At its annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee, the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, in addition to hosting Overdrive's Small Fleet Champ finalists in the Thursday, October 23, program, honored the bedrocks of small trucking.
- NASTC honored its "America's Best Drivers" 2025 team of 20 professional operators nominated by NASTC member companies.
- The team of 20 together have logged a whopping 51,442,500 accident-free miles and represent a cumulative 585 years of OTR experience.
- The association's 2025 Best Broker honoree, S-2 ("Solutions Source"), accepted that award, given annually to one of among NASTC's Best Brokers group. Since 1991, when NASTC President David Owen first brought that group together, "No NASTC member has ever lost a dime working with one of our Best Brokers," he said.
- New for 2025, three leading lights among advocates and entertainers, two with long OTR trucking experience themselves, accepted honors as NASTC Transportation Ambassadors.
[Related: TFX, Oberman come out on top: Overdrive's 2025 Small Fleet Champs]
During the Thursday evening program, NASTC President David Owen delivered recognition as Transportation Ambassador to three individuals who will be familiar to regular Overdrive readers: trucker-songwriter Tony Justice, longtime past owner-operator and pro driver/advocate Ingrid Brown, and Lindsay Lawler, a singer-songwriter who today likewise is integral to the trucking-radio operation of Dave Nemo, also on-hand for the event.
"We have a real problem in trucking. We’re politically incorrect," Owen said from the stage in announcing the three new ambassador honorees. "The only people who appreciate us are the people inside this industry, and one of the challenges we have is trying to create a realistic view of big trucks. The people we’re recognizing tonight are people who’ve really helped” do that, giving "of themselves 100 different ways to try to help us give a true image of what you guys are all about.”
Ingrid Brown has been known as a voice for truck drivers in particular for many years. "I've known her for probably 25 years," Owen said from the stage. She couldn't be in attendance due to a health issue, but Owen lauded her trailblazing spirit for truckers, and particularly her voice to the general public about the reality of OTR work and life in business.
Lindsay Lawler and Tony Justice were both on hand in Nashville. "This award brings together my professional lives, which is music, radio and trucking," said Lawler in accepting the honor. And "I agree wholeheartedly with you, Dave, that I think we do a really great job telling each other how great trucking is, but we need to get the outside world to see it, too."
Tony Justice echoed Lawler in some ways, yet placed more emphasis on those Owen routinely calls the very reason NASTC and small trucking companies even exist. "My heroes have always been truck drivers," Justice said. "My dad was one," and though many ask him which came first in life, music or trucking, "I don’t remember a time in my life when both weren't a part of my life."
The full 'America's Best Drivers' team
Miles noted below are for consecutive recent miles run accident-free, not necessarily the product of all of each professional truck driver's years of experience.
- Travis Lauer, Alpha Drivers Transportation, 16 years experience, 1.4M accident-free miles
- Aaron Hayes, Black Diamond Transport, 24 years, 3.08M miles
- Brian Pregler, Capela Transport, 16 years, 1.7M miles
- Jack Rensing, Circle R Xpress, 49 years, 4M miles
- Roger Zima, Foltz Trucking, 42 years, 5M miles
- Baldo Reyes, Four Star Greenhouse Sales & Trans, 25 years, 2.21M miles
- Richard Johnson, Gold Standard Transportation, 54 years, 1.6M miles
- Mike Adcock, Hahn & Phillips Grease Company, 47 years, 4.8M miles
- Violet Holmes, Kisatchie Midnight Express, 38 years, 400K miles
- Jerry Ballo, Long Haul Trucking, 18 years, 2.2M miles
- William Edgin, Millwood Trucking, 25 years, 3M miles
- Christopher Lanning, Naeve Inc., 20 years, 2M miles
- Charles Yahnke, Ohio Eastern Express, 25 years, 3.5M miles
- Justin Baldwin, Pleasant Valley Transport, 17 years, 1.5M miles
- Ken Schulz, QLF Transportation, 30 years, 3.2M miles
- Billy Ross, Southern Illinois Motor Xpress, 22 years, 2M miles
- Doug Hartman, Spoerl Trucking, 41 years, 2M miles
- Calvin Dean, TAC Transport, 25 years, 3.75M miles
- Jonathan Rejman, Venice Enterprise, 26 years, 1M miles
- Dan Stilp, Waletich Transportation, 29 years, 3.1M miles
Set the date for NASTC's 2026 annual conference: October 29-31 back in Music City.
