Driver of the Year
Conrad Hopper of Jesup, Iowa, is the Warren Transport, Inc., Driver of the Year. Hopper was selected as one of Warren’s 2004 Drivers of the Month. He was also a Driver of the Month in 1990 and 2003. Since joining Warren in 1988, he has driven 1.8 million accident-free miles.
Trucker Buddy of the Month
Dave Volkert is the Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month. He was nominated by Maria Therres’ St. John Baptist School second grade class in Vermillion, Minn.
Volkert lives in Rosemont, Minn. He is one of the more than 3,500 professional drivers who send a weekly postcard to a grade school class.
Through Volkert’s postcards the class has learned about geography, math and properties of gases. The students learn about gas because Volkert is a company driver for Praxair – an industrial gas company – based in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. Each spring he brings his tanker truck to the school and gives a presentation about the gas he hauls.
As Trucker Buddy’s Driver of the Month Volkert will receive a personalized jacket, along with a check for $300 to spend on his class and $200 in Trucker Buddy merchandise, compliments of MultiMedia. He will also receive an IdleAire adaptor and a Koolatron cooler. The class will receive a CrossCountry USA game from Ingenuity Works.
Drivers and teachers can find out more about the program by visiting this site or calling (800) 692-8339.
Schneider Regional Brokerage Offices
Schneider National, Inc. is opening 10 new regional brokerage offices in 2005. This increases the Schneider network to 27 offices. The offices will increase Schneider’s third-party carrier network in the United States and Mexico.
The new offices will be located in: Indianapolis, Ind., Seattle, Wash., Tulsa, Okla., Charlotte, N.C., Harrisburg, Pa., Detroit, New Orleans, Boston, St. Louis and Monterrey, Mexico.
Celadon Buys CX Roberson
Celadon Group has bought Roberson Transportation’s truckload van business, plus 370 tractors and 670 van trailers. Paul Will, Celadon CFO, says his company bought the business and property of CX Roberson for $22.7 million. The transaction did not include any assets of Roberson’s flatbed business (PFT Roberson) and brokerage service (WLS Roberson). According to Roberson Transportation, its van division generated $45 million in gross revenue in 2004.
Four-wheeler Winner
The grand prize for the Anderson Trucking Service’s fall recruiting giveaway went to Roy Kowski of Barre, Vt. Kowski won a 2004 Artic Cat at the drawing, which took place at Truck World in Hubbard, Ohio.
Landstar Freight Brokerage Website
Landstar Systems has organized a new website that allows small carriers to pick and choose what freight they want to carry and where they want to carry it. Website users simply log on to the free site and select the starting and terminating points for the haul and what they want to carry.
Users will be able to contact the shipping agencies for rate information before hauls and click on a link to send Landstar equipment list information that will then be transferred to the company’s shipping family.
Maverick’s 2004 Top Driver
Tony Sutherland of Scott Depot, W.Va., is the 2004 Maverick Transportation Driver of the Year. Sutherland received the title at the annual Maverick Driver of the Year banquet in January.
Sutherland was the company’s April Driver of the Month. Sutherland has been with Maverick for more than 12 years and during that time, he has received numerous safety awards, including a 10-year safe driving award and a recent Million Mile Safety Award.
Sign-on Bonus
P.A.M. Transport Inc. is offering a $1,000 sign-on bonus to students who complete the company-sponsored CDL training program through Driver Solutions, Inc. The bonus plan follows on the heels of the company’s recently announced driver pay increase.
The Driver Solution program takes about three weeks to complete, and the employer covers up-front tuition costs. Upon completing the training program, students hired by P.A.M. Transport will receive their $1,000 new-hire bonus and start working for the company at an entry-level salary.
PTL Drivers
Juan Castro Jr. was Paschall Truck Lines August 2004 Company Driver of the Month. Tadeusz Rymsza was PTL’s August 2004 Owner-Operator of the Month. Castro has been a professional driver for six years and has been with PTL for the past three and a half.
He was also a 2003 Driver of the Month and has received the 400,000-mile Safe Driving Award.
Rymsza has been a professional driver for nearly 30 years, the past four with PTL.
CFI Drivers of the Month
The CFI 2004 Company Driver of the Year is Richard Norman. He joined CFI in 1994 and lives in Lancaster, Texas.
Jay Van Wormer is the Contract Driver of the Year. He lives in Springdale, Ark., and joined the CFI team in 1992.
The Company Team of the Year is made up of Gordon and Dora Colvin. The Colvins began driving for CFI in 1996. Together, they have driven more than 2 million miles for CFI. They reside in Udall, Kan.
Stacy and Donna Moran are the Contract Team of the Year. Stacy joined CFI in 1995; Donna followed in 1998. They live in Granbury, Texas.
Each driver and team honored as a driver of the month during the year 2004 was an automatic nominee for driver of the year in his or her respective category. A resolution from the Missouri State Senate and a cash prize, among other prizes, were presented to each winner.
