Sarah Brown
In the early mornings, while most people are still asleep or just beginning to wake up, Ken Bronson will be listening to the patter of his feet on the ground, or the quiet splash of water as his arms break the surface of Foster Lake, or the wind whizzing past his ears while he runs, swims and bikes.
He takes in the beauty of the lake when it looks “just like glass” or “kinda like green Jello.” He notices the herons, kingfishers and other wildlife, hears the braking of log trucks along the highway, and smells the Douglas fir from the mill as it wafts over the lake.
As he swims, Bronson closes his eyes and daydreams or “solves problems” while also focusing on his pace and direction into the rising sun. When his smart watch vibrates, he knows how far he’s gone, and turns at an angle to head back.
His dog Kara joins him for runs through Sweet Home’s forested trails, only the sound of her dog tags slightly breaking the silence.
It’s the fact that he can experience all this and then go have breakfast with his wife – all within a few miles – that Bronson appreciates about Sweet Home.
Bronson is the executive director at the Sweet Home Senior Center, but will be stepping down from his position when he turns 65 on Aug. 31.
He’s not leaving, though. Bronson will remain in a part-time position to help with transportation and the finances that keep it functioning, he said, including dealing with “all the bureaucratic paperwork.”
While Bronson oversees the senior center, a majority of his responsibilities include managing the three transportation programs housed at the facility.
He is celebrated for integrating clean fuel to the Shuttle fleet, installing a coronavirus cleaning system, and increasing route services – including adding the Sweet Home Shopper.
A drive-by parade to honor him and all he’s done for the community will be held this Friday, Aug. 28.
When Bronson first took the position 10 years ago, fresh from the wood products industry, he had no experience running a senior center or public transportation. What he did know, though, was how to run a business.
“Coming up here, I knew nothing about it, but I know how to manage people and I know how to treat people with respect and I know how to build a team, and we’ve done a pretty good job of that here,” he said.
Bronson had spent 29 years running wood products companies. He realized that, in his new position managing Sweet Home’s transportation, it was still about putting the right people in the right place, working as a team, and giving respect that creates good employee morale, he said.
When he started in 2010, the “financially strapped” Linn Shuttle was running only four routes a day, and Bronson noticed the buses were “jam packed,” with standing room only, he said. He also saw a spare bus sitting unused in the yard.
So he turned on his business sense, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.
The first thing he did was double-up the four routes five minutes apart to cover the overflow. Then he increased them to six routes, and then, eventually, to seven routes a day.
Last year, State Transportation Improvement Fund money became available, and Bronson was at the ready to put it to use. He added Saturday service to the Shuttle, doubled the Shopper service, and increased the Shuttle to 10 routes a day and into the evening.
In recent years, he’s started using the buses to advertise local activities and communities, showing off the cities as “a place less traveled,” and praising the local colleges.
When COVID hit, the transportation system statewide was threatened, with most going down to about 11 percent ridership. But Bronson didn’t let that stop him because, he noted, transportation is so important to people in East Linn County.
“It’s pretty crucial that those things remain going. That’s why I don’t want to cut service back,” he said.
He rigged up an enclosure of thick plastic strips around the driver that allow for freedom of movement while protecting others from potential coughs and sneezes. Passenger seats were also blocked off intermittently to provide proper social distancing.
As such, ridership between the three transportation programs remains between 45 to 65 percent compared to pre-COVID days, he said.
“We’ve got some of the best numbers in the state, when you compare it to other programs and compare it to ridership,” he said.
Now Bronson can add to his boasts that Sweet Home is the first in the state to utilize a fogging system on its buses (see page 24).
At the end of each day, instead of wiping everything down to prevent COVID contamination, drivers can now turn on a mist that fills the bus. It’s a “serious stuff” solution originally intended for ambulances that is designed to kill the virus, he said.
It’s his last big act as executive director.
Sally Pelham, who sits on the board of directors for the Sweet Home Senior Center, said Bronson has done an “awesome job” keeping up with everything involved in his position. Even with COVID keeping doors shut, he goes over and above the call of duty.
“I don’t think anybody could say enough for all the time and effort that he spent, and all the insight and knowledge that he has, and the excellent job that he’s done with the transportation in itself, as well as the senior center,” Pelham said.
Dawn Mitchell, Bronson’s assistant, will take over his position.
Bronson hopes that in the years and decades to come, the transportation service will continue to evolve, “serving our community the best possible public transportation that we can provide at a reasonable cost,” he said.
As he looks into the future, he is also pondering the full Ironman Triathlon he plans to take on in September. It’s the first one he’ll have done, and he’s a little nervous about it because he’s had knee surgeries in the past. Plus, he’ll be retirement age – for most people.
But his knees have held up when he’s completed half-Ironman challenges, and he holds the high scores at Steelhead Fitness for MyZone, a fitness competition that many gym members are involved in, so there’s confidence he can do it.
His son Blair, who founded the Best in the West Events in Sweet Home, got Bronson involved in triathlons. It’s right up his athletic alley, involving his three favorite sports and the fact everything is tracked – his pace, distance, time, etc.
He loves that stuff, and he has the watch to prove it.
Bronson is thankful for Sweet Home’s community of “good, solid people” who don’t hesitate to come together to make something happen, he said. And he’s grateful everything he loves is within a running distance.
“If you swim, bike, run, this place is awesome.”