At the end of this 2020-21 school year, Larry Warren will be retiring from his job as a bus driver after driving Gorham students to and from school nearly every day for the past 27 years.
Warren has thoroughly enjoyed his career at Gorham and will never forget some of the memories he made with the kids. His favorite part about his job has always been interacting with the children and helping each one of them to start their day off in a positive way. He will miss the kids and his co-workers but he says it is time to turn the page.
“Larry made each child, no matter their age, feel important and cared about,” said Kimberly Warren, Larry’s wife. “Every child was important to Larry and he wanted them all to feel special.”
Some of Warren’s most memorable moments include helping young kids to learn the ABC’s while waiting to drop them off; bubble gum contests; and water fun on the last day of school.
Warren has visited children in the hospital with bouquets of lollipop flowers, blasted “Happy Birthday” when driving up to students’ houses, and celebrated victories alongside kids who overcame difficult situations.
During his career, Warren also designed and implemented a curriculum to train new bus drivers. Over the last 20 years, he has helped more than 100 drivers get their licenses using his method.
“He was awarded bus driver of the year in 2000 for the State of Maine – an award that once hung in his bus because it was the children that made that honor possible,” said (Kimberly) Warren.
Warren is looking forward to spending more time with his family, and with three teens at home, his wife says the adventure will hopefully never end.
He has had a huge impact on so many kids who have ridden his bus. His kindhearted nature, loving heart, and sense of humor has helped numerous students in different ways throughout the years.
The Gorham Schools will not be the same without Warren and they would like to thank him for all his hard work and wish him luck in whatever comes next.