who improvise and personalize the experience on the fly for everyone. This was a lot of fun! We then got into our TEAM building exercises to benefit "Soldiers Angels" where we were broken up into groups and participated in games and trivia that ultimately lead up to us making care packages for our troops stationed overseas. We then all headed over to the Orange County Fairgrounds (across the street) for a fun filled afternoon at the Fair. We closed the night with a special concert from County Music Star and frontman for the 90’s rock group Staind, Aaron Lewis. This amazing day was put together by Lori Matthews, Deanne Martin, Donna Matura, and Christine Stogner. At TEAM Matthews, we know our employees are the people who take care of our great customers each and every day. We appreciate their dedication and hard work serving our great bus customers. At Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., no one individual is solely responsible for our success, it’s our entire TEAM of "Bus People Serving Great Bus People!" We are so proud of everyone on our TEAM! Glenn and Lori Matthews |
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Nasssau County District Schools 2018 C2’s Rick Lucas takes delivery of Nassau County’s new 2018 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses from Tim Bevier, Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., Professional Account Manager. Rick Lucas and staff commented on the beautiful buses and the amazing show room conditiion they were delivered in. Thank you for choosing Matthews Nassau County. The staff from Nassau County recently visited the Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. facility at 4802 West Colonial Drive to pre-inspect their buses prior to delivery and to meet the TEAM in Orlando. We encourage every customer to visit our faciltiy and meet our amazing 100% dedicated bus people. "Bus people serving great bus people!" In doing so they witness the 100% committment and dedication to FL school bus customers. |
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President of Thomas gets great feedback! Caley Edgerly, President of Thomas Built Buses, presented to the FL Directors at the Mid Year Directors Meeting in Tallahasee, FL. He compared the changes in technology for buses as it realted to his new Mercedes sedan and his older restored pick up truck. Stating his childern relate more to the technology in his new car vs the older truck and his parents relate more to the trucks lack of technology. Thomas with the support of Daimler AG has all the latest modern technology and gadgets avaialble to it from its’ partnership with Daimler but it comes down to what’s needed and what’s affordable to FL school districts. Caley gathered a lot of great feedback from FL directors at the Diinner Hosted by Matthews Bus Alliance and Thomas Built Buses. We all look forward to what this valuable feedback will mean in terms of available options and technology for future Thomas Built Buses. Thanks Caley for caring about what’s important to FL Directors. Caley also highlighted the many benefits of the DD5 engine coming soon to FL districts. |
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SDHC Pilot Model Inspection Loyd Cribbs and Chris Halligan joined Pete Fenderson, Glenn and Lori Matthews in High Point, NC to conduct a pilot model inspection for their 100 buses on order with Team Matthews. They also got to tour the Freightliner, Thomas, Rifled Air Conditioning, and Syntec Seating plants. They got to witness the care and quality that goes into ensuring the Safety of each and every Thomas Built C2 Bus. At Syntec they got to see the robust structure in the standard S3C convertible seats. At Thomas they got to see all the automation that goes into producing the repeatable quality of the C2 that makes it so popular with Florida School Districts. At RAC they got to see the manufacturing and installation of the best working school bus AC. They also go to see the new S.T.A.R.S seating system on one of the buses being air conditioned. At Freightliner they witnessed the care that goes into making the C2 chassis and how its integrated into the C2 Body for Safety. Thanks for choosing Matthews, Hillsborough County Schools! Everyone on our team really appreicates it and we look forward to delivering your new buses soon.
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SDHC at RAC Factory Hillsborough County Schools visited the Rifled Air Conditioning factory in High Point, NC after visiting Thomas Built Buses and conducting a pilot model inspection there. They witnesed the care that goes into each and every AC system that is manufactured and installed on site by the TEAM of Awesome Employees at RAC. Each of the 100 SDHC buses will be equipped with a 3 compressor system that includes an independant AC System for the driver which FL school bus drivers love. RAC is so confident in this system it is warrantied for 6 years in FL! Pictured from left to right are Pete Fenderson (Matthews FL Sales Professional, Loyd Cribbs (Fleet Maintenance SDHC), Chris Halligan (Parts SDHC), and Dean Minor (General Manager RAC). |
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FAPT Mid Year Directors Meeting TEAM Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., (Rifled Air Conditioning) and Thomas Built Buses are the proud Dinner Sponsors of the Florida Association of Pupil Transportation Mid Year Directors Meetings Held February 15th -16th, 2018 In Tallahassee, Florida.
