WYOMING, Mich. — Lawn games and lounge chairs welcomed employees and their families to Affordable Limousine’s headquarters on June 28. Inside, a buffet of hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and desserts filled the lobby. Later that afternoon, an ice cream truck rolled into the parking lot, handing out frozen treats courtesy of company owner Justin Williams.
Just beyond the picnic, however, nearly 500 tennis balls and 100 orange traffic cones transformed the parking lot into a precision-driving course where motorcoach drivers maneuvered through backing exercises, tight turns, and other real-world challenges that tested the skills they rely on every day to safely transport passengers.
Affordable Limousine, based in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming, blended its second annual Bus Rodeo with a company picnic, inviting spouses, children, parents and grandchildren to cheer on drivers, volunteer as judges and scorekeepers, and gain a behind-the-scenes look at the skill, precision and professionalism required to safely operate a motorcoach.
The concept was championed by Safety and Training Manager Omar Gomez-Mulero, who spent months planning the event. He says he took inspiration from the work of Mark Szyperski, president and CEO of On Your Mark Transportation LLC and organizer of the United Motorcoach Association’s International Driver Competition and several regional competitions, including the one this month at the Midwest Bus & Motorcoach Association Convention in South Bend, Indiana, to develop a course. The winner of the upcoming competition was awarded a trip to the UMA EXPO in San Antonio to compete in its competition in January.
“We wanted to make it a family event,” Gomez-Mulero said. “We want a fun environment, because sometimes drivers look at this as a challenge where they’re being watched and judged. That’s not what this is.”
Instead, he said, the rodeo gives drivers an opportunity to sharpen their skills while giving the people who support them at home a better understanding of what it takes to safely operate a motorcoach.
“This is a fun event for people to test their skills and enjoy themselves,” Gomez-Mulero said. “Bring your family, just laugh and have a good time.”
Bringing a cheering section
Among the competitors was driver Holly Haynes, who joined Affordable Limousine after driving school buses.
“I’ve been here since January,” Haynes said, adding that the transition to motorcoaches has been easy.
Haynes’ husband volunteered as one of the rodeo’s judges while their children and extended family cheered her on.
First-year driver Tonya Acklin brought two generations of her family, including her 8-year-old granddaughter, Nariyah Ivy Howell, who proudly cheered her grandmother through the course.
After completing the course, Acklin felt good about her score. “It was a little difficult, but I did it.”
For Gomez-Mulero, moments like that are exactly why families are invited. The rodeo offers loved ones a behind-the-scenes look at the work drivers perform every day while celebrating the professionalism that keeps passengers safe.
“A lot of planning goes into it,” said Jan Chambers, Affordable Limousine’s training safety specialist. “Omar did most of it, and he’d been working on it for at least a month.”
Creative course design
Chambers and Gomez-Mulero spent several days transforming the parking lot into a professional competition course.
“We spent about three days out here cutting down weeds, cleaning up the parking lot, putting out the cones and tennis balls, and moving all the vehicles,” Chambers said.
Working within the company’s limited space required creativity.
“Our parking lot is small, so I pulled all the vehicles out, went up on the roof, looked at the layout we had available and designed the course from there,” Gomez-Mulero said.
The finished course used about 150 tennis balls and 100 traffic cones.
“The tennis balls are a low-tech way to know if something got hit, and it makes judging easier because our judges don’t have to walk as much,” Gomez-Mulero said.
He supplemented what he learned in Szyperski’s courses with federal driver training standards. “Mark gave me a few good pointers,” Gomez-Mulero said.
Organizers also built on lessons learned from last year’s inaugural event.
“One of the things last year was that people were kind of bored sitting around waiting for their family member to go through the course,” Chambers said.
This year, the company added lawn games, food and activities throughout the day.
The course also was made more challenging.
“We all unfortunately have to back up at some point,” Chambers said, explaining that additional backing maneuvers were added to better reflect situations drivers encounter on the job.
Not every driver competed. Trevor Bulmer spent the day taking charter assignments so fellow drivers could participate in the rodeo.
Bulmer, who has driven part-time for Affordable Limousine for two and a half years, also is transportation director for Comstock Park Public Schools, north of Grand Rapids. Working weekends for Affordable Limousine has expanded his professional skills.
“What he does in the motorcoach world, I do in the school bus world, and he’s a valuable resource for me,” Bulmer said of Gomez-Mulero. “When I have questions or need information, I go to him.”
Bulmer also has learned to operate motorcoaches.
“It’s a whole different turning radius,” he said. “It’s a much bigger vehicle, and it turns way differently.”
Working charter trips has also strengthened his customer service skills.
“It also helps with de-escalation, learning how to talk to intoxicated adults,” Bulmer said. “It’s taught me a lot.”
Company’s family atmosphere
The rodeo reflects Affordable Limousine’s family roots.
Williams’ sister works for the company, and his parents attended the event. Years ago, they helped him launch the business with a loan to purchase his first limousine, and his father drove during the company’s early years.
Today, that single limousine has grown into a fleet of motorcoaches serving customers throughout Michigan.
The company also continues investing in its drivers. Plaques recognizing past Midwest Bus Rodeo competitors line the drivers’ room, where Affordable Limousine is remodeling space to include a kitchen and dedicated restroom for drivers.
“Here we try to give as much as possible to the drivers,” Gomez-Mulero said.
The Bus Rodeo is Affordable Limousine’s qualifier for the Midwest Bus & Motorcoach Association driver competition. Gomez-Mulero said the company plans to send nine drivers to this year’s competition in South Bend.
“We support it, but we also want everybody to earn it,” he said. “We’re not giving it away. It gives them an incentive.”
Ultimately, Gomez-Mulero said, the rodeo isn’t about trophies.
“This isn’t just a morale booster,” he said. “It gives drivers the ability to compete against themselves without the pressure that’s out there every day, and it prepares them for the actual rodeo.”
Photos by Shandra Martinez and courtesy of Omar Gomez-Mulero.
