Industry Forum

King has worked at Metro since June 1992. Since the mid-1990s, he has added decorations to his bus each morning before starting his routes during the holidays.
“I have decorations that I’ve picked up over the years. I think it can really change people’s attitude. It brightens their day and makes them feel good. Kids get a kick out of it. I see a lot of smiles when I decorate,” King says. “It makes me feel good to make my riders feel good.”

Holiday Help for Those in Need
For most of his 20-year career, Metro Marketing Director Dave Etienne has led food, coats, mitten or even sock drives for the underprivileged in the community, encouraging employees and customers to participate.

In 2010, Metro is partnering with a local radio station to support Cincinnati’s FreestoreFoodbank in collecting non-perishable food items for those in need.

“The holidays are the perfect time of year to do things for others,” says Etienne. “We provide a service to the community every day — but the holidays are when we try to do something special for those who need it most. Our efforts also showcase Metro’s role in the community and are our way of giving back.”

Riverside, Calif.
Complete Coach Works
Having our roots as a small family operated start-up more than 25 years ago means that the holiday season is a very family oriented and special time of year for Complete Coach Works, and even though the little family business now includes more than 200 employees, Dale Carson, founder and president of Complete Coach Works and his family still make sure each and every one of the extended family of 200-plus feel special during the holidays. From personally handing out more than 200 turkeys and shaking everyone’s hand with a heartfelt “Thanks” at Thanksgiving, to hosting a Christmas luncheon for everyone including, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, daughters and sons and yes grandkids, Dale and his family want to make sure the holidays are special for everyone. Every year the luncheon is made extra special for the children with a special visit from Santa, and on their way home after the party everyone gets a personalized gift package, a ham for their holiday meals and another hand shake and a warm “THANKS for your hard work” from Dale.

And to make sure the holiday spirit of giving and sharing are spread throughout the community there are always extra hams and turkeys for the local kitchens serving holiday meals to those less fortunate. The holidays are indeed a special time at Complete Coach Works

Montréal, Québec
Société de transport de Montréal (STM)
The 2010 holiday season for STM employees: contributions and kudos

At the STM, the holiday period is an opportunity for celebrating and becoming involved in the community. This year, employees have a particular reason to celebrate as, thanks to their efforts and support, the STM was awarded the title of Outstanding Public Transport System in North America for 2010 by the American Public Transport Association (APTA).

All employees will be invited to celebrate together on Dec. 9 at a local theatre reserved for the occasion. The occasions to gather people from every corner of this great company under the same roof are few and far between. It is an ideal opportunity to create synergy among the teams who have few occasions to meet with each other during the year.

The holidays also provide an excellent opportunity for management to convey a message to employees. Considering the recently received honors, one can already imagine the tone of pride that will infuse the message published in the STM’s internal newspaper and distributed to all.

The year-end festivities make us pay particular attention to the needs of the members of our communities for the basic necessities. Many families find themselves destitute during this critical period. The STM wants to be involved in the aid provided to these underprivileged fellow citizens. As well, it organizes its own campaign to collect donations from its clientele.

The money collected is used to provide foodstuffs for families identified by social organizations that have a link with various teams at the STM. The success of this fundraising, which takes place at strategic locations in the STM’s network, will be determined by volunteer employees who will solicit funds on site from passing transit users.