| In 1937, when he was only 17 years old, Rue Burnett
bought his first truck. From that humble beginning, he went on to own
many more trucks. Then, in 1954, he purchased his first school bus, and
it was a good thing he did, because it was shortly thereafter that he
met his future wife while driving that school bus. Rue went on to buy
more school buses, adding more contracts with central Wisconsin schools
as time went by. In the mid-1980's, he began servicing area counties,
transporting mentally and physically challenged adults. Then, in 1989,
shortly after his youngest son joined the family business, the first
brand new European motorcoach was purchased, and Progressive Travel was
born. Throughout all those years, his wife, Mary, was taking care of the
business portion of the company. Rue passed away September 3, 1998.
Mary continues to have a presence in both companies—Burnett Transit, the
school bus and special needs transportation company, and Progressive
Travel, the motorcoach company. Joe Burnett now serves as president of
both companies.
From that first new coach to all of the motorcoaches Progressive
Travel owns today, the company philosophy has always been the same:
Quality. |
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