By Dawn Fluhler

Bus drivers from the Maconaquah School Corporation drove spectators and volunteers from Grissom Air Force Base to the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” build site for five days because of the rain and muddy field parking areas. Buses would run 24 hours a day, shuttling workers back and forth between the two sites.

In total, 27 regular and substitute bus drivers participated in the round-the-clock shuttle service.

“There was such an outpouring of people that we just kept going,” said Karen Grove, a 32-year bus driver with the school corporation.

The bus drivers could only estimate that they hauled thousands and thousands of people to the site. All kinds of people, according to Grove, each had their own opinions and perceptions about what was going on at the build site.

Bob Clark, a 37-year veteran and now substitute bus driver who volunteered 30 hours, said it was exciting to see the community and volunteers embrace the event as they did, and that the excitement was even evident when he shuttled people at 11 p.m.

The bus drivers had opportunities to meet a variety of interesting people during the week. Carol Russell, who has been driving buses for three years, said she got to meet David Cook – and even had a brief conversation with him; Carolyn Deckard, a 25-year special education bus driver, noted that people slept in their cars at Grissom between volunteer shifts, and also had an elderly couple who would just ride to and from the site on her bus without getting off to watch the build; and Karen Grove drove designer Paul Dimeo on her bus – he got the bus crowd to shout, “Move that bus!”

Barb Verbosky, a 26-year bus driver with Maconaquah schools, said that in light of the current economic mood, the excitement of this event was much needed.

“It gave us a boost,” she said, “a shot of adrenaline.”

The 27 drivers who volunteered to drive were Bob Clark, Tammy Shaffer, Rodger Murray, Kelly Turner, Tom Brunner, Madge Smitley, Sheree Spurgeon, Barb Verbosky, Phil Smitley, Jamie Nelson, Mark Harmon, Carol Russell, Denny Herrell, Sandy Gable, Karen Grove, Donna Blackburn, Carolyn Deckard, Lamar Miller, Theresa Alspaugh, Rex Grismore, Kim Wolf, Sharon Case, Triscia Maston, John Catanzaro, Gary Grant, April Hale and Amy Astrup.