Tony Peterson is the new general manager for Kosciusko Area Bus Service.
The Kosciusko County Commissioners unanimously approved Peterson for the job at their meeting Tuesday. Peterson replaces Amanda Landis, who left the position after two years for another job opportunity.
Cardinal Services Corporate Vice President Matt Boren made the recommendation to the commissioners and asked for their approval of Peterson. KABS is a service of Cardinal Services Inc.
Boren told the commissioners that for the past month, “We’ve been doing interviews, considering any and all qualified applicants, and then making the tough decision of who the best candidate is.”
The commissioners had copies of Peterson’s resume.
“Tony, for the past 16 years, has worked for Cardinal Services. He’s also had some experience at Bowen Center, and just really has an incredible understanding of this community and this county’s needs,” Boren said. “So he comes to us with a lot of relative experience. He’s also had a lot of supervisory experience and just general quality of oversight within Cardinal and at Bowen.”
He said at the end of the interview process, “We really felt like he was the best candidate and he had a lot to offer to the public transportation system here in Kosciusko County.”
Peterson is serving as Cardinal Services’ adult services director for Kosciusko County. Boren said he’s had the “opportunity and privilege” to supervise Peterson for the last three years and was really impressed with his leadership.
KABS has about 15 employees.
The commissioners approved the recommendation to name Peterson as KABS’ general manager.
Before the meeting, Peterson, 40, of Akron, said he’s worked for Cardinal for 14-1/2 years, with most of that time in adult services. He said he will transfer from Cardinal Services to KABS on Nov. 25.
“It’s all new to me,” he said. “It’s something different, something new. Something to get involved in with the community more. I’m from Akron, so I’m not very familiar with Kosciusko County, so it’ll give me some new knowledge I don’t have currently.”
Born in Elkhart, he said he has two daughters and a grandson.
