By Molly McGee Hewitt, PhD, CAE
Every profession has organizations that bring people together. I’ve found that to be especially true in student transportation. There are state and regional associations, coalitions, business partners and neighboring national organizations that serve the student transportation industry, plus those that serve the educational enterprise and adjacent transportation safety interests.
Perhaps more than any other profession I’ve worked in, we have countless opportunities to connect, learn, and engage. That has always fascinated me. What is it about the yellow bus that inspires so many people and organizations to invest their time, talent and passion into moving this profession forward?
The answer, I believe, is simple: the work we do in student transportation matters – at every position, in every role, at every organization. Every day, student transportation professionals safely transport millions of students. The responsibility and commitment are enormous. Naturally, people want to gather around that shared mission.
But every organization plays a different role.
National associations have the unique responsibility of connecting an entire profession to elevate the national conversation and ensure the voices of student transportation professionals are represented where policy, advocacy, education and the future of student transportation are shaped.
…and that is why we gather. We gather because our profession deserves a place where the national conversation happens.
…and that’s exactly why the NAPT Board of Directors, NAPT Foundation Board, committees, volunteers, business partners, and professional staff invest so much time into building ACTS each year. We lean into the “if we build it, they will come” quote from Field of Dreams because we don’t simply plan a conference, we create a place where the national conversation can happen.
The ACTS 2026 them is Building Leaders for the Route Ahead, this means creating a conference where every member of the transportation team belongs. The theme serves as the foundation of the conference – a place where the entire transportation team can attend a workshop tailored to their needs, contractors and school districts can solve common challenges, state leaders can return home with ideas to strengthen their own associations and businesses become the partners everyone needs to correct the mutual pain points everyone is facing.
We know that leadership is not built on a stage. We have keynote speakers to inspire, workshops to teach and forums to shape leadership ideology but the leaders that are built at ACTS are done over coffee, in hallway conversations, during regional assemblies, while walking the trade show floor or over a meal with a newly found peer or long-time mentor.
At NAPT, we understand that budgets are tight and time away from your operation is valuable. That’s why we don’t take your investment lightly. Our hope is that when you return to work, you do so with new ideas, new relationships, renewed confidence and a stronger sense of purpose.
Maybe the question isn’t why we gather. Maybe it’s what becomes possible because we do.
From the NAPT leaders and professional staff, we can’t wait to welcome you to Louisville.