Caley Edgerly, President of Thomas Built Buses, and Glenn Matthews, President/CEO of Matthews Bus Alliance will provide a unique look into "Future Innovations" for Thomas Built School Buses in the State of Florida for years to come.
Pictured are Caley Edgerly and Glenn Matthews from this past years Thomas Built Buses Platinum Support Presentation to Matthews Matthews Buses Florida. |
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Palm Beach Takes Delivery 2018’s Fleet Analyst Angela Barbato of Palm Beach District Schools receives keys to one of their 47 new 2018, 77pass Thomas Saf-T-Liner C-2’s euipped with the RAC Max AC System , Seon Cameras, and Integrated Child Safety Seats from Account Manager Cliff Clare, Jr. Angela has been instrumental in the addition of Thomas C-2 to the Palm Beach Fleet. The Buses and TEAM Matthews are doing as promised in providing bus solutions that work well for the district. Thanks for Choosing Matthews Palm Beach County!
"On behalf of the Palm Beach County Schools Transportation Department we would like to applaud your efforts and commend your hard work on the speed and efficiency of delivery of our newly purchased buses. It is such a thrill to see them coming into the yard upon delivery and a huge relief to our aging fleet. I know the efforts you all put into this and I thank you."
Pete DiDonato
Director
Transportation Services
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Miami Country Day Takes Delivery Miami Country Day School-Fleet Director, Allen Tongue, (center) and Bill Shaw receive Second Thomas C-2 from Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., Acct. Mgr Cliff Clare Jr. Thanks for Choosing Matthews, Miami Country Day! |
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More Palm Beach County Deliveries! Joel Rodriguez and Dian Enriquez of Palm Beach District Schools accept delivery from Cliff Clare, Jr TEAM Matthews Account Manager, of one of their new 47, 2018 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C-2’s. This delivery is part of the Second purchase this year to total 80 C-2’s. Thanks for Choosing Matthews, Palm Beach County!
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Palm Beach Holiday Cook Out A Success! On December 22, 2017 Palm Beach District Schools held their Fleet Staff Holiday Party. Over one hundred staff members were present and the food was incredible from a roasted pig to 100lbs of chicken and other homemade delicacies. The cooking started at 3am with the pig going on the spit and then the chicken on a homemade grill. Pictured is Fleet Operations Manager Lydia Sanchez with MBA Acct. Manager, Cliff Clare Jr., who arrived at 6am to help cook the chicken with Fleet General Manager, Carl Boucard, Shane Searchwell, Asst. Director, and Transportation Director, Pete DiDonato. |
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The Pig!
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FAPT Driver of the Year 12/14/2017
Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., proudly sponsored the FAPT Driver of the Year Award. The award was given to Linda Sheldrake of Flagler County by Arby Creach, FAPT President, and Tony Conte, Transportation Director Flagler County. Pete Fenderson was on hand from Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., to help present the Award. The Award was given at the 2017 Missing Children’s Day Ceremonies in Tallahassee Florida by The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse Advisory Board. Linda received a take home plaque from Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., in recognition of her accomplishments and will be honored on a permanent plague located in the offices of MBA as the first recipient of this annual award sponsored by MBA. Congratulations Linda! See PDF link below for Linda’s accomplishments as a school bus driver. |
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Arby, Linda, and Tony
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Arby, Linda, and Pete
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What Fuel To Choose? Diesel? Highest MPG! Lowest Emmisions!
CNG? Comparable MPG with higher infrastructure costs!
Propane? Lower MPG!
Gas? Low MPG! How long will engine last?
Fact: When you get 50% MPG LESS, Your Drivers are fueling buses twice as much! Click on link below to learn more! |
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Clay County Driver Appreciation Day December 7, 2017
Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., was on hand to support the Clay County District Schools Driver appreciation day.
