Jim began his career as a bus driver in July 1973. He took a short break, but returned to driving, where he earned several awards and commendations. He became a vault puller in 1997; after a few short months, Jim moved to the money counting room and remained on that team until he retired on April 23, 2011. In total, he amassed 37 years and six months of dedicated service to Metro Transit. His legacy is one of accuracy, a sense of humor and a positive attitude. Jim earned 13 consecutive years of excellent attendance, and welcomed temporary workers with his friendly attitude and tales of his adventures as a bus driver.

Roxanne McClurg, or "Rocky," as she was known to co-workers, was a helpful, welcoming face to new employees at Ruter Garage. She helped organize an employee club and cooked breakfasts and lunches for colleagues during garage events. Over the course of her 37-year career, she twice finished in the top 30 and once won Rookie of the Year at the Metro Transit Roadeo, a safety and skills competition. She also won an award for 30 years of accident-free driving. She left Metro Transit on April 15, 2011, to pursue her love of fishing and travel.

His co-workers at the Overhaul Base called him "Kraky," but you might want to call him "Mr. Organization." During his 30 years, he was responsible for physically moving two stockrooms and building another from scratch. At Metro Transit's facility where buses receive major maintenance, he was an integral part of converting the storage of bus parts – more than 6,000 types – from a shelf-based system to a carousel that allows employees to find parts faster. He retired on April 1, 2011.

Glenn Goetz worked at nearly every bus garage in his 36-year career at Metro Transit, earning the agency's Outstanding Operator Award – the agency's mark of excellence in customer service, attendance and safety – seven times before retiring with the title of Master Operator. When Goetz retired in February 2011, he was looking forward to retirement and having the time to work on old cars and clean his house, along with spending more time with his two children and six grandchildren.

Kandy started her Metro Transit career on Feb. 8, 1978, at the former Nicollet Garage. She transferred to Shingle Creek Garage (now Ruter) while Nicollet was rebuilt, returning to Nicollet to spend the balance of her 32-year career. She drove Route 21 – the Selby-Lake Line – for many years and closed her career on Route 23, another cross-town service that connects Uptown with Highland Village largely along 38th Street. Kandy logged 20 years of accident-free driving and earned many commendations from her customers. Her colleagues gathered on Jan. 21, 2011, to cap her career with a celebration at the garage.

On Aug. 6, 1979, Ted joined Metro Transit as a bus operator at the now-closed Snelling Garage in St. Paul. He ended his career teaching new bus operators the driving and customer service skills he honed over his 31 years at Metro Transit. He transferred to the Instruction Center in 2006 where he administered Class A and Class B driving tests to operator-candidates on behalf of the State of Minnesota. He was certified as an instructor for two internationally recognized programs: Transit Ambassador (a course on customer service and customer communication) and Smith System (a defensive driving class for professional operators). He retired on Jan. 7, 2011.

Lawrence joined Metro Transit on Nov. 2, 1970, as a bus operator and spent most of the next 40 years serving customers of St. Paul routes during assignments at the Snelling Garage and East Metro Garage. During his tenure, he earned Metro Transit's annual safe driving award 36 times. He retired with the designation of Master Driver, by earning the agency's outstanding operator award nine times for safe driving, quality customer service and attendance. He retired in January 2011.

Charles joined Metro Transit on Jan. 21, 1980, as a bus driver. "Rocky," as he was known to many he worked with, earned the outstanding operator award two times for safe driving, quality customer service and attendance. During his nearly 31 years of service, he also earned Metro Transit's annual safe driving award 23 times. His colleagues, fiancée and several grandchildren gathered in December to cap his career with a retirement celebration at Heywood Garage in January 2011.