Carroll County Schools bus driver Jon Supplee is preparing to retire after spending a total of 11 years transporting students to and from school. Jon will turn 75 this July, and while he is ready to step down from his regular route, the deep ties he has to this community remain as strong as ever.
Jon is a lifetime resident of Carroll County and a member of the Carroll County High School Class of 1969, the very last class to graduate from the old three-story high school building. He was a standout athlete during his school days, earning all-conference honors in football and famously receiving a gold helmet because he ran out of room for achievement stars by homecoming. He also won Carroll County's very first golf match as the medalist in March 1968.
Long before he ever sat behind the wheel of a school bus, Jon spent most of his life working as a materials manager at Dayton Walther, a tier-one automotive plant located near the existing DOW plant. Later, during the economic recession of 2007 and 2008, Jon faced a layoff from a materials handling job in Louisville.
"At my age, it was hard to get a job in that field so I thought I’d try this," Jon recalled of his decision to drive a bus. He started driving in 2010, took a break to practice real estate when the market picked up, and returned to the driver's seat in 2018.
Jon's professional background in managing traffic and personnel at Dayton Walther served him well in his second career. Many of those leadership skills overlapped directly with managing a bus full of students.
The last three or four years of his career have been his favorite, spent driving a city route where he picks up large groups of kids. With the current shortage of drivers, Jon essentially drives in circles to ensure every student gets a ride.
"The kids overall have been very good, probably the best group of kids," Jon said. "I’ve got a lot of new kids, which is unusual here at the end of the year. It’s been fun, especially the last three or four years."
Jon notes that the job requires a collaborative mindset and strong relationships with both peers and passengers. "One big thing about being a bus driver is how the other bus drivers have a lot of camaraderie and how everybody chips in and steps up to the plate," Jon said.
Jon does not plan to do much of anything right away once retirement begins, though he and his wife Patricia, a retired Winn teacher, have a trip to Honolulu planned for September. While his wife and son enjoy traveling across Europe to places like Budapest, Jon prefers to keep things closer to home and much warmer.
He may reactivate his real estate license with Bartley Real Estate in the future, or even return to Carroll County Schools as a substitute teacher next spring.
Jon’s advice to anyone considering becoming a bus driver - "You’ve got to have patience," he said and offer the respect you also want to receive. "You’ve got to make it a two way street. I found that out with this group of kids, it’s got to be a two way street. They respect you and you respect them."
Congratulations to Mr. Supplee on his upcoming retirement,” said Carroll County Schools Superintendent Casey Jaynes. “We certainly appreciate all of the miles that you have safely delivered students to school, homes, ballgames and other events.”