Recognizable by his white cowboy hat, Roy West is one of the many school bus drivers at ASD. Like all non-native Aspenites, West took a unique path to the Roaring Fork Valley before eventually becoming a driver for the school and supporter of its sports teams.

West grew up in Kokomo, Indiana–an industrial and automobile town.

“[It was] noted for some great high school basketball,” West added. Although he was not a player himself, he was once the lead in the class play.

“I think that might have evolved from a speech class. They had us memorize a long speech and I memorized the keynote address to the 56’ Democratic Convention,” West said.

Several years after high school, he came to Aspen on a motorcycle after watching the movie “Easy Rider.”

“When I got here, I never wanted to leave,” West said.

West has driven concrete trucks, worked in the firewood business, and for construction projects throughout the valley. In 2010 he came to the Aspen School District to drive school buses.

“Well, I really like the kids. I get really interested in what they’re doing,” West said when referring to the best part of his job.

Last season West became an enthusiastic supporter of the AHS girls soccer team, driving them to many of their games, and even coming to watch home events.

“At the end of the previous season I was so impressed with how they fought and won a game they weren’t supposed to against Basalt that I became a real fan of theirs,” West said. During the 2017-2018 season the team had immense success, and West enjoyed supporting the team.

“I paid a lot of attention to their games and tried to see how each player was doing and I really noticed when one player was having a way better game then they had had before. When I mentioned it to them they were surprised that someone else had recognized that,” West said–adding that he knows they are going to have another great season this year.

West included that girls soccer was not the only school sport he has enjoyed following.

“I really liked the boy’s hockey team, although they weren’t quite as easy to bond with,” West added.

Next time you’re headed to Vail for a sports game, ask Roy about Hunter S. Thompson, tell him about your game, or chat with him about the Vietnam war–he’s a huge history buff.