In 1936, Clarence Hagey ushered in the age of school busing when he purchased his first bus and started transporting children from the overcrowded one-room Franconia Township School to the more spacious Morwood School. It would be his first contract with the Franconia Township School Board. The second milestone that year was the arrival of Clarence and Elsie’s second son, Donald, who today finds himself in the driver’s seat as president of the family business that has spanned 73 years. 

Don and his wife, Linda, have worked hard to build Transportation Services, the school-bus part of the business, and Hagey Coach, the touring part, into exceptional organizations serving two distinct audiences. During the school year, they use 155 buses to safely move 7,000 children across the Souderton Area School District, as well as other public and private schools. Year round, the touring side of the business provides getaways to points along the eastern seaboard and east of the Mississippi. A favorite destination is Broadway in  New York City. Don says, “It is not uncommon for us to have 11 coaches in New York City on a given day.”

While the economy has diminished tourism in many locales, Linda, the secretary/treasurer of the company, reports that they have seen only a slight downturn in the number of people who take a trip with them. “We offer affordable travel. Not every coach is full, but we haven’t had to cancel many tours!” reports Linda.

 “We absolutely love the work that we do every day, but it means that we are not able to give of our time as volunteers to worthwhile organizations like Grand View Hospital,” says Don. “And I have many reasons to appreciate the doctors and nurses at Grand View.” Starting at age 16 with an appendectomy, Don has been a regular patient at the hospital. He has survived both cancer and a heart attack. Together, Linda and Don work out at the cardiac rehab facility at the Grand View Hospital Outpatient Center at Sellersville.

Linda is quick to relay the story of their son, Jesse, who at age three contracted pneumonia and was gravely ill. Joseph Girone, MD, and the pediatric department at Grand View pulled him through. Today, Jesse works at keeping the buses healthy in the garage of Hagey Coach and Transportation Services. Don and Linda know how fortunate they are to have their family involved with the business. Their daughter, Tanya, manages the human resources department while nephews Brian and Blake run the Hagey Coach side of the business.

At Grand View, we are most grateful for Don and Linda’s philanthropy, which has transcended all seasons and economic downturns, and has been given simply in support of the needed services of their community hospital.