Maverick Drivers of the Month
Maverick Transportation has announced the recipients of the third quarter Drivers of the Month award for 2006. They include July Driver of the Month Scott Shy of Hornersville, Mo., August Driver of the Month Chris Foster of Hot Springs Village, Ark., and September Driver of the Month Keith Graham of Statesville, N.C.
Over 20 Team
Averitt Express recently inducted seven drivers to its “Over 20 Team,” a group of associates who have served 20 or more years with the company. Ronnie Henley of Cookeville, Tenn.; George Oliver of Clarksville, Tenn.; Tony Presley of Brooks, Ga.; Bonnie Hopper of Tupelo, Miss.; Roger Turner of McMinnville, Tenn.; Charles Johnson of Jonesboro, Ark.; and Larry Luton and James Pojanowski of Nashville, Tenn., are now among more than 200 Averitt associates who belong to the “Over 20 Team.”
Decker Drivers
Decker Truck Line Inc. has named driver Keith Andrews as the September 2006 Driver/Owner-Operator of the Month for the Flatbed division and Bryan Thenhaus as the Driver of the Month for the Reefer/Van division.
Andrews, who lives in Fort Dodge with his wife Tammy, has been with Decker since July 1990. He became an owner-operator in 2004 and is a member of Decker’s Million Mile Team. Thenhaus resides in Mason City, Iowa, with his wife Michele. He has been with Decker since September 2004.
Armellini Drivers
Armellini Express Lines Inc. has recognized several truckers as safe drivers for August 2006. They are Pablo Castro, Kim Gogolin, Luis Kawano, George Moore, Luis Manuel Perez, Jose Miguel Quirantes, Ariste Fritz, John Brant, Jesse Gregory and Mark Mascitelli. Safe drivers at Armellini each receive an arm patch, lapel pin and certificate acknowledging their achievement.
Transport America Honors Drivers
Minnesota-based truckload carrier Transport America has recognized six drivers for their service to the company and its customers by naming them August 2006 Drivers of the Month.
The company drivers include Henry Woods, who has been with Transport America for six months, and David Stanley, who has been with the company for four years. William Piktel, a previous Driver of the Month winner, a driver instructor and a member of the Driver Instructor Review Board, also received the honor.
Three professional contractors received awards. Steven Levine, a driver with Transport America for six years; George Carney, an employee for two years; and Edward Eason, a nine-year Transport America driver, were also winners.
Averitt Donates to St. Jude
Averitt Express employees donated $200,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on Oct. 14 during the 10th annual St. Jude Cancer Survivors Conference.
Averitt’s employee giving program, Averitt Cares, has given more than $1.5 million to St. Jude in the past 20 years.
Pay Raise
All Freight Systems Inc., a truckload carrier based in Kansas City, Kan., has announced a pay raise for owner-operators effective Oct. 20. The new rate will be $1 per mile, a 9-cent increase over the previous rate, and will be paid on all miles, loaded and empty. This includes a 100 percent fuel surcharge.
All Freight Systems also recently raised its rates to customers, so drivers on the percentage pay plan have received a significant increase, as well.
Trucker Buddy of the Month
For the past decade, Steve Weibley has served as a Trucker Buddy for Cynthia Paulson’s second-grade class at Sarah Milner Elementary School in his hometown of Loveland, Colo. In recognition of this achievement, Weibley was named the October ACS MultiMedia Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month.
“Steve Weibley has truly made a difference in the lives of my second-grade students,” Paulson says. “He is a wonderful role model, always championing learning and the importance of education.”
Weibley, a company driver for Stevens Transport, visits the school in his big rig about once a month. He uses measurements involved in trucking, such as the size of his trailer, to teach math lessons. He also regularly sends post cards from across the country, as well as maps, travel brochures and educational materials.
Over the years, Weibley has become like a second teacher to the class. Some of his lessons include “Trip Down the Mississippi River,” “Colorado’s Seven Border States” and “The Interstate Highway System.”
Paulson retired at the end of the 2006 school year, and Weibley took the opportunity to take a year off from being a Trucker Buddy. Paulson still teaches part time, and Weibley still volunteers in the community and at the school.
For more information about Trucker Buddy International, visit this site or call 1-800-MY-BUDDY.
