CBS businessman Scott Parsons deemed one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 leaders

By Craig Westcott

If Scott Parsons felt his ears burning last month, it was probably the night CBS council was singing his praises for being selected one of Atlantic Canada’s top 50 business leaders by Atlantic Business Magazine.
The award got some on council recollecting Parson’s early start in the family business.
Now one of the largest school bus operators and coachlines in Atlantic Canada, Parsons Transportation started out modestly as a small trucking company in 1960 when it was started by Scott’s late father Richard Parsons, who added school buses two years later. That meant Scott grew up in the business starting as a boy, before growing up to take on more of a leadership role in the firm.
“Scott played (volleyball) with me in high school, so we go back a little way,” said councillor-at-large Rex Hillier, who extended congratulations to Parsons on the business award. “Back in the early 2000s, late 1990s, I was involved with a coaching program for the NLVA (Newfoundland and Labrador Volleyball Association) and we were taking teams to the mainland in the summertime. At that point in time, Scott was just starting to build his (line of) coaches. I believe he had two old CN buses that he was using, and that was the first contract that we had, and he had to take teams to the mainland. I remember him saying to me, ‘You know, Rex, if I could get your contract next summer, I could buy another bus.’ And invariably Scott managed to get our contract for any number of summers, and this year he bought one for $600,000, and the seats in it were custom made to match the colours of the tour company that uses it the most. So, he’s come a long way from those two CN buses back in the late 1990s.”
Mayor Darrin Bent agreed the recognition was well deserved.
“You’re right, Scott’s come a long way,” said Bent. “He’s a real gentleman and a great business leader in the town of CBS and I was very happy to see him recognized at Top 50. So that was great on him.”