Woodward rewards bus drivers with $1,000

SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Woodward Academy bus drivers were surprised with a $1,000 check Monday for going beyond the extra mile.
 
Channel 2's Linda Stouffer was there when they received the unexpected gifts for beating last week's epic winter storm that paralyzed metro Atlanta residents.
 
"Twelve, 13 hours, we didn't get home until 5 o'clock the next morning," one driver said.
 
Woodward Academy in south Fulton County draws students from more than 20 north Georgia counties, so drivers already have a long commute on a normal day.  But during the storm, it turned in to a sleepover.
 
"I got in the emergency lane and kept the traction all the way up the highway in the ice," said driver Blondine Revel.
 
She had to sleep in a lobby after carrying 31 students safely back to Cobb County.
 
Woodward's president read a thank-you note from a dad.
 
"We will always have a special place for Blondine in our hearts and think of her as our family," the letter said.
 
Revel said she simply did what she had to do.
 
"I had no choice. I wouldn't leave my students out there. There was no way," Revel said.
 
Woodward President Stuart Gulley said a parent suggested the big bonus and said he's sure the private school community will cover the $45,000 worth of gratitude.
 
"It was just heroic in the eyes of all of us in this community and we just want them to know how much we appreciate them and love them," he said.

WSBTV