Bailey Coach received the Small Business Award from the York County Chamber of Commerce today.

The success of Bailey Coach rests on this: being proactive. John Bailey and Rodney Sechrist are a great match; both do whatever it takes. They bought their first two buses in 1998, on a whim, they had them painted pink and purple. Since then, it’s clear they’ve become more intentional, long-term planners. They anticipated clients’ needs, capitalizing on a need for smaller buses, and upping the standard for comfort, visibility and spaciousness. They trained their drivers to handle every possible contingency and every customer interaction. And when they got to the top of their game, they continued to innovate.

Bailey Coach bought an airport transportation service in 2003, and recently launched an educational adventure tour series. They filled bus after bus with students and took them to see the King Tut exhibit in Philadelphia . They developed strategies to fill in low-capacity days and seasons, and developed a system to make it easy for airports and trains to contact them immediately when needed. They also installed satellite and drive cams in coaches to monitor driver performance and pinpoint fleet locations.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, the group was called upon to help evacuate residents, and were able to send down 32 buses.

Bailey Coach invests in the community locally as well. John and Rodney, both longtime Rotarians, transported about 10,000 students free of charge to teach them how to live healthier lives at the Susan H. Byrnes Center . “If we made a difference in just one student’s life, it was well worth it,” declares John. They’ve donated services to a variety of nonprofits and churches. Personal involvement includes sitting on school district boards and travel advisory boards.

The award winning Bailey Coach has been recognized as one of the 50 fastest-growing businesses in South Central PA.