Bill Kiernan
Bill Kiernan
The legacy of Bill Kiernan’s career has been one of service – from his years in the Marine Corps and working with residents in a rehabilitation and mental health center, to his present role serving the students and families of Neshaminy, Pennsylvania, as STA’s Operations Manager.
Bill also spent 25 years with a pharmaceutical company, starting as a delivery driver and steadily working his way up to oversee the equipment management, execute contracts, and prepare the department for FDA safety inspections (of which Bill boasted a 100% passing rate). But when the company was bought out by Pfizer, Bill had a choice: move overseas to keep his job, or move back to the Levittown area, where he had family, and find a new path.
“I was interested in working part-time and working locally and [STA] was advertising for bus drivers, which met both of my needs.”
Bill worked as a substitute driver, often transporting children with special needs, which he found both challenging and enjoyable. A year later, he was offered his own route with STA’s then-new contract in neighboring Neshaminy and began branching into dispatch to learn more aspects of the operation. When a spot in the dispatch office became available, Bill jumped at the opportunity and found a great mentor in his supervisor, who exposed him to different sides of STA’s management and organizational structure. One year later when the manager position opened up, Bill applied and was awarded the role of Operations Manager, just three years after driving his first school bus.
“The transition was made easier due to STA management mentoring me in that direction,” Bill says. “Our General Manager is great, and I can’t say enough good things about our Senior VP, he’s hands on and all our drivers really respect him. I have leaned on managers from other locations and our Safety Team is more than happy to assist. This shows that we have a good STA Family.”
In addition to the guidance that helped him achieve his current position, Bill cites STA’s screening and hiring practices as one of the motivating factors that inspired him to pursue his career with STA. “I truly believe STA has the best training program out there,” he says. “The school bus industry is a pretty close-knit industry, and it’s not hard to see what the other training programs are like out there. And our program offers so much more with all the different scenarios it covers. We really go beyond to make sure all our drivers have the information they need.”
“It’s not just one person that makes an operation successful – if you don’t have the support of your whole team, you’ve got nothing.”
Bill’s leadership style is one rooted in service and respect, emphasizing the importance of treating his drivers as the professionals they are. He still likes to help out in the dispatch office, and when answering calls from parents, he takes it upon himself to review GPS and routing data to understand a given situation, rather than interrupting a driver’s day to ask about a bus stop. It is these types of micro efficiencies that help operations run smoothly, and to nurture the trust and respect that Bill says is such a critical element of effective leadership.
When asked how it feels knowing he can have the same type of life-changing impact on his employees that the mentors of his past have had on him, Bill says it fills him with compassion. “For a person who wants to move up, I always tell them – ask me questions. I want to help you, and asking questions is the best way to learn,” Bill says. “It’s so important to support our driver workforce, and I truly feel that STA is just not an employer, it is also family.”