When you think about value, what do you think of? What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about treasure? Do you think of treasure as valuable? Have you seen the movie Hidden Figures? My friend, if you can answer any of these questions, then you most certainly have an idea of what a hidden treasure is. 

Here at MAX Transit, we have so many stories of hidden treasures. We have employees that have a story. They are the thread in the fabric of who MAX is. One of MAX’s Hidden Treasures is Debra Files. She is affectionately called Miss Deb by her co-workers and riders. Debra has been with the MAX family for 15 years in Customer Service. 

Debra started her journey in the Money Room part time. She then moved to Central Station for eight years and interacted with customers each day. After eight years, she moved to the Call Center where she currently works. Now she provides service with a smile, by giving our customers important information about our routes and schedules. 

When I started to work for MAX in July 2016 as the IT Coordinator, I first met Miss Deb in the Call Center. However, I have since moved to the Communications Department and I had the honor of working with Miss Deb educating our riders about our new app, MAX MyStop Mobile. It was during this time, I got to witness the magic for myself. This is the moment I knew that we had a Hidden Treasure. I felt like I was on an episode of Cheers, and everybody knew Miss Deb. There were lots of stops and hugs along the way. Miss Deb says, “Out of all the places I’ve been able to work at MAX, I loved dealing with my people at Central Station the best.”

Miss Deb has some advice for all of us. She says, “Have fun on the job and be personable.”