KELLOGG – It’s not everyday that someone from the Silver Valley gets state level recognition for the work they’ve done locally. That’s exactly the case though with former Kellogg School District Transportation Department Director Tony Dechand, who recently was awarded the Idaho 2019 Supervisor of the Year Award.

Announced in early July at the Idaho Association of Pupil Transportation conference in Boise, Dechand had no idea he was up for the award until they called his name.

“I was very surprised,” he said. “I was excited about this award, it showed that I made a difference in Idaho Transportation and my peers recognized this.”

Supervisor of the Year is given out based nominations by fellow employees (this includes his team of drivers, dispatchers and the District Superintendent, Nancy Larsen). These nominations are then reviewed by the IAPT board members and they make the decision who wins. IAPT board members are made up of representatives of all six transportation regions in Idaho.

“This award is well-deserved because Tony has had a deep commitment toward his job, a pleasant attitude, and an ability to build a team environment,” Larsen said. “His depth of knowledge for his position is exemplary.”

Dechand has worked for the Kellogg School District for the last 15 years- 6 as a mechanic and 9 as a supervisor.

Before his time with KSD, he worked in several different industries that included over the road trucks and being a heavy equipment, mining and diesel mechanic.

Because of his hard work and depth of experience, Dechand recently stepped down as KSD Transportation Director to take the state position of Region I and II Specialist for Transportation.

This role is responsible for all the districts from the Canadian boarder to Riggins, Idaho.

“I help all districts in this area with any questions they have on rules of operation,” Dechand explained. “Every other year I perform a spot inspection on all the districts in region 1 and 2, this includes inspecting buses for any deficiencies, inspecting driver training files to make sure all drivers are meeting the Idaho standards for training and also financial reviews of the Transportation Departments.”

While she is happy that Dechand has taken this new position, Larsen says that he will be greatly missed in the Kellogg School District.

Lori Osberberg has recently been hired to fill the vacant position left by Dechand.

“I enjoyed working for Kellogg School District because the administration and staff are good people to work with,” Dechand said. “The school board are always open to new ideas and they put a lot of trust in the department heads of the district. I had one of the best groups of school bus driver mechanics and administrative assistants in the state. Team work is the key to how well the Kellogg Transportation Department excels above other districts.”