Flagship Bus RI is located in Cranston , RI , just minutes away from our capital City of Providence and within earshot of TG Green airport . Our company began in 1981 running casino trips to Atlantic City . Since then , we have grown into an 18 coach full service charter company and we now provide statewide student transportation service for the Rhode Island Department of Education as well .
Suchada Kumnerdsupapol , aka , “ Poe ” took a very long road to land at Flagship in 2006 . Poe grew up in Chiangmai , the second largest city in Thailand . She graduated from Chiangmai University in 1999 earning her bachelor ’ s degree in public administration . She continued her education in Switzerland at University Center “ Cesar Ritz ” adding a post graduate diploma in hotel and restaurant management to her educational credentials . Her quest for more knowledge led her to Providence , RI where she enrolled in the MBA program at Johnson & Wales University in 2004 . She graduated in 2006 with an MBA in Hospitality & Tourism Global Leadership with a concentration in Marketing . With time remaining on her student visa , she decided to try and find work in the US to gain some real-world experience . This is where her Flagship story begins .
Flagship worked with the University and posted a position for an opening to work in our tour department . As luck and perhaps fate would have it , Poe applied with us and thus began her career in bus transportation in 2006 . In a very short time , Poe demonstrated a keen understanding of our business and industry along with the passion that it takes to run a bus company . As time went on , the clock on her student visa began to wind down as well . With her obvious dedication and value to our company , we knew that we could not afford to let her go for lack of a visa . Together we began the long journey to US citizenship which she earned in 2017 .
Her title at our company is now Vice President of Finance and Administration , but , she does so much more . Poe is involved in every aspect of our business ; accounting , payroll , sales , and dispatch and , when necessary , she can handle the washbay too . She works closely with our drivers and has learned the art form of charter bus scheduling , always finding a way to get it done , sometimes as if by magic . When she needs someone to step up and take on a last-minute job or change , we all know that-- “ you cannot say no to Poe !”
From Chiangmai , Thailand to Cranston , Rhode Island is a journey of 8,202 miles with lots of places in between . Of all the possibilities for her to chose , Poe landed in Rhode Island at Flagship and that is absolutely one of the very best things that could have ever happened for our company . As we struggle to find a way to survive the devastation of the pandemic , Poe remains steadfast in her commitment to Flagship demonstrating that each and every day . While our company was literally shut down from March until August , she never missed even one day . She has become an expert in all aspects of the creative financing that is required to navigate these tumultuous times . She does it all with a cheerfulness and optimism that is an inspiration to our entire team , especially now with the challenges we all face . For us , Poe is truly the glue that holds it all together . busride . com | BUSRIDE 43