The City of Marion Transportation Department’s Dispatch team is made up of Teresa “Terry” Glessner and Tonya Kroft. Both are seasoned employees of the City of Marion with Kroft’s hire in 2006 and Glessner’s in 2011.
During the shutdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, Kroft and Glessner took on many additional tasks along with the other employees of Transportation – answering 60 to 70 calls a day for a total of over 27,000 calls during the 15-month call-ahead period. The two had to evaluate and negotiate each call, and determine the best way to transport each call-ahead rider in order to maintain the maximum number of 3 people to a bus at any given time during a large portion of the emergency. “Everyone who wanted picked up had to go through them,” explained Transportation Director Jeff Edwards. “In what was a chaotic time, they kept things under control through their quick organization, delegation, and professionalism.” He added, “Especially during that time, they were the glue that kept Transportation going.”
The Transportation Department was one example of the many City departments working behind the scenes to keep the City of Marion operating in good order. Edwards expressed, “All the drivers kept the buses clean and sanitized every day, and still continue this practice. These tasks are not easy. The mechanics, support staff…they all do an incredible job. On the surface, all you see are the buses driving around town, but there is a really whole lot that goes on behind the scenes.”
