When Jeff Coon was called inside to his maintenance bay at Brown Transportation to assist with an issue, he didn’t think much of it. That’s what he does.
“He is the go-to for mechanics in our terminals and he is very good at what he does,” said Rich Miles, general manager for Brown, a Student Transportation of America (STA) company. “His team is responsible for ensuring school buses are ready to go every day.”
Coon, the Amsterdam maintenance manager for Brown, was surprised to discover his crew and senior leaders from STA gathered at his work station to present him with a commemorative plaque honoring his 46 years of service at the company and counting.
“It was very humbling,” Coon said. “It was a group of people that don’t live here and went out of their way to come. It was very nice.”
Coon worked his way up to manager after starting as an entry-level mechanic upon graduating from Gloversville High School. The Meco native was seeded into a job after training in mechanics in his last two years of high school through BOCES.
His mother had encouraged him to plan for his future by learning a trade. Mechanics was the perfect fit. Coon always had an interest in taking things apart and putting them back together to figure out how they worked.
For over four decades, Coon said the challenge of maintaining school buses serving school districts throughout Fulton and Montgomery counties and staying up to date with the changing technology has kept him interested and eager to come to work each day.
“It’s become tougher in some ways and easier in others,” Coon said. “The basic platform of how a bus is built has changed.”
A lot has changed as buses shifted from gas to diesel engines during his career with another shift to electric vehicles on the horizon. They have more moving parts and electrical components than when he started.
While the mechanical work has evolved, Coon said the goal of his job has always been the same.
“It’s all about safety for the children,” Coon said.
That’s best accomplished by maintaining the buses as close to new as possible. It’s no small task while managing a fleet of around 170 to 180 vehicles with a staff of 10 to 15 mechanics.
Following a maintenance schedule is vital, Coon tries to stay a month ahead of routine work. He keeps staff on rotations of various tasks.
That attentiveness has led to an “impressive” 97.55% average pass rating for state Department of Transportation inspections, according to STA.
When mechanical issues arise that pose a safety concern, Coon is strict about pulling buses off the road until they’ve been fixed and the manager works alongside staff on whatever needs to be done.
“It’s not a desk job by any means,” Coon said. “I’m on my feet helping and doing odds and ends.”
While there are a number of experienced mechanics among his staff, Coon has also trained novices to become skilled technicians over the years. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with young crew members and helping where he can.
“Jeff is a great leader. I think he leads by example,” Miles said. “There’s not anything he asks them to do that he hasn’t done or won’t do himself.”
Miles said Coon’s tenure with the company is “quite an accomplishment” and a “rare milestone” deserving of recognition.
“For Jeff to be here 46 years, it’s telling of how committed he is and driven he is to do the job that he does,” Miles said. “We’re very proud of Jeff. I hope he plans to stay another 10 years.”
At age 64, Coon is still driven by the work ethic instilled in him by his parents. How many additional years he stays on the job will likely depend, in part, on the needs of his team.
“I feel good, I’m not afraid to work,” Coon said. “You get sweaty and dirty going to work, but it’s all rewarding.”