Manatee County’s Employee of the Year says true calling is helping others
BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. - Patricia Adams has been with Manatee County Area Transit for nearly 15 years and warmly welcomes everyone onto her island trolley.
"I view them as family," she explained. "That’s how I view them. In case that might be my mom or my dad."
Her main job has been navigating roads, but her true calling is helping others.
"When you travel you don’t know your way around. So that’s when I stepped in place to help people find where they need to get at. A lot of time I remember people and where they need to get on or off," Adams shared.
Sometimes passengers leave things behind, like their favorite stuffed animal and, over the years, Adams has gone to great lengths to reunite passengers with their things, even out-of-state. It's a lesson in kindness that her parents instilled early on.
"My parents, they were good parents. They raised me up the right way. They’ve always been there for me and they taught me to care for people and taught me to help people who need help. Never turn your back on people who need help because maybe one day you might need that same help," she shared.
Because of her gigantic heart, Manatee County named Adams the 2021 employee of the year.
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"We are family at Manatee County Transit and we all get along. We all help each other. We all give each other hugs. We check on each other," she said.
For Patricia, it's not a job. It's what she does every day.
"I do it because of faith. Because of God. I enjoy helping people. It’s just in me to be a good person and to help someone. One day we might be up and the next day we might be down," she said.
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