Pictured above are:
Addison David Clay superintendent
Dr. Micheal Kemp assistant superintendent
Tommy Fitzpatrick director of transportation
Bruce Hardin coordinator shop operations
Tod Sweatland chief building inspector
Derald Sweatt supervisor of transportation
Tim Bevier Matthews bus account Manager |
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Chris Alfonso Joins TEAM Matthews Florida Chris Alfonso is pictured here with an Orange County District Schools Awesome Bus Driver. Chris is the new Quality Assurance Manager, and Platinum Support Continuous Improvement Coordinator at Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. Chris comes to TEAM Matthews as a retired NYPD Officer and Service Manager of a local RV Dealership. As a result of Chris’ hiring we are raising the standards for the buses we deliver to our great customers. At Team Matthews we pride ourselves on the quality of the final detail and the accuracy of our Pre-Delivery and DOE inspections. Most customers say the buses we deliver are ready to be put in service immediately upon delivery. As part of our standard Platinum processes, Chris inspects each and every bus prior to delivery and follows up with customers post delivery. As our Platinum Support CIC, Chris will ensure the dealership is constantly striving for improvement. Welcome Aboard Chris Alfonso! |
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OCPS visits RAC Maurice Frye (Fleet Director), Thomas Conley, and Brandon Hunsinger, (Technicians) for Orange County District Schools visit Rifled Air Conditioning Systems for a Pilot Model Inspection and Plant Tour. They witnessed first hand the care that goes into each and every manufactured component that is installed by the TEAM at RAC. Pictured from Team Matthews are Glenn Matthews, (owner), Ron Vaughn and William Ferraro, Mobile Technicians. Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., is the only bus dealer in the nation who manufactures and installs its’ own Air Conditioning Systems for its’ great customers. |
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OCPS Bus/Training/ Inspection/Plant Tour Orange County District School officials visited Freightliner Custom Chassis plant, Rifled Air Conditioning, Syntec Seating, and the totally unique Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2 plant November 16-17, 2017 to see first hand how their Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2 School Buses are made. The trip included inspection of their buses and some hands on training at RAC. Jamie Allison Southeast Regional Rep and Phyllis Summy of Thomas Built Buses directed the tour. On hand from Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., were Glenn Matthews (President, CEO), Ron Vauhgn, and William Forero Road Service Technicians. For OCPS Maurice Frye (Fleet Director), Thomas Conley, and Brandon Hunsinger, (Technicians). Also on hand were technicians from Rifled Air Conditioning. We all learned a lot over the two days and witnessed the engineering that goes into every Thomas C2 from the wheels up. We learned that in a test situation the traditional construction methods used by Thomas on their legacy design conventional presently used by the competition start to loosen up in the shaker test after 20,000 reps. The Transit in 30,000 reps and the C2 not until after 40,000 reps. Thus the C2 truly is twice as strong under duress as the other conventional products on the market. Important to know when keeping your buses in service 10 years or longer. Durability and Reliability Matter! This difference is because of they structural adhesives used to build the C2 and the large bonded windshield design. There really is no comparing conventional products to the C2. The state of the art Robotic Thomas C2 plant is now 13 years old and remains the most state of the art school bus plant in the world. We were also greeted by the all new Thomas "Jouley" Electric bus upon its return from NAPT. This was a tremendous learning experience for all. |
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Thomas Thinking Forward The theme of the Thomas NAPT booth this year was Thinking Forward which was evident by the vehicles and technology in the booth. Thomas benefits from all the engineering know how of Daimler. |
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New Detroit Diesel DD5 Engine at NAPT The all new Detroit DD5 engine provides short-haul pickup and delivery operators best-in-class maintenance intervals of up to 45,000 miles, to keep you working longer. The engine will also reduce the # regens and most importantly increase fuel economy. This engine will be available to Florida Customers Spring 2018 on FL DOE ITB: 2017-02! Ask your FL professional sales representative about it. Click on the link below for the Detroit Diesel Web Site pertaining to the DD5. |
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Thomas Built Buses Unveils Jouley at NAPT! Thomas Built Buses stole the show at NAPT with its’ all new Electric Powered Saf-T-Liner C2. It’s not what’s under the hood with this new bus! |
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Somerset Academy Takes Delivery! Somerset Academy takes delivery of a 2018 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2. Pictured are Tim Bevier, Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., Professional Sales Representative, and Gary Montagna Fleet Manager, Somerset Academy. Thanks for Choosing Matthews Somerset Academy! |
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Stars Demo Cliff Clare, Jr., Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., Professional Sales Representative Demo’s the latest S.T.A.R.S System to Volusia County’s Chris Boyer, Director of Transportation, and Mike Frazee, Fleet Supervisor. S.T.A.R.S - Safe-T-Anchor Removable Seat System. Saf-T-Anchor Removable Seat System |
