‘You cared about our schools’
Marshall School Board honors Hey family for operating Southwest Coaches
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MARSHALL -- The Marshall Public School District honored members of the Hey family for operating Southwest Coaches bus service for 52 years during Monday’s school board meeting.
The meeting opened with a speech from Trisha Stelter, director of operations at Marshall Public Schools. She started by recounting the 70-year history of Southwest Coaches, from its beginnings as Nelson Bus services and sales in 1956, to its purchase by Tom Hey and Jim Hey in 2000, to the fire in 2018 and the full recovery by the next year.
Tom and Jim Hey agreed to sell Southwest Coaches to the Reliant Company of Hastings effective Aug. 1.
"We are here to honor Marv, Tom and Jim as they close one chapter and begin another. After truly a lifetime of service," Stelter said. "Think about all that has changed over the years in transportation. Students have grown up, graduated, and come back with children of their own. Staff have come and gone, routes have changed, technology has certainly changed. And through it all one thing has remained the same, we could always count on Southwest Coaches."
Tom and Jim's uncle, Chuck Hey, purchased the business in 1974. Their father, Marv Hey, became the manager. Their mother, Jan Hey, joined the business in 1975 when the company launched Southwest Tours.
Marv and Jan bought the business in 1986. Tom and Jim have been the owners since 2000.
"One memory that still makes me smile to this day is I very quickly learned that Tom does not like being woken up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday because an activity bus has not shown up to the high school yet," Stelter said to laughter in the room.
Stelter closed off with a direct acknowledgement to Tom and Jim, how their work is often thankless.
"What always stood out to me is that you genuinely, genuinely cared," Stelter told them. "You cared about your students, your drivers. You cared about our schools. You cared about getting the job done right."