MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — In Rutherford County, a school bus driver is marking 50 years on the job with a nomination to the Tennessee School Bus Driver Hall of Fame.
"I don't deserve anything," said Joseph "Joby" Givens. "I just do my job and let it go."
Givens picks up students who attend Oakland Middle School and Oakland High School. He drives the No. 3 bus.
"That's always been my number. That was my number when I went to school, same number," Givens said.
It just so happened when he became a school bus driver five decades ago, he was assigned to the No. 3 bus.
"It picked me," Givens said.
The 86-year-old says his Rutherford County route has stayed mostly the same over the years. Even some of the families are the same.
"Majority of the kids that I haul on the bus, I hauled their parents when they went to school," he said.
The humble driver was surprised when he learned he had been nominated to the Tennessee Bus Driver Hall of Fame for his service and dedication.
"Well, it is an honor, but I don't know if I deserve anything other than I have been driving 50 years and that's about it," he said.
In June, Givens will learn if he was picked to be in the Tennessee School Bus Driver Hall of Fame.
He says he isn't planning his retirement just yet.
"I'll just quit when my body says quit. I feel good. As long as I feel good, I plan to keep driving. Got to do something," he said.