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John Thomas, JR. It is with great sadness we report that John Thomas, Jr age 90 passed away October 26, 2017. John Thomas, JR, Bob Matthews, Justine Matthews and family were very close friends and business associates. John was President of Thomas Built Buses and set our family up as a dealer over 50 years ago. Thomas Built Buses is the great company it is today as a result of his entrepreneurial spirit and drive to be the best school bus manufacturer in the world. He will be sorely missed by everyone. The link to the obituary is listed below. |
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"Proud To Be An American!" Congratulations to our very own Christine Stogner, Matthews Buses Commercial, Sales Coordinator Extraordinaire, for becoming a United States of America Citizen. We are so proud to have you as a fellow American. Those who know and work with Christine know how truly blessed we all are to have her on our amazing TEAM! Unbelievable, Super, Fantastic, Day! This was not without a lot of patience and effort on the part of Christine as she went through the legal process. We "SALUTE YOU!" WELL DONE Christine! |
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OCPS 2018 Saf-T-Liner C2’s Orange County District Schools Transportation Staff Take Delivery of their new 2018 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2’s. Paul McGhee and Glenn Matthews passed out the keys and offered instructions on using the drivers independant A/C System. |
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OCPS Takes Delivery of IRMA Supplies From TBB Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., Shop Supervisor, Epi Martinez offloads some Hurricane Irma relief supplies from Thomas Built Buses, Inc., for Orange County Public Schools to use at their discretion. Steve Huckeba was on hand to take delivery and provide some nice comments to the local Orlando News Channels. Link to Video Below |
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Liberty Takes Delivery of C2’s Liberty District Schools took delivery on 9/28/17 of their new 77 passenger Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liner’s in partnership with the Daimler Tuck Financial and Matthews Bus Alliance. Pictured are Director of Maintenance/Transportation, Principal of Liberty High School and Head Technician. Each are excited to have Matthews Buses Alliance, Inc., in the house to keep their fleet in tip top shape and their drivers and passenger "cool" with the Rifled Air Conditioning systems. The buses were delivered and went immediately into service working for the district the following morning. Thanks Liberty for "Choosing Matthews!" |
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Diesel Engine Advancements a Win for Schools See attached link to School Bus Fleet to see how to win with Diesel for your district! |
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Collier County Takes Delivery Post Hurricane Irma 9/272017
David Olgilvie, Transportation Director, Collier County District Schools, takes delivery of 3 more of their 29, 2017 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 School Buses from Cliff Clare, Jr (MBA Sales Professional) along with some hurricane Irma relief supplies from the employees at Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. Thanks Collier County for "Choosing Matthews!" Sorry Cliff and Dave for the sideways picture! Glenn |
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Lee County Takes Delivery Post Hurricane Irma 9/26/2017
Steve L. Lucas (Fleet Manager Lee County), Jason Schilingburg, Dominick Lazano, (MBA Road Techs) pose with new Lee County District Schools 2018 Thomas C2’s. Lee took delivery of some New Thomas C2’s and some relief supplies from the employees at Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. Robert Codie and the Lee County Communication Department did a FaceBook Live Event of the Delivery. Thanks Lee County For "Choosing Matthews!" |
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So Proud of Matthews Bus Alliance Customers Sept 10 and 11th, 2107 Irma impacted just about every county in the State of Florida. Most schools across the state closed for the entire week and some will not be open for quite some time. Florida school transportation departments were instrumental in evacuating people statewide. Many schools were used as shelters and some still are. We are so proud of these districts and their efforts to help people in need. Below is an article featured in School Bus Fleet. There is a nice video link that features Hillsborough County’s efforts in the evacuation. So proud to be a supplier of buses to each and everyone of the FL county schools listed in this article. We were without power at the dealership until Wednesday evening. We were fortunate to not have to much damage at the dealership and none of the new buses for delivery were affected thanks to the preparation efforts or our TEAM on Friday. Some of our employees are still without power and it has been tough getting gas for our Road Techs statewide. Our team is helping out wherever we can to help our great customers get back up an running. Power crews are working across the state to get schools back up and running. We hope all our great customers are fine and can get back to normal soon. |
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TEAM Matthews - For Our Schools Golf Tournament September 22nd, 2017 is the Orange County District Schools "For Our Schools Golf Tournament" held at Grand Cypress Golf Course. Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., is once again a Beverage Sponsor for the event. |
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TEAM Matthews Technicians More Ready To Serve You! August 31, 2017
Orlando FL
Matthews Service Technicians gathered at the Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc., headquarters in Orlando to receive more service training from Award Winning Trainer, Ali Rampartab.
