Iowa Lakes Charter ready to serve as northwest Iowa's new 'fun bus'

(Photo submitted) Crystal O'Clair is the new owner/operator of Iowa Lakes Charter, LLC. Via her 14-passenger shuttle bus, O'Clair is ready to offer transportation for wedding parties, bachelor and bachelorette gatherings, family reunions, birthday celebrations, medical appointments, field trips, company outings, Christmas light tours, holiday festivities, trips to the casino, prom or any other special event.

The owner/operator of Iowa Lakes Charter, LLC -- the area's newest charter service -- is ready to get rolling on Midwestern roadways and serving residents' transportation needs.

"Basically what I do is cater to your needs -- whatever you need," O'Clair said of the service she's providing with Iowa Lakes Charter, LLC. "If you need somebody to take your family to a family reunion, I'll take you. I have a trip to Omaha this weekend, where I'm taking a church group down for a puppet convention. It's an overnight deal, so I am open for things like that, too."

The first-time business owner is currently operating from her Grand Avenue home in Spencer.

The 28-year-old woman, who has served in the U.S. Army and as a jeweler among other things, has experience in the transportation field. O'Clair worked as the dispatch manager of the local RIDES-Regional Transit Authority office for three years before branching out on her own in this business venture.

When RIDES stopped providing a small charter trip service last April, at the prompting of the Federal Transit Administration, she viewed it as an opportunity.

O'Clair spent the last six months organizing Iowa Lakes Charter, LLC.

Encouraged by the number of requests and inquiries she received for such a service, O'Clair knows she's now offering to provide something that's needed in the area.

"Every time I turned around there was somebody telling me they needed this service," she said.

After contacting various entities and individuals about the potential business she was planning to undertake, O'Clair began compiling her business plan. She also sought budgetary and financial assistance from Kelly McCarty, director of the northwest Iowa Small Business Development Center in Spencer.

"I had some help from the Clay County Revolving Loan Fund. I've also received a lot of support from within Spencer and the surrounding communities," she said.

O'Clair recently road tripped to Memphis, Tenn. to pick up her 14-passenger shuttle bus.

"It actually used to be a 22-passenger bus, but they took some seats out in order to make room for a luggage rack in it and to put a cooler and other things like that in. The seats are unique because they go around the outside," O'Clair said of her shuttle's perimeter seating. " ... It's very open. People can talk to one another and be very comfortable in it."

The Denver, Colo. native, who's applied for an interstate license permit, also recently drove friends in her specialty vehicle on its maiden voyage in northwest iowa.

O'Clair claims the nearest charter services -- based in Le Mars and Jackson, Minn. -- both have larger 50-passenger buses.

"It tends to be a lot more expensive to rent those to go here and there. Also, when you think about maneuvering around the Lakes area and places like that, it's just not convenient. Basically, that's what sets me apart," O'Clair said. "I have a little bus. I'm a party bus -- or whatever you want to call me. I kind of go by the 'fun bus,' but it's not just about parties -- it's about wherever the fun is. That's where I can take you."

"Right now, I'm working on everything at this point -- booking trips, driving and everything. Eventually, I want to grow to the point where I'll be able to step back and be the overseer of everything, hire some drivers and, obviously, have more buses," she continued. "I have a lot of ideas rolling around and hope to maybe once a month do a trip to the casino or something like that. ... I just can't wait to get it all going."

* For more information on Iowa Lakes Charter, LLC, to make a reservation or to receive a quote, call O'Clair at (712) 260-9847 or e-mail her at nwiafunbus@live.com.