In 1927 Albert Laurence Luce, Sr. recognized the need and opportunity for safe, economical school bus transportation. He was a Ford dealer in Fort Valley, Georgia and he saw a need in the market. He sold another companies body to mount on the Ford truck chassis he sold and it rotted before his customer had paid it off. Laurence said to his customer, "I believe I could build a better bus than that, myself." The customer responded, "Why don't you?" and the idea was born of building a better bus. Designed into the first bus which he built are some of the central safety features still being used today in the school bus industry, like the continuous steel bow. Other new developments followed as he formed a company during the great depression years that today is called the Blue Bird Corporation. The story of Laurence Luce, his wife Helen and their descendants is a story of faith, ingenuity, and hard work that made an impact on employees, a community, an industry, and most importantly customers all over the world. "Your children's safety is our business" was the cornerstone focus of the company, and the legacy of this company will always be measured by those words. Blue Bird buses are used in every state and every province of the United States and Canada and many countries throughout the world. This is the story of a vision becoming a reality.