"Keeping our great technicians constantly trained and up to date on their certifications is crucial to our success in our effort to provide the best service in the state of Florida. We are so fortunate to have such motivated techs hungry to learn." Glenn Matthews, President
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Martin County End of Year Celebration Pictured left to right is Cliff Clare, Matthews Buses Florida, Laurie Gaylord, Superintendent, and Kayleen Watts, Director of Transportation. |
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First Day of School Support Matthews Buses Road Techs were out in force supporting Fl School Districts as they open schools for the 2017-18 school year. "All or 100% school bus focused on site road techs are there to assist our exceptional customers to ensure kids, like our 5th grade daughter Justine, is transported to and from school safely. Great Job Florida District Schools!" Glenn Matthews |
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Broward District Schools New Thomas Buses Mike Kriegal and service staff accept keys from Cliff Clare, Matthews Account Manager, and take delivery of one of their 30 2017 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-LINER C2’s. Thanks for Choosing Matthews Broward County! |
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Cooking For Customers 2017 Team Matthews was back at it again this summer showing our appreciation for all the hard work school district transportation employees do making sure the kids are safe going to and from school. Pictured (left to right) are Brad Hull, Jeff Slack, Cliff Clare, and Pete Fenderson. |
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Collier Hot Dog Lunch On Thursday Aug 10th Matthews Buses Florida held its largest Customer Appreciation Hot Dog Lunch at Collier District Schools
Collier District Schools Transportation Dept. held it annual "In-Service" meeting with 450 staff in attendance.
The MBF staff of Jeff Slack, Brad Hull, Kelly Clare and Cliff Clare Jr. with the Teamwork of Collier Fleet Manager- Mike Huff and Collier Parts Dept.-Ken Boring pulled together and served 480 Hot Dogs to the staff in 45 minutes. (Picture) David Ogilvie- Collier District Schools-Dir of Transportation
Cliff Clare Jr MBF Acct Mgr
Brad Hull- MBF Parts Dept.
Kelly Clare-MBF-Intern
Jeff Slack- MBF Parts Dept
Mike Huff- Collier District Schools Fleet Manager |
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Polk County Hot Dog Lunch Pictured: (TEAM Matthews) Ford Lyon, Jeff Slack, Cliff Clare (Polk County) Rob Davis, Asst. Supt. Support Services, and Don Stephenson, Fleet Manager. |
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Training and Informational Videos Added Service Training and Informational Videos Have Been Added To Our Video Library Found On The Home Page This Web Site Titled, "Videos" |
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Congratulations To Volusia County - "Kickoff! "On August 7 and 8 The Student Transportation Services Team of Volusia County Schools staged their annual recertification and training. This year, the servant leadership management team decided to redesign the experience and added the title of ‘Kickoff" to their purpose. On the first day, the nearly five hundred bus operators, bus attendants, shop support staff and office personnel attended the in-service at DeLand High School. This site, which included a number of larger rooms, allowed those registered to rotate through five presentations all related to our daily assignments. In addition there were three all group presentations. Local businesses contributed to the event by sponsoring a breakfast as well as a lunch break snack that consisted of a grilled pork chop sandwich, cole slaw and sweet tea. In an effort to upscale the two day in-service, FUTURES, Inc, the authorized foundation for the Volusia County School District, rented the beautiful Brannon Civic Center located in New Smyrna Beach, to accommodate Team Transportation for day number two. The Edgewater Chick-fil-A sponsored breakfast while other vendors, including Matthews Buses, contributed to the activities on the very festive and exciting second day of training including the purchasing of t-shirts for all employees. The overall theme for the training was the power of teamwork founded on the concepts of Servant Leadership and in keeping with our district’s banner "Together We Can." One of the highlights of our experience was the whole group photo taken by local professional photographer Steve Simoneau. The City of New Smyrna Beach owns the civic center and they provided Simoneau the use of their lift that allowed him to tower over the group of 500 members of Team Transportation. In order to celebrate our unity and the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year everyone lifted their hands on cue! What a moving and power visual. A copy of this photograph will be framed and hung in each of the six geographical terminals that proudly serve the students and families of the Volusia County School District. We know that each time a team member walks by the photograph, it will remind them of the experience and of our most worthy mission." Mitch Moyer - Director Volusia County Transportation |
