By Scott D. Johnston
Ian Shrader, the longtime Grays Harbor Transit Dial-a-Ride bus driver in Ocean Shores, was honored Tuesday, August 8, with the presentation of a plaque celebrating his years of service to the community, in front of dozens of well-wishers at the “by the beach” transit shelter at the west end of Chance a La Mer.
After receiving a cancer diagnosis, Shrader retired in March, having driven more than 14 years in Ocean Shores and more than 24 years and a million miles total at Grays Harbor Transit.
As a Dial-a-Ride driver, he stayed in Ocean Shores, and didn’t follow a regular route. Instead, he would pick up and drop off people throughout the area, always inside the city’s “gates.” He said that meant 50-60 pickups daily in the winter and 80-90 in the summer. The numbers were higher when the passenger ferry between Ocean Shores and Westport was running, for some time necessitating the use of two Dial-a-Ride buses for the peninsula.
Everyday motorists who sometimes struggle with the 25-mph speed limit found throughout much of the city might cringe as they read another set of numbers from Shrader’s job: he drove an average of 120 miles on a typical day, 150 miles on a busy day, all within the city limits.
Several of those who spoke at the brief ceremony Tuesday afternoon referred to Shrader as someone who touched people’s lives and made a difference, for his passengers and also for his co-workers.
“His passengers know him by name, and that’s a wonderful thing,” Patti Carlin, the GH Transit operations manager, said. “It’s so neat to see this appreciation for a man who has served his community, his passengers and his fellow employees… we just love Ian!”
Loren Falls, a transit co-worker and friend of Shrader since they were teenagers in Pacific Beach, said “Ian has a heart of gold, would take time to help passengers to their door, and if they needed assistance, carry their packages to the door for them,” often working over lunch or beyond scheduled service hours to get his passengers to their destinations. Falls also noted that Shrader and his wife, local artist Jerri Shrader, create and distribute holiday baskets for needy residents each Christmas.
Fellow driver Mercedes Molinet said, “We all love Ian and Jerri; they’ve opened their hearts and their home to all of us,” and said they’ve set an example for “the community, all of us at Transit; it’s just inspiring for everyone.”
His fellow Grays Harbor Transit employees came up with the idea of a plaque and donated to cover the cost. The city has endorsed having the plaque mounted at the Chance a La Mer Transit shelter.
Ocean Shores Mayor Crystal Dingler shared “how impressed I am with everybody that put this together for Ian. It says at lot about them and it says a lot about Ian, that they cared so much … they did it all themselves.”
Shrader thanked the crowd, his co-workers and passengers and friends, neighbors and the community for their outpouring of support, and offered some comments on his battle with cancer.
“You know, 9 out of 10 people who get this are gone within a year, and they gave me six to eight months… I’m coming up on eight months, and I’m actually feeling better, so I’m thinking I’m gonna stick around here for a few more years anyway,” he said, to much applause.
