MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Phil Vallone, President Rolling V Bus Corporation Liberty, NY

The Covid 19 pandemic hit Rolling V Bus hard. Theirmotor coach business, specialty car service, schoolsports trips, field trips and day trips became non-existent.So they got lean; selling vehicles, taking others offthe road to reduce overhead. “We’re back to our corework, what we know best and that’s the yellowschool bus,” says owner Phil Vallone.

“Obviously, with remote learning, we’ve seen asignificant change in our school bus operations.Ridership is way down as expected but surprisinglythe number of buses for the home to school work issimilar because of the reduced ridership on each bus.With the spacing requirements, they need about thesame amount of buses. I thank God that we were and weare a strong company. If we hadn’t been, this certainlycould have put us out of business. It helps that we’re alsodiverse and all of our eggs aren’t in one basket. We have agood customer base and we will get through this.

We also own the Roscoe Beer Company and the Twin Village Golf Course which is right across the street and they’re doing well.”

Rolling V is celebrating 30 years in business in 2020 and 20 years with the Sullivan County Partnership. When asked why he’s been such a dedicated member of the Partnership, Vallone says he just sees the big picture. “Aside from networking, the value of the partnership to any business is the profile that it gives Sullivan County and attracts new businesses to our area and as a result of that- everybody benefits; some directly, some indirectly. The more people you bring into the area, the more jobs you create, people move here, their kids go to school, they use school buses.”

Vallone, born in Brooklyn, has been coming to theSullivan Catskills since he was 1, and relocated here in 1990 with his wife, Donna to start his family and hisbusiness. He is the eternal optimist with regard to thefuture success of his beloved Sullivan County. “We were on a good roll and we will get back there. The new bloodthat is coming into the county, as a result of Covid isgreat. Speaking to my hometown of Roscoe, N.Y., severalbusinesses were sold, a couple new businesses started,young people, fresh blood, fresh ideas and a new energy,things are going to be okay.”

As far as the Partnership goes, Vallone believes that it’s critical to work hand in hand with the organizations in the county such as the Visitor’s Association and the Chamber of Commerce just to build name recognition for our county. “The truth is, it’s that name recognition that created the real estate boom and all of the new business inquiries coming into the Partnership office. Had all of these entities not worked together to successfully create the name recognition, people could have looked elsewhere. It’s so very important to work with others for the common cause - in fact, it’s the key to what’s going on right now.”

His advice to new members of the Partnership? “Attend events, listen and make friends.”