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TEAM Matthews Supports Volusia "Kickoff" Ali Rampartab, Platinum Thomas Built Buses TEAM Matthews Trainer, provided familiarization training for Volusia Counties driver’s and attendants in 5 sessions with roughly 70--80 attendees, per session. "Thomas The Bus Has Arrived!" was the theme. The lucky drivers to be getting the New Saf-T-Liner C2 77 passenger school buses with RAC air conditioning are very happy and excited to start the year. The drivers love the independant Dash A/C! |
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Training with Ali Caley Edgerly, President Thomas Built Buses joined Ali Rampartab (The absolute best HANDS ON TRAINER in the USA) at our Orlando facility to help train our technicians prior to our Annual Employee of The Year Luncheon. Great Job Ali and Caley! |
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Dale Jr School Bus Driver Appreciation Video With the start of school upon us, check out this cool Dale Earnhardt Video dedicated to school bus drivers. Great Job #88! |
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TBB President Visits Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. August 2 -3 2017 Orlando Florida
Everyone at Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. was honored to have Caley Edgerly (President of Thomas Built Buses) and Jason Callahan (President of Local NC UAW Union) visit our dealership in Orlando, FL. While at the dealership they took part in the annual "Employee of the Year Luncheon". Caley presented Glenn Matthews and TEAM Matthews Buses Florida with our Beautiful Platinum Support Certification Plaque. Caley had the opportunity to take part in some technician training being conducted by Ali Rampartab for our TEAM of technicians. Several local school district customers were also on hand to meet Caley and Jason. Thank you Caley and Jason for "Choosing Matthews" for your visit this year. |
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Customers Meet TBB President Pictured: Cliff Clare Jr. (MBA Acct Manager), Arby Creech (Director of Brevard County Schools), Caley Edgerly (President of Thomas Built Buses), Scott Pfender (Director of Lake County Schools) and Pete Fenderson (MBA Acct Manager).
"Congratulations once again on attaining the highest dealership service award possible. You have worked very hard to build your reputation and customer service. You guys really deserve the Platinum and we are proud to say that Matthews Bus Alliance is our dealer by choice." - Arby Creach (Director of Transportation Services for Brevard County Schools) |
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2017 Employee of the Year Award Matthews Bus Alliance held its’ first annual luncheon to celebrate our "Employee of the Year" for its’ dba Matthews Buses Florida. This award has been given for the past 6 years for Matthews Buses Florida Division and the past recipients are: Donald Helm, Glen Provenzano, Epi Martinez, DeAnne Martin and Donna Matura. This year’s award winner is Norma DeLung (Service Shop Manager).
Pictured with Norma are Glenn Matthews (President and CEO of Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc.) and Caley Edgerly (President and CEO of Thomas Built Buses).
This year the award title was changed to the "Donald Helm Employee of the Year Award." It is truly fitting that Norma was the award recipient this year as she was a very dear friend and co-worker with Donnie Helm; who was the nation’s top A/C technician before losing his courageous battle with Cancer. Both Norma and Donna have redefined the traditional shop structure with Norma excelling into a management role supervising the Orlando shop and doing all work orders as Service Writer, while Donna Matura manages our team of 14 dedicated bus road technicians. Norma and her TEAM PDI’d, DOE inspected, and delivered 60 buses in MBA’s first month as a new company within two weeks after FL DMV License delays. This effort on behalf of Norma and her TEAM got MBA off to a fantastic start and they continue to PDI, DOE Inspect and deliver over 60 buses a month each and every month while also doing retail and warranty service work in the shop.
"Lori and I are so proud of Norma’s growth in her position. She is a real Rock Star for us! To have Caley Edgerly (President and CEO of Thomas Built Buses) and Jason Callahan (President of the local UAW for Thomas Built Buses, who also works in the Thomas plant along with his wife and daughter) on hand to honor Norma was truly amazing". - Glenn Matthews
Also on hand were some of our local customers including: Orange County, Lake County, Brevard County and Volusia County to honor Norma and experience our Employee of the Year Luncheon. Thank you to all those customers who were able to take time out of their very busy schedules this time of year on such short notice to be with us and to meet Caley and Jason.
