Driven to Serve

Transportation Coordinator  Always Goes the Extra Mile
THERE ARE RECORDS, and then there are records.   Just ask Harry Scott.
As Transportation Chairman for the 100 volunteer drivers who transport patients to and from Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California, Harry rattles off some extraordinary statistics regarding the volunteer contributions of his team of Shrine drivers:
• 222 trips a month;
• 500 hours of service a month;
• 1.4 million miles on the road since 1997;
• No tickets;
• No accidents.
Clearly, the record is a reflection of the precision with which Scott coordinates all aspects of the program – from van acquisition and maintenance, to scheduling and maintaining
driving records for his team of volunteers.
But Harry Scott’s most impressive driving record rests in a life of service. For Scott, who celebrated his 83rd birthday in February, putting others first is a way of life.

Born in a small town in West Virginia, Scott moved with his family to Wilmington, Delaware, where he went to high school. He enlisted in the Army in 1946. His tours of duty included Okinawa and the Sacramento Army Depot. While stationed in Sacramento he met Vivian, his wife of 61 years.  While rising through the ranks, he mastered accounting and began a career as a computer programmer when the Army introduced computers in 1959.
Scott retired from the Army in 1966. He took the Civil Service examination in Sacramento and was immediately hired by the Franchise Tax Board, where he managed the Computer Center and its 115 employees until he retired in 1988.

Free from the restraints of a full work week, Scott enjoyed the time he could devote to other activities – golf, Sons in Retirement (SIRS) the Towe Auto Museum, the Shrine and Shriners Hospitals for Children.
In each endeavor, Scott went the extra mile. He organized the golf club for his SIRS chapter. He volunteered to drive a tour bus for the Towe Auto Museum in Old Sacramento, and then he refurbished the interior of the bus in his spare time.

When a friend in the Shrine said they needed more help driving patients to the San Francisco Hospital, Scott signed up for another tour of duty. He reenlisted, if you will, when the Northern California Shriners Hospital opened in Sacramento in 1997.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Scott sits at the helm of the patient transportation program headquartered on the fifth floor of the Sacramento Hospital. Counted among the team of drivers who come in and out throughout the day are a retired dentist, retired city policeman, retired highway patrol officer and other retired professionals. “They do their job without supervision,” says Scott, who manages calls, schedules drivers, troubleshoots problems and keeps track of every trip, every patient and every mile covered by the team of drivers.
He tried to retire in 2007, but came back at the request of his team.  A man driven by service, Harry Scott has the record to show it.