Growing up, Ned Swentik never set foot in a bus. When he was hired as a bus operator in 1985, though, he quickly became familiar. “It was my first day and here they have me driving right off the bat,” he said. “It was kind of exciting.” Swentik ended up spending the next 25 years as a bus operator, learning every route in the system by moving garages every few years and spending nearly all of his time on the extraboard. The variety helped keep him going. “When you move every two or three years, it’s like going to a new job with all new people,” Swentik said. “It kind of gives you a boost.” During his time as an operator, Swentik trained to be a Dispatcher and spent six months as an Assistant Transportation Manager through the Leadership Academy. He spent the last five years working as a full-time Dispatcher, but continued to serve as a miscellaneous operator for all but the last year of his career. As a Dispatcher, Swentik said he particularly enjoyed doing the markup, putting the pieces together to ensure all of the available work was correctly assigned to operators. Aside from his work duties, Swentik is also proud of his efforts to get a garden started at South Garage, growing sweet corn that became a frequent treat at the garage. After nearly 31 years of service, Swentik retired in July 2016. In retirement, Swentik plans to build on his gardening skills by moving to a hobby farm in southern Missouri where he can grow peaches, grapes and plums. Swentik also hopes to help his wife start a horse rescue and to spend more time with his family, including four children and seven grandchildren.