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RAC General Manager Visits MBA Dean Minor (General Manager of Rifled Air Conditioning), visited MBA Orlando on August 4, 2017. He is pictured with Roberto Gonzales (Road Technician), Epi Martinez (Shop Floor Supervisor and Quality Control Manager) and Donna Matura (Mobile Technician Service Manager). |
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FAPT TPC SAWGRESS PHOTOS The 2017 FAPT Summer Symposium Trade Show was held July 3 rd, 2017 at the TPAC Sawgrass Marriott. Pictured are Osceola District Supervisor Shawn Tucker and Cliff Clare, MBA Account Representative. Legendary Miami Dolphin who is in the Ring of Honor at Hard Rock Stadium, Mark Duper, was on hand at the MBA booth to greet customers. Chico Moore, Fleet Director from Marion County with Ali Rampartab, Platinum Level Trainer for MBA. Jason Harris from Manatee District Schools. MBA showed off the all new 2017 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 CNG powered school bus. This unit is availabe for demonstration. Please contact your MBA account representative for a Free Demo. Bob Dolan of MBA supervised the Golf Tournament on Behalf of FAPT and Don Ross, Sales Director MBA, was responsible for all vendor activities this year. All in all attendees and vendors enjoyed the beautiful facility and meetings. |
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Sarasota Military Academy Receives New Buses Accepting the 2017 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses are the Business Director, SMA-Major Steve Kok, and new Transportation Route Supervisor SMA-Major Beth Harris who joins Sarasota Military with 31 years experience in School Transportation. Buses were presented by Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc. Account Manager Pete Fenderson.
Also attending the orientation is SMA-Captain Kevin Nasby. |
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Volusia County takes delivery of the first 9 of 25 C2 77 passenger buses
5/6/2017
Bill French Assistant Director Transportation Services for Volusia County takes delivery of the first 9 of 25 C2 77 passenger buses from Matthews Buses Florida Account Manager, Tim BeVier.
"The decision to change, which is HUGE for us, was largely due to our confidence that the support will be there. We believe that the level of support has significant value that impacts the overall cost of the product and we hope to build a long-term relationship based on support, trust and confidence." Bill French
Tim BeVier, Account Manager Matthews Buses Florida and Bill French Assistant Director Transportation Services for Volusia County
John Wilson and James Wade shop managers for Volusia County Transportation inspect new Thomas C2 bus deliveries from Matthews Buses Florida.
Technicians from Volusia County
First Annual Orange County Public Schools Operations Employee Car and Bike Show
Matthews Buses Florida participated in the First Annual Orange County Public Schools Operations Employee Car and Bike Show by displaying our 1967 Thomas Classic School Bus.
Pictured are the 1967 bus next to a 2017 OCPS Thomas C2 and the 1967 classic school bus next to 1967 Impala.
Marion County Receives Delivery of New Buses
Matthews Buses Florida delivers 9 Thomas 77 passenger C2’s and 4 Thomas 77 passenger C2’s with Wheelchair Lifts to Marion County School District. The buses feature Rifled Air Conditioning AC Systems, Ricon Lifts and Gate Keeper Camera Systems. This is the second group of C2 buses received by Marion County after making the decision to switch to Team Matthews.
Receiving the deliveries for Marion County is Rebecca Rora, Transportation Director and Chico Moore, Fleet Maintenance Supervisor.
Thank you, Marion County, for choosing Matthews!
Congratulations To Matthews Buses Florida for Going Platinum! Platinum Support that is!
Platinum Support is a collaborative effort between Thomas Built Buses and its dealers, focused on improving the customer experience.
Platinum Support provides rapid diagnosis, responsive turnaround and quality, consistent communication, robust parts availability and superb customer service; all provided by a highly-trained staff.
Through rigorous Platinum Support training, dealers learn to eliminate all areas of waste from day-to-day business practices, including faster vehicle assessment, reducing vehicle down time and lowering vehicle life cycle costs to the customer.
