PTL Drivers of the Month
Samuel Maier is the Paschall Truck Lines Company Driver of the Month for March. Albert and Ida White are the PTL Owner-Operators of the Month.
Maier has been with PTL for more than 10 years and has more than 1,200,000 safe miles.
The Whites are previous Drivers of the Month and Drivers of the Year. Albert has 900,000 safe miles. Ida has 800,000.
Gainey Acquisition
Gainey Transportation Services has acquired North American Blanket Wrap Division.
North American’s Fort Wayne, Ind., facility will remain the headquarters for the division and will be renamed Gainey Specialized Transport.
North American has handled more than 500,000 specialty truckloads catering to clients in the public, medical, furniture, technology and exhibit industries since it was founded in 1949.
The move expands Gainey’s fleet from 1,154 tractors to 1,319 and adds 500 trailers to Gainey’s 2,830 for a total of 3,330.
Overnite Dominates Driving Competition
Overnite Transportation Company drivers captured two championship titles and the team trophy at the West Virginia State Truck Driving Championships in Charleston, May 25.
Clarence Jenkins took the winner’s trophy in the tanker division. A 30-year Overnite veteran, Jenkins also won the competition’s pre-trip award for identifying hidden safety defects on a truck.
David Maynard won his first state championship in the four-axle class.
As state titleholders, Jenkins and Maynard will represent the company at the National Truck Driving Championships in Tampa, Fla., in August.
Four other Charleston drivers also delivered strong showings at the competition. Rick Gragg took second-place in the straight truck class, while Roger Lanham, Ralph Gragg and Craig Warner each placed third in the three-axle, sleeper truck and five-axle class competitions, respectively.
Roger Nicholson, an Overnite city driver out of Parkersburg, W.Va., was named Rookie of the Year after earning the best score among all first-time competitors.
The West Virginia State Police named nine Charleston Overniters – Robert Bryant, Rutherford Burcham, Ralph Gragg, Craig Warner, Allen Jones, Charles Maynard, Chris Morris, Randy Pullen and Ira Queen – to its list of Outstanding Drivers.
Ryder Drivers of the Year
Richard Mills, of Jacksonville, Fla., was named 2004 Driver of the Year for Ryder’s U.S. Supply Chain Solutions Automotive business segment. He has been a Ryder employee for 32 years and has driven 2.6 million collision-free miles in his career.
Robert Nichols, of Toledo, Ohio, was named 2004 Driver of the Year for Ryder’s U.S. Supply Chain Solutions High Tech and Consumer Industries. Nichols has more than 2.3 million collision-and-violation-free miles since he began driving in 1981.
Paul Beote, of Portland, Maine, was named Ryder’s Fleet Management Solutions 2004 Driver of the Year. Beote has worked with Ryder as a member of H.P. Hood Dairy Products since 1968. He has logged more than 3.1 million collision-and-violation-free miles in his 34-year career.
Each recipient will receive a five-day, four-night cruise to the Bahamas, a trophy, ring and watch, and will be inducted into the Ryder Driver Hall of Fame.
Barr-Nunn Ups Pay Package
Barr-Nunn raised its company over-the-road driver pay package.
Drivers with one to six years of verifiable OTR experience now make 39 cents per mile.
Drivers with seven or more years OTR experience will now make 40 cents
per mile.
Drivers also can now earn 1 cent per mile as a 401(k) contribution from Barr-Nunn in addition to their starting pay. The pay cap was also increased one cent, to 45 cents per mile.
Barr-Nunn also added PrePass Plus to its benefits list. PrePass Plus will replace the E-ZPass transponders. They enable drivers to bypass scales and pay tolls electronically.
They will be free of charge to all current company drivers, current owner-operators and new company drivers. New owner-operators will pay $3.25 a week for the first six months for the PrePass Plus service. After six months, Barr-Nunn will pay all of the cost.
SCRA Driver
The Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association recently awarded Steve Boozer of Bennett Motor Express with its Million Miler Safety Award. He was awarded with an engraved silver platter and letter of recognition from SCRA.
