Trinity Hosts First Annual Safety Banquet

We’ve been making some positive changes here at Trinity Transportation, the most recent being the addition of general managers at each of our 10 terminals and a new regional operations manager. Some of our general managers have been promoted from within and some are outside hires. They are all equipped and ready to operate their terminal and bring new ideas to the table! We are proud to introduce our 10 new general managers and our new regional operations manager!

Aretha Baylis, Fraser

• Aretha Baylis started with Trinity almost 3 years ago at Trinity’s Fraser terminal, where she built relationships and began to love the people she worked with. She made it a goal to be herself and to aim higher within Trinity. When she attended her first Back to School meeting, that was it – she was all in. She loved the fun and dedication of the Trinity employees and the love Mr. Sheppard had for Trinity. She was sold on the fact that Trinity truly cares for the dedication of its employees. Aretha started in the transportation industry driving a school bus then moved to dispatch. She has enjoyed every aspect of the industry, including the challenges, and was never afraid to take risks. She is elated to now move into the position she has longed for. Aretha is very pleased to accept the promotion to general manager of the Fraser CSC. The realization of this professional dream will act as only the beginning of a long and prosperous managerial career. She is excited to continue to offer the best customer service to Trinity’s clients, students, parents, and drivers.

Tom Prahl, Toledo

• Tom Prahl is a Toledo native and has been married to his wife, Cindy, for 33 years. They have raised 2 daughters, Jennifer and Kristen. Tom attended Findlay College, and then later graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in Transportation Management. He started his career in the moving business as a driver and worked in operations, estimating, and sales. During that time, one of his largest projects was the supervision of an installation of furniture for a 25-story bank building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (spent 5 months in Saudi Arabia). He has also worked for a food distributor, medical supply distribution company, and building products supplier. He is a lifelong Buckeye fan, huge Tigers fan, and frustrated Lions fan. When possible, Cindy and Tom like to travel. With a daughter in Texas, they do spend time there for most of their travels, but have visited a large number of other states as well.

Jeff Allen, Clarenceville

• Jeff Allen started driving as a part time driver in January of 2001 as a second job and really enjoyed it. He moved into the offices of Wayne-Westland Schools in April of 2010, and then came to Trinity as a dispatch supervisor in July of 2015 at the Dearborn Heights terminal. From there, he transferred to the Clarenceville terminal, where he is currently at today. Before starting as a bus driver, Jeff worked in the movie theater industry for 22 years, moving his way up from front house staff to general manager in 1996, and in 2005, he took another promotion to manager of concession operations.

Robin Webster, Woodhaven

• Robin Webster has been with Trinity for 23 years, starting out as a school bus attendant, and then becoming a school bus driver a few years later. After a few years of driving, Robin was asked to be a school bus trainer for Trinity, which she did for 13 years. As a school bus trainer, Robin trained hundreds of drivers for Trinity, as well as attended several training classes on driver training and school bus safety. She also worked as an interim dispatcher at Trinity’s Dearborn Heights and Ecorse locations. 2 years ago, Robin was relocated to Trinity’s Wyandotte Terminal and from there was promoted to dispatch supervisor for the Wyandotte Terminal. In 2017, she was asked to be terminal manager for Trinity’s newly contracted Woodhaven-Brownstown School district, where she continues to grow and learn. Robin has been very dedicated to Trinity and has worked hard to be where she is today!

Renae Pickel, Wyandotte

• Renae Pickel has been with Trinity for 4 years.  She was first hired as the sedan assistant manager.  After 2 years, she moved on to sedan manager, and after 2 more years, Renae has been promoted to Wyandotte’s general manager. She is looking forward to personal growth as well as having a direct hand in the growth of CSC 4125. She is super excited to see what the next 2 years have in store for her!

John Kiraly, Saginaw

• John Kiraly is a former Marine who joined Trinity in 2013. He entered the transportation industry in 1980 at Clintondale schools as the custodial manager and was eventually given more responsibilities. John moved to Saginaw in 1984, where he has continued his career in the transportation industry.

Angela Reynolds, Ecorse

• Angela Reynolds has over 25 years of managerial experience. She started her career working part-time at Payless Shoe Source as a Deca Student. She eventually became network manager, where she managed several specialty stores. After her son’s birth, Angela decided to further her career in human resources at Super K-Mart, where she learned valuable skills from her coworkers. Her next career advancement was to Avis Budget Group at Detroit Metro, where Angela became the first African American airport manager. After working for Avis for a little while, Angela moved on to Macy’s as a general manager and went back to school to receive her business degree. Once she graduated, Angela ventured into banking at Brink’s, Incorporated. Angela put in her time at Brink’s, Inc., and decided that she was ready to start her career at a company that she was going to be at until retirement, which brought her to Trinity Transportation. After several interviews, Angela was offered the position as general manager of Trinity’s Ecorse terminal. When visiting the CSC for the first time and meeting new faces and warm hearts, Angela felt captivated and felt like she had found her second home.

Kevin Rose, Dearborn Heights

• A 20-year veteran of the ground transportation industry, Kevin Rose was just promoted from director of motor coach operations to general manager of Trinity’s Dearborn Heights terminal. As director of motor coach operations, Kevin was responsible for managing the entire motor coach division as well as all of the motor coach drivers. Kevin also oversaw the operation of the 24-hour motor coach dispatch department, which he established to guarantee customers and drivers uninterrupted communicative access to Trinity representatives. For the purpose of preparing motor coach drivers to deliver the finest in service and safety, Kevin developed Trinity’s comprehensive, corporate-mandated motor coach operator training program. The curriculum consists of three weeks of intensive classroom and over-the-road training. Finally, as a commitment to professional development, Kevin has attended “Leadership Skills for Effective Management” seminars, “Supervisor Signs and Symptoms” training, and maintains proficiency as a licensed motor coach and school bus driver.

Joel Matanzas, Detroit West

• Joel Matanzas has over 16 years of experience in the transportation field, with over 20 years of experience in leadership, training, and mentoring, which includes his 4 years serving our country as an 82nd Airborne Paratrooper. Prior to joining Trinity Transportation, he was a regional manager with American Expediting, where he was responsible for 9 offices, 40 employees, and 300 Independent contractors, and managed a customer base of over 500 clients. In the coming years, Joel hopes to inspire his team to deliver the best customer service not only to our passengers, but to one another as well.

Jim LaRue, Detroit East

• Jim LaRue has over 30 years of experience with integrated logistics companies, providing lead logistics management solutions and lean manufacturing support services that include transportation, warehousing, design, and building of complete supply chain networks, supply chain re-engineering and optimization, performance management, quality, safety, and other comprehensive service supporting multiple clients and industries. He has been married to his middle school sweetheart for 40 years; they have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. Jim enjoys being involved with his community through Marine Corp Toys for Tots and Catholic Charities USA. He is also a member of the Transportation Club of Detroit, International Warehouse Logistics Association, and Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, and is president of the Michigan Chapter of the Warehouse Education Research Council. Jim is looking forward to bringing improvement and growth to Trinity Transportation, while implementing best practices and providing a supportive and enjoyable environment.

Kevin Dunbar, Regional Operations Manager

• Kevin Dunbar has been in the transportation industry for over 20 years. He has extensive experience in multi-model transportation operations, including Emergency Medical Services, taxi/sedan, shuttle, charter, and paratransit. He has expertise in operations, customer service, contact center/dispatch, technology, and shared/support services. Originally from Michigan, he recently moved back to the Detroit area from Arizona.