A distinguished RAAF career and dedication to the coach sector sees Trevor ‘Boots’ Beutel win November’s Driver of the Month award
By David Goeldner | November 18, 2011
Trevor ‘Boots’ Beutel from Coach Charters Australia is the inaugural winner of ABC’s Driver of the Month, in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz.
Boots was a clear choice as our November 2011 winner, given his impeccable driving record, covering 2.2 million career kilometres and just over 200,000 kms with Coach Charters Australia, based at Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory.
Coach Charters Australia Managing Director Karl Powell says when he first started his business in 2002 he was known for saying that his team wasn’t complete without Boots Beutel.
Boots joined Coach Charters Australia five years later in 2007 after a 12 year stint with Greyhound Australia.
The nickname ‘Boots’ comes from his distinguished service in the Royal Australian Airforce where he rose from motor transport fitter to Flight Sergeant, winning several service medals along the way.
The tag ‘Boots’ was originally ‘Bootlaces’, given to him by a tough drill sergeant during his early service as an apprentice in the RAAF.
“People dropped the ‘laces’ and it’s been Boots ever since,” he says.
Boots says most people don’t know his first name.
“I have carried a lot of people over the years, and people will still come up to me and say ‘how are you going Boots’, and I wonder how people know me.”
Boots still gets offers to go back to Greyhound, and has been approached by Dyson’s Cobb and Co, but says he enjoys working with Karl Powell and Jo Cahill, the owners of Coach Charters Australia.
Since joining the RAAF in 1970, Boots harboured a desire to drive coaches.
Boots is a ‘crash box’ specialist, and it was back in his RAAF days when he learnt the art of manually synchronising gears.
He says most drivers don’t know how to use a non-synchromesh gear box, which is an art that has kept him in good stead as a coach captain since the early 1990s.
What enhanced Boots selection as our November winner of Driver of the Month was an endorsement from the RAAF, highlighting the skills he has applied from military service to his present day role.
RAAF Group Captain Graham Bond says Boots is more than a safe and reliable driver.
“His previous service in the RAAF is a bonus, enabling him to establish rapport with his clients and passengers through his familiarity with Service ranks and protocol,” Bond says.
“He is tolerant and understanding, and never shows frustration with unplanned changes to itineraries.”
Bond says Boots is a team player with old-fashioned values such as discretion and dependability.
“He is an ambassador for his employer and for his country – an asset to both.”
Boots says his RAAF experience instilled standards of punctuality and discipline that he doesn’t see anywhere else.
“That’s what is so good about ex-service personnel working for civilian employers,” he says.
Boots says he is elated at winning the Driver of the Month award, not expecting to win, but pleased at being the first to receive this national recognition.
NOMINATE YOUR DRIVER
To nominate your staff member for Driver of the Month, send details of driver’s career history, a written reference highlighting the driver’s contribution to your operations, and include a photo of your nominated driver. Also include the nominator’s email address and phone contact.
Send entries by post or email to:
David Goeldner, Managing Editor Australasian Bus & Coach
PO Box 3712 South Brisbane Qld 4101
Email: dgoeldner@acpmagazines.com.au