Realizing he didn't want to lose a valued employee, Doug Johnson sent a text message earlier this week, jokingly offering a raise from $11 an hour to $13 with the hopes of keeping Bernard Reedy among the 140 or so drivers at Care Ride, a Clearwater-based company that provides rides to people who need wheelchair transportation.
Reedy, 25, remains on the Care Ride payroll as Driver 303, but he landed a job over the weekend as No. 18, picking up some Sunday shifts as a first-year receiver with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Johnson couldn't be happier.
"It's refreshing to see somebody with that good a personality and that kind of work ethic hopefully make it down the line," said Johnson, an administrator at Care Ride.