Guinness Record Holders Honored During Tom’s Driving School 75th Anniversary Celebration

By James Bonney

For 75 years, Tom’s Driving School has been a fixture in Greenwich, teaching generations of residents the rules of the road while remaining one of the town’s longest-running family businesses.

On Thursday, town officials, family members, former students and supporters gathered at Greenwich Town Hall to celebrate the school’s 75th anniversary with a formal proclamation ceremony recognizing the business’s decades of service to the community.

 

The event also marked another milestone for the Ferraro family. Owners Tom Ferraro Jr. and Linda Muccio were presented with recognition as Guinness World Record title holders as the world’s oldest active driving instructors after each surpassing 38 years as owner and operator of the school.

Speaking during the ceremony, Jeremy Ferraro reflected on the legacy built by his grandfather, Tom Ferraro Sr., who founded the school in 1951 at just 29 years old while raising two young children.

“Today’s celebration is not only about the 75 years,” Ferraro said. “It’s about my grandfather and the legacy he built.”

Ferraro noted that when his grandfather passed away in 1988, he had spent 37 years operating the business. This year, Ferraro Jr. and Muccio entered their 38th year leading the school, surpassing their father’s tenure.

“It’s a little bittersweet this year,” he said. “They needed their own legacy.”

First Selectman Fred Camillo presented the proclamation alongside town officials, recognizing Tom’s Driving School as Connecticut’s longest-running driving school and one of Greenwich’s most iconic small businesses.

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The proclamation stated that the school has taught more than 50,000 students from Greenwich and neighboring communities including Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, Bridgeport and Trumbull.

Camillo also reflected on how driving instruction has changed since the school first opened.

“Back in 1951, obviously, they didn’t have cell phones,” Camillo said. “They didn’t have all the distractions.”

Ferraro Jr. credited the school’s longevity to its family-centered approach and commitment to safety.

“My dad was a people person,” he said. “He knew how to get to people and get them to do what they needed to do.”

He added that the school has evolved alongside Greenwich itself, where traffic volume and driving conditions have dramatically changed over the decades.

 

According to Camillo, Greenwich had approximately 14,000 registered vehicles in 1969. Today, the town has roughly 56,000 registered cars. Despite those changes, the school has remained rooted in the community. Ferraro Jr. recalled that when the business first opened, driver education courses were taught in what is now Greenwich Town Hall, then the old Greenwich High School building.

Throughout the ceremony, family members repeatedly thanked parents, instructors, office staff and the wider Greenwich community for supporting the business across generations.

“We couldn’t do it without family and friends and office staff,” Ferraro Jr. said. “There’s a lot of people that got us here.”

As the event concluded, attendees gathered for photos with the proclamation and Guinness World Record certificates, celebrating a business that has remained a constant presence in Greenwich for three quarters of a century.

 

See also:

On the Road for 65 Years, Tom’s Driving School Ferraro Family Say Some Things Never Change

April 2016