The 2005 Operator of the Year John Fabre
John is a Louisiana native, raised in Seattle and attended Garfield High School. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1965, where he served two tours of duty in Vietnam.
After a one-year apprenticeship at Lockheed Shipyards, John sought a change of career, and applied with both the Seattle Fire Department and Seattle Transit, where he started driving in June 1970.
In his employment application, John had three reasons why he wanted to become a bus driver: responsibility, contact with the public and good benefits.
In Johns 36-year career with Metro, he has operated every type of equipment in the system, including the Waterfront Streetcar and the Monorail. An early probation report noted that he had completed trolley training, and his performance was "Okay and showing improvement." Perhaps it was an understatement as John has earned his 31-year Safe Driving Award.
In his 28 commendations a common theme is that John is extraordinarily kind, courteous and helpful towards his passengers. Typical comments in these commendations are:
"Customer says he appreciates the driver...friendly and competentvery careful and does not jerk the bus. This driver is really nicetalks with the passengers...greets everyone with a big smile and says Have a nice day!"
John also has numerous commendations from district supervisors and management in assisting other operators and the organization. On January 30, 1991, one of those commendations was: "John assisted in moving stalled and abandoned coaches back to the base on the day following a major snowstorm. John drove some coaches back to the base without chains despite road conditions which were poor at best. I would have been hesitant to drive out of some of those situations myself, but John did not hesitate in providing increased service to the public."
His quick smile and warm laugh have made John widely recognized in the system. He has had a very positive influence on his peers by providing them with an excellent role model and good advice.
Johns son, also named John, is a Deputy Sheriff for the State of Rhode Island and is the pride of his life.
John was selected as Operator of the Month three times in his career, most recently in January 2005 as Operator of the Month for Ryerson Base. John was selected Operator of the Year in balloting by all the Operators of the Month for 2005.
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