Why I Work for RTD: Sherri Lee looks back on 40 years of service
Lee wrote the following reflection about her tenure at RTD. Afterward, she spoke about her career and herself. The drone photo below includes many of her current and former colleagues, some of whom are retired and returned to the division to recognize Lee during the week of her anniversary.
“I spent 40 years with RTD because this isn't just a job for me. It's been a big part of my life and who I am from the first day I started. I believe in what RTD stands for: connecting people, helping our community move forward, and making a difference every single day. Over the years I've met so many incredible people: co-workers who became family, passengers whose stories stayed with me, and leaders who inspired me to keep growing.
"I've seen the city change. Buses change; routes change. But what hasn't changed is the pride I feel in knowing I've played a part in something that truly serves others. RTD has given me purpose, stability, and lifelong friendships. I’ve stayed because I care about the people we serve and the team I work with. Forty years later, I can honestly say I'm proud of the work I've done and the difference we made together.”
--
“I've been married for about 10 years. This is my second marriage. I have four kids and eight grandkids. The babies are twins, and I enjoy them so much. I enjoy my grandkids.
"How I started working here was a bet between me and my father, that I wouldn't drive a bus. And I said, watch me. In 1985, I used to have the 47X and it went in Montbello. Right at 47th and Peoria was a real tight turn, and back then we had buses with no power steering. I'll never forget, my dad came to that corner when I was supposed to come around to watch me turn and not hit the curve. My dad has passed, but I always think about that story.
"My last route, the 24X, was at University and Arapahoe. Coming back to East Metro, you had to go down County Line Road. There was no 470. It was a two-lane road in the snow, and that's back when we had real winters. I said, if I can get through this winter, I can be a bus operator. I drove for 12 years.
"I remember being 21 driving a bus, and I remember my first trip out, and it was on an artic. All these people got on the bus, almost a standing load. I looked in the back mirror at all these people and I said, their lives are in my hands. This is real.
"I treat people like I want to be treated. There's still a certain type of respect you give people even when there's need for corrective action. You treat them how you would want to be treated in that situation, and I've lived by that my whole life. I was raised like that. I was raised in the church. I always smile. I think, be the reason someone smiles.
I love what I do. I love my job. I love helping people. I love bus operators, and I guess because I can relate, I love the younger ones, the ones that might need that extra push or that extra encouragement or that extra look. When I trained, I was the only female in a class of 21, and I was the youngest. This is a decent job, but there are certain things you have to do to protect it. This job requires a lot of responsibility. And I think it takes a certain maturity level to be successful.
People have changed from when I started to versus what I see, but I love people. I think people are interesting. I always tell everybody, you don't know their story. I don't know how your night was. I don't know what you've been going through. I always kept that in mind when I was driving, when I opened that door. I'm going to try to maintain my professionalism: Good morning. How are you doing? Have a good day, in all situations. You just try to maintain your part of your job and deal with people as they come.
I was 32 or 33 when I became a division supervisor, which was still young compared to who I was supervising. I mean, they were twice my age. Some of them remembered when I used to ride the bus to school. I think that was the biggest challenge, but I ended up not having it as much because when I came to Platte, everybody got to know me here as a supervisor and not as a driver.
I'm here to help. I'm here to support, and that's what I've been doing in all the different positions that I have. I'm here to support the operator, and sometimes that may involve corrective action or just putting you back on the right track. You may come and talk to me, but let's hope you don't come and talk to me about this again. Let's learn from this. Now, there might be something else, but we're going to learn from this one.
I love the relationships that I have built, the trust. I think to get a good team, to get good operator support, there has to be a sense of trust. Platte is where it’s at! I love my team, my division supervisors, everybody.”