O.D. Anderson Family Receives 2009 Haller Entrepreneurial Award

Oct. 23, 2009

Dr. Troy VanAken, president of Thiel College, with the Anderson family.

Doug and Dot Anderson present Professor David Miller with a replica of the original Anderson bus.

GREENVILLE, PA—The O.D. Anderson family, owners and operators of Anderson Coach & Travel, received the Thiel College 2009 Haller Enterprise Institute Entrepreneur of the Year Award at a ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the Howard Miller Student Center of Thiel College.

Given annually to a business owner who has demonstrated entrepreneurial leadership, the award, now in its 15th year, was presented to the Anderson family by Thiel President Dr. Troy VanAken and Professor David Miller, executive director of the Haller Enterprise Institute.

Accepting the Haller Award for the O.D. Anderson family were Douglas Anderson, president of Anderson Coach & Travel; Sue Anderson Nicklin, vice president of Anderson Coach & Travel; Dot Anderson, co-founder of Anderson Coach & Travel with her husband, O.D.; and Lyle Anderson, retired vice president of Anderson Coach & Travel.

Doug Anderson presented the long and successful story of O.D. Anderson, the company he built and his entrepreneurial spirit, which he instilled in all of his children—who were all involved with the company from their earliest years. The first “Anderson” bus rolled in 1937 as it dropped off and picked up students from a one-room school house that was taught by Dot Anderson. That chance meeting started not only a marriage, but a life-long partnership that evolved over the years into a world-class motor coach and tour company. After seven decades in business, Anderson Coach & Travel now employees 221 full-time employees, has a fleet of more than 70 vehicles and serves more than a half a million customers each year.

Some of Anderson Coach & Travel’s accomplishments include being the first company to pioneer tours of the Alaskan Highway in 1966, having the interchange of I-79 and I-80 named after O.D. Anderson, being chosen as the large bus transportation provider for the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh and operating as the bus transportation company for most NFL teams that come through Pittsburgh and Cleveland—just to name a few.

The Haller Enterprise Institute, originally named the Thiel College Enterprise Institute when it was organized in 1983, was renamed in 1996 when Pittsburgh residents Dr. Henry E. and Grace Mary Haller provided a $1 million gift to develop entrepreneurial education at Thiel College.      

About Thiel College

Founded in 1866, Thiel College is a liberal arts, sciences and professional studies institution located in Greenville, Pa., that provides a great balance of academic challenge, personal and social involvement, and exceptional value to its 1,000 students. For more information about Thiel College, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, visit www.thiel.edu or call 800-24-THIEL.

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