Published: September 30, 2006 02:10 am      

Bus driver centers his life around kids

GREENVILLE — He drives a school bus, delivers food to schools and referees at school sports games. You might say he’s the driving force behind the lives of hundreds of local children.

Buck Edwards, 50, drives a school bus for the Greenville Independent School District — bus No. 40, to be exact. He also works in the district’s child nutrition and maintenance departments. He delivers frozen and non-perishable foods to all the schools, and he maintains the equipment in every school’s cafeteria.

As soon as he gets off work, however, he heads to the local parks and officiates at basketball, volleyball and softball games for Greenville High and Middle School and for the City of Greenville.

Edwards is also active in his church, Clark Street Christian. He sings in the choir, is an assistant chairman of the board of church directors and a church deacon. (He’s a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, by the way, and wears his Cowboy paraphernalia to church on game day.)

“Every aspect of my life is centered around kids,” Edwards said. “Everything I do involves kids, whether it’s driving a school bus, working with kids in church or officiating sports.

“I work with kids seven days a week,” he said. “There’s never a day off and never a dull moment. That what makes my life so rewarding.”

Edwards has been working for the GISD for seven years and has been a bus driver for six years.

“Driving a school bus is a challenge,” Edwards said. “Sometimes, you have kids that don’t want to listen. The main thing is not to lose control, because you have too many lives in your hands. When you’re driving, you’re responsible for all the kids on the bus.

“Being a bus driver works well for me. I know a lot of people. I don’t have a lot of problems with the kids, because if I don’t know the kids, I know their parents.”

Edwards also stays active in the community, and he ran for city council 10 years ago.

“I might get back into that because I love politics,” he said. “I’ll always be active in the community because there’s always so much to be done.’

Edwards and his wife, Millie, have been married for 25 years, and they have three children, Lakecia Wright and Jennifer Edwards of Arlington and Michael Edwards of Greenville.

“My wife and I have a very unique relationship,” Edwards said. “She’s not only my wife but my best friend. There’s not anything, that if we challenged ourselves, that we couldn’t do together.”

Edwards said he loves kids and enjoys working with them on a daily basis.

“I think the kids look up to me because I’m active in the church and am into sports,” he said. “They see me everywhere.

Edwards also believes that he’s a good influence on children.

“It’s good when you can be around kids and be a positive role model,” he said. “I encourage kids to do the best they can do, encourage them to get a better education and by all means, to respect your fellow person.”

Edwards said the main motivations in his life come from his family and the children in the community.

“The kids are our future,” he said. “We need to be there for our kids now so they can be there for us in the future.”