“In meeting the criteria to become a certified Platinum Support dealer, customers can rest assured that their servicing dealer is committed to continuous improvement and to providing a service level that greatly exceeds industry standards,” said Paul Start, market growth development manager, Thomas Built Buses. “As industry leaders we are always in a culture of continuous improvement, as it is considered a corner stone of our success.”
Thomas Built Buses, Inc., headquartered in High Point, N.C., is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America and a leading manufacturer of class 4-8 vehicles. Daimler Trucks North America produces and markets commercial vehicles under the Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses nameplates. Daimler Trucks North America is a Daimler company.
Thomas Built Buses International Sales Meeting
April 3, 2017
Matthews Buses Florida was honored once again as a Platinum Level Dealer at the 2017 Thomas Built Buses International Sales Meeting in Dallas Texas. This is the highest level attainable from Thomas Built Buses.
Congratulations to Carolina Thomas for being selected Southeast Regional Dealer of the year (Thomas’ Strongest Region) and overall Dealer of the Year!
Ali Rampartab was honored once again as a Platinum Level Trainer.
This year’s Dealer of the Year Reception was held at the AT&T Dallas Cowboys Stadium fittingly to honor us Platinum Level Dealers as Champions for Thomas Built Buses.
4/3/17 -Thomas Built Buses International Dealers Meeting
Dallas, Texas
Marion County Receives Keys to New Thomas Bus
Marion County Receives Delivery of their Thomas Built Bus from Matthews Buses Florida.
Marion County’s Maintenance Supervisor Chico Moore received the keys to their Thomas Built Bus from Matthews Buses Florida’s Account Manager, Tim BeVier. Marion County will receive delivery of 9 C2s and 4 C2 lift buses in the second quarter of 2017.
Matthews Buses Florida is pleased to welcome Bob Dolan to TEAM Matthews!
Bob Dolan has accepted the position of Account Manager with Matthews Buses Florida. He brings with him 35 years of sales and sales management experience with some of the largest sales organizations in the United States. Bob’s experience in the school bus industry has given him in-depth knowledge of the needs of the school districts making him one of the top account managers for bus sales specializing in large counties throughout Florida.
Please join us in congratulating Bob.
Orange County Schools visits Rifled Air Conditioning
Rifled Air Conditioning in High Point, NC welcomed Orange County Schools as they viewed for the first time the newly designed front bulk head AC and 3 compressor bracket. Comments were "wow what a difference", "it’s cold in here" as they commented on the AC flow from front to back!
The Orange County team was joined by Matthews Buses Florida, General Manager, Don Ross.
As Pictured (left to right)
Greg Roberson-Fleet Service Manager
Brett Cairns IT- Fleet Support Communications
Mark Chiampi Senior Administrative, Business Support Services
Maurice Frye- Senior Administrator Fleet Support
Brevard County Receives Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liner
Director of Transportation Arby Creach (right) and Assistant Director of Transportation Randy Wheeler (left) with Brevard County Schools are receiving delivery of the first of nineteen (19) new Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liner Buses from Matthews Buses Florida’s Account Manager, Cliff Clare Jr.
Brevard County Schools will receive a total of nineteen (19) new Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liner Buses from Matthews Buses Florida’s. Thanks Brevard for choosing Matthews!
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City of Lauderdale TEAM RAC manufactured and installed its’ 3 compressor AC System for City of Lauderdale with 55k more TRUE BTU’s more then any competitor in Fl. Great Job TEAM! |
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Martin County Schools Receives First Delivery
Matthews Buses Florida’s Cliff Clare Jr., Account Manager, is handing over the keys to the first delivery of a new Thomas C-2 Saf-T-Liner to Jerry Briggs, Fleet Manager of Martin County Schools.
Martin County Schools will receive a total of fifteen (15) new Thomas C-2 Saf-T-Liner Buses this year from Matthews Buses Florida.
Thanks Martin for choosing Matthews!
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Lafayette Delivery 7/8/21 Matthews Buses Florida presented Lafayette District Schools with more new Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liners using the innovative Daimler Truck Financial Lease/Finance Program. Pictured are left to right: Terrell Murphy-Fleet Technician, Coach Joey Pearson-Director of Transportation and Facilities-Pete Fenderson-Account Manager, Matthews Buses Florida, Scott Nagy-Team Matthews Rapid Response and Ritchie Paige-Chief Mechanic Lafayette District. |
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