Fleet insider

Maverick Driver of the Year
Maverick Transportation announced that Lee Hammond of Norwalk, Ohio, was its 2006 Driver of the Year. After 11 years of service with Maverick, Hammond was honored with the annual title after a vote was taken from the 12 Drivers of the Month selected throughout 2006.

As Maverick’s October Driver of the Month for 2006, Hammond was recognized for a combination of safe driving, positive attitude and genuine driver professionalism.

Hammond previously has won a Million Mile Safe Driving Award. As Driver of the Year, she will receive an extra week of vacation time, a $2,500 bonus check and a custom-made leather jacket.


2-Million-Mile Driver
Con-way Freight announced that driver Steve Freitag has achieved 2 million accident-free miles. Freitag joins a list of only 12 Con-way drivers to achieve this career milestone.

“Steve Freitag is a valued member of our team, and we congratulate him on this remarkable achievement and his dedication to safety,” says David S. McClimon, Con-way Freight president. “His accomplishment underscores our commitment to safety – a core value at Con-way.”

A native of Naperville, Ill., Freitag has been a driver for Con-way Freight for 20 years and has 37 years of driving experience. Prior to joining Con-way Freight, Freitag reached 1 million accident-free miles – bringing his career total to 3 million. Freitag resides in Huntington, W.Va., with his wife and daughter.


3-Million-Mile Mark
CFI has announced the fifth driver in CFI history to reach 3 million accident-free miles. Delmar Hale, who started driving for CFI in 1984, says he was inspired to drive professionally from a childhood dream. He feels that driving was a lot easier when he first started but says it’s been good to him overall.

“You can’t let your guard down. You’ve got to pay attention at all times to stay out of trouble,” he advises. Hale resides in Cabool, Mo., with his wife, Linda.

“CFI has had 623 professional drivers reach the 1-million-mile mark, 66 professional drivers reach the 2-million-mile mark, and only five professional drivers reach the 3-million-mile mark during their driving careers at CFI,” says Herb Schmidt, president and CEO of CFI. “This commitment and loyalty exemplifies the professionalism of Delmar Hale and reflects CFI’s dedication to safety and customer service.”


Bull Dog of the Year
CTL Transportation has awarded its Bull Dog of the Year award to Kenny Dawson, tank truck driver from the company’s Atlanta terminal. Dawson has been with CTL for eight years. The award recognizes coworkers monthly who display great character, integrity, professionalism and performance or improvement in performance.

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Since the award’s beginning in 2005, 17 CTL coworkers have been recognized as Bull Dogs. Of these award winners, only one is recognized as the Bull Dog of the Year.
CTL Transportation awarded the first monthly Bull Dog Award of 2007 to Loyd Harrell, tank truck driver of the company’s East St. Louis terminal.


Crete Facility
Nebraska-based Crete Carrier will invest $5.4 million and bring approximately 50 jobs to a new trucking facility near Interstate 40 in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge region in Tennessee. An estimated 75 trucks will use the Roane County facility on a daily basis.

Crete president Karel Znamenacek says the new site will include an office and numerous amenities for drivers, including an eight-bay drive-through maintenance facility for servicing trucks and trailers, a lounge, lunchroom and bunk room.


Warren Driver Makes Iowa Team
Steve Recker of Warren Transport Inc. recently was selected as a member of the 2007 Iowa Road Team. As a member of the Iowa Road Team, Recker will take a few days each month to travel across the state, meeting with the public and talking about highway safety and trucking issues.

The Road Team is organized by the Iowa Motor Truck Association, which represents more than 750 trucking companies from across the state.

Recker has been with Warren for 22 years and has worked in the trucking industry for a total of 31 years. Over the course of his career, Recker has driven a total of 3.1 million miles and has never had an accident.


Transport America Honors Drivers
Transport America has announced its Drivers of the Month for December 2006.

Honored drivers include Jerry Nelson, who has been with Transport America for eight months; Gail Daugherty, a driving instructor who has been with Transport America for nine months; and Jeffrey Atwell, who has been with the company for seven years.

