BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HEBRON -- For 24 years, Greg Fillhardt has driven a bus for the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK).
On Sunday, it was his wife Judi's turn to get a taste of how her husband maneuvers around tricky curves.
Mrs. Fillhardt was among dozens Sunday who drove an obstacle course filled with orange and white cones and barrels. The Safety Roadeo, sponsored by TANK, was on the DHL property at the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport.
"I wanted her to have an idea of what I do every day," said Mr. Fillhardt, who coached his wife as she drove. "She's never driven a bus before."
Mrs. Fillhardt, a kindergarten assistant at St. Agnes School in Fort Wright, joked that now she knows her husband isn't out "joy riding."
"It was really hard backing the bus up. It was nerve-wracking. You really have to give 100 percent concentration," she said. The Roadeo's winners were announced Sundayevening at a banquet at Thomas More College. They are:
Driving division: Don Trotter.
Maintenance team: Ron Morrison, Paul Hadorn and Dwight Roberts. The winners will go to the International Roadeo competition in New York City in the fall.
Mr. Hadorn, a maintenance worker with TANK, was on the winning team that found six of the seven hidden defects on a bus. Teams had to find the defects within 10 minutes and start the bus, as well as take a written test.
"The maintenance workers are tucked away in the garage but nobody ever sees us," said Mr. Hadorn, a 13-year veteran, who was also on the winning team last year. "So we come out here once a year and do our stuff."
Later, Mr. Hadorn escorted his date, Tracy Mattingly, to the obstacle course where family and friends of TANK employees tested their driving skills.
Bus drivers said this year's obstacle course was tougher than in previous years because of new buses and a tighter course.
"Basically, the No. 1 thing is to have a good time. No. 2, it's to give you a chance to show the skills you've acquired," said Ed Fulmer, a five-year bus driver.
"Plus, it's all-around good competition."
