OC Transpo held their annual Safe Driving and Transecure Award ceremony Monday morning, recognizing transit employees who have gone the extra mile in their jobs.
Every year, OC Transpo hands out awards for drivers and employees who have intervened and helped people in need. Some drivers were also acknowledged for their 20 years or more of driving accident free.
Armand Paquette received the 43-years of safe driving award. He says that his wife served a big part in his years of service.
Paquette’s wife Geraldine passed away last year, but he still feels her support and carries a picture of her with him in his pocket for every ride. They were married for 41 years.
“I’m in my 44th year of driving and she is a big part of it for keeping beside me and supporting me. We have two beautiful children, and so she is part of the job also, even if she’s not driving,” said Paquette.
“We’re also foster parents and we’ve had 17 children, so we had quite a good life together and she will be forever in my mind and with me.”
Paquette says he’s in fairly good shape for his age with the amount of years he’s been with OC Transpo, bouncing all over Ottawa for that many years.
“It feels great because I think it’s quite an accomplishment when you think of it. What we go through, the temperature and the weather conditions outside,” he said.
“I know first thing in the morning is that I pray that God will protect me and protect others that will confront me on the job.”
Paquette, who followed in his father’s footsteps, says being a bus driver was in his blood as a middle child of eight.
“My dad was here in 1951 with the streetcars and as we go back with the electric rail, it reminds me of my dad. Worked here for 38 years, from 1951 to 1989,” he said, adding that they often crossed paths on the job. His father passed away in 2011.
Paquette says he loves his job and he has a lot of stories from over the years.
“People called me a storyteller,” Paquette said.
He says drivers have to constantly be looking out for bicycles and be mindful behind the wheel.
“I think the biggest one is to keep my sanity and a lot of people might not think so,” said Paquette.
Broedy Peake received the ‘Employee of the Year’ award.
“It feels amazing to get acknowledged by my workplace for something that I did during my shift and getting presented this award. It feels amazing and it’s a true honor,” said Peake.
Peake jumped straight into action when he saw a young boy who needed medical attention.
“I noticed a nine-year-old boy on my bus that was purple in the face and I decided to secure my bus, pull over and provide assistance. I put him in the recovery position, got him stable,” said Peake.
“It happened really fast. I had to use all my training to get the job done, but, it felt great. It felt great to make sure that the kid was safe and he got to the hospital.”
Peake says he looks forward to providing the best service that he can to all customers from a smile, to saving lives.