Contractors recognized are Emanuel Owusu, who has been with Transport America for 14 months; Alan Leitzen, 11 years; and Gery Schonhart, more than 25 years.


Godfrey Honors Top Drivers
Salt Lake City-based national truckload carrier Godfrey Trucking has announced its 2006 Drivers of the Year. To qualify, drivers must accumulate more than 100,000 miles, have no preventable accidents, have an excellent attitude with customers and operations staff, make on-time deliveries and have a professional appearance:

  • Jerry Lanier, Owner-Operator Driver of the Year, joined Godfrey Trucking in 1986.
  • Jim Turner, Company Driver of the Year, joined the company in 2002.
  • Trevor Wood and Kevin Moulton were named Best New Owner-Operator and Best New Company Driver, respectively. Both joined Godfrey Trucking in 2006.
  • Dave Green, an owner-operator, and Clint Siplinger, a company driver, were presented the Driver Appreciation award for 2006. This award is presented to drivers who met all of the requirements for Driver of the Year except the mileage requirement.
  • Kirk Hales was named Good Samaritan of the Year. This award is presented to the driver who performs the most profound act of service. In May, he witnessed a car overturned in the median and was the first person to the scene. He grabbed blankets out of his truck and covered each passenger to prevent them from going into shock. Hales stayed on the scene and talked with the passengers to offer comfort until police and medical assistance arrived to provide proper treatment.

Minnesota Honors Koch Driver
The Minnesota Trucking Association recently held a banquet for its Drivers of the Year. Among those recognized were August winner Charles Iuan. At the age of 15, Iuan began driving trucks on a farm. He moved on to drive large military trucks while in the Army from 1960 to 1963, and since has driven large civilian trucks. He has 4 million safe miles.

Iuan came to drive for Koch Companies in May of 1999, hauling general freight from California to Minnesota and back. Iuan and his wife, Betty, reside in Fresno, Calif., where they attend the World Harvest Church and are involved with the American Red Cross, the Police Officer’s Association and the Disabled Veterans. Iuan also is a member of the Highway Watch program.


Decker Drivers
Decker Truck Line Inc. has named its February Drivers of the Month.

Michael Washington was named Driver of the Month for the Flatbed division. He has been with Decker Truck Line for more than a year and drives out of the company’s Birmingham, Ala., terminal. Michael and his wife Beatrice enjoy spending lots of time with their granddaughter, Asia, when Michael is at home.

Lynn Beckler was named Driver of the Month for the Reefer/Van division. He has been with Decker Truck Line for 22 years. For the last three years, Beckler has been one of a group of three drivers hauling animal pharmaceutical products on a dedicated route.


Penske Opens New Facility
Penske Truck Leasing has opened a new facility in Lincoln, Neb. The 6,400-square-foot, $2 million facility offers commercial and consumer truck rental services, full-service truck leasing and contract maintenance, two service bays and a truck washing bay.

The facility also features state-of-the-art technology that allows Penske service technicians to integrate various vehicle diagnostic and repair software.


Hoekstra Names Top Driver
Hoekstra Transportation recently honored Ron Leoni as Driver of the Year for 2006. Leoni received the award at Hoekstra’s annual Christmas party.

Since joining Hoekstra in 2005, Leoni has driven more than 200,000 accident-free miles. When he’s not driving, Leoni spends time with his wife, Cindy, and enjoys fishing, hunting, shooting and NASCAR.


Dart Drivers
Dart Transit has announced its November and December 2006 Contractors of the Month.

The November winners are Larry Hamilton and Monika Jacobsen. Hamilton is from Baltimore and has contracted with Dart since 2002. Jacobsen is from Randolph, Minn., and has contracted with Dart since 2005.

The December winners are Peggy Glaspy of Butler, Ala., and Dana Ellefson of Zumbrota, Minn. Glaspy has contracted with Dart since 2005 and Ellefson since 1995.

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