By Sarah Foss and Kevin Nadrowski, manufacturing communications, General Motors
By Sarah Foss and Kevin Nadrowski, manufacturing communications, General Motors
Meet Matt Dewitz, a skilled trades millwright at the General Motors aluminum foundry in Defiance, Ohio, and one of GM’s nearly 7,000 skilled trades employees across the U.S. Dewitz has spent his 30-year GM career on the production of high-quality cylinder blocks and cylinder head castings for our engines.
Matt Dewitz with the Anthony Wayne junior high boys’ basketball team.
Off hours, Dewitz spends considerable time as a community volunteer, with a particular focus on serving as a bus driver for student athletes in the Anthony Wayne school district in Northwest Ohio, transporting them to their games safely and on time.
“Our school district, like many others, had a perpetual shortage of bus drivers,” says Dewitz, who lives in Toledo. “I thought it would be a great idea to help, but it has turned into one of my favorite hobbies.”
When Dewitz shows up, he really shows up. When he’s behind the wheel, he sports a button-down shirt, dark jacket, chauffer hat, along with a bowtie themed to match the sport the students are playing. And he makes the bowties himself.
Matt Dewitz makes his own bowties, which he wears when transporting student athletes.
Since kicking off his bus driving duties in October of 2023, Matt has expanded his schedule to include transporting musicians for band concerts and, even filling in for daily school bus routes. He enjoys chatting with the students, encouraging them before their games and seeing their faces light up when they see him on a regular bus route.
While Matt has no plans to retire anytime soon, he says he’ll “keep driving buses long after his GM days are over.”
Meet Matt Dewitz, a skilled trades millwright at the General Motors aluminum foundry in Defiance, Ohio, and one of GM’s nearly 7,000 skilled trades employees across the U.S. Dewitz has spent his 30-year GM career on the production of high-quality cylinder blocks and cylinder head castings for our engines.
Off hours, Dewitz spends considerable time as a community volunteer, with a particular focus on serving as a bus driver for student athletes in the Anthony Wayne school district in Northwest Ohio, transporting them to their games safely and on time.
“Our school district, like many others, had a perpetual shortage of bus drivers,” says Dewitz, who lives in Toledo. “I thought it would be a great idea to help, but it has turned into one of my favorite hobbies.”
When Dewitz shows up, he really shows up. When he’s behind the wheel, he sports a button-down shirt, dark jacket, chauffer hat, along with a bowtie themed to match the sport the students are playing. And he makes the bowties himself.
Since kicking off his bus driving duties in October of 2023, Matt has expanded his schedule to include transporting musicians for band concerts and, even filling in for daily school bus routes. He enjoys chatting with the students, encouraging them before their games and seeing their faces light up when they see him on a regular bus route.
While Matt has no plans to retire anytime soon, he says he’ll “keep driving buses long after his GM days are over.”