Employee of the Month (May 2005)

A member of Guilford County Schools’ transportation department became the first to be honored in a new district employee recognition program. Bus driver Floyd Knight, 61, often referred to by students, as “Mr. Nice” was selected as the district’s May 2005 Employee of the Month.

As Guilford County Schools’ Employee of the Month, Knight received a $50 gift card and a gift bag from Sam’s Club, who has partnered with GCS to support the employee recognition program.

Amid the cheers of Florence Elementary students, GCS and Sam’s Club presented the gift certificate and gift bag to Knight during a surprise announcement this afternoon at Florence Elementary. The students presented to Knight a hand-made congratulatory banner, as well as posters and cards.

“We’re so very excited at this show of support for Mr. Knight,” said Ron Evans, marketing manager for Sam’s Club.

Assigned to the Florence Elementary bus route in High Point, Knight regularly transports more than 100 kindergarten through fifth-grade students to and from school.

Knight was nominated by Terry Fuchs, whose kindergartener rides Knight’s bus. Fuchs observed that the bus driver knew the names of each child and greeted them with a smile every morning.

In her nomination, the High Point mother recalled a time when she was a few minutes late meeting her daughter at the bus drop off point. Instead of leaving the upset little girl alone at the bus stop, Knight told her to re-board the bus, and then drove around the block taking more students home. A few minutes later, Knight returned to Fuchs’ bus stop where a very grateful mother was waiting for her child.

“To this day I don’t know what I would’ve done if Mr. Knight hadn’t made the excellent decision to put my child back on the bus,” Fuchs said. “I cannot tell you how wonderful it feels knowing that Mr. Knight is being recognized for the outstanding job that he does serving the children of Guilford County. I know that there are many more ‘Mr. Knights’ in the school system. I look forward to hearing about them in the coming months.”

Guilford County Schools is the third largest school district in North Carolina serving more than 70,000 students at 116 schools. With approximately 10,000 employees, the district’s mission is to graduate responsible citizens who are college/work ready.

Guilford County Schools is a national leader in providing specialized schools and instructional programs designed to meet the educational needs of a culturally diverse citizenship.  For more information, visit the district’s Web site at www.gcsnc.com.