Owner-operators compete for $25,000 prize

user-gravatar Headshot
Updated Jan 22, 2019
DOY_4-2017-01-05-15-23
Robert RothRobert Roth Kevin KocmichKevin Kocmich Danny JewellDanny Jewell

Two Americans and one Canadian have a chance to win a $25,000 prize in the 2018 Owner-operator of the Year contest, announced the Truckload Carriers Association and its contest partner Overdrive.

The finalists are:

  • Danny Jewell of Nebraska City, Nebraska, who is leased to Warren Transport, Inc. of Waterloo, Iowa;
  • Kevin Kocmich of Litchfield, Minnesota, who is leased to Diamond Transportation System, Inc. of Racine, Wisconsin; and
  • Robert Roth of Coldwater, Ontario, who is leased to Erb International of New Hamburg, Ontario.

The winner will be announced at TCA’s 81st Annual Convention at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort on March 12.

Also announced then will be the winner of the Company Driver of the Year contest, produced by TCA and its partner Truckers News, a sister brand of Overdrive’s. That winner also will receive $25,000. The two runners-up in each contest will receive $2,500 each.

The sponsors of the Driver of the Year Contests are Love’s Travel Stops and Cummins Inc.

The contests recognize the truckers’ safety, their efforts to improve trucking’s image and their community contributions. The owner-operator award also recognizes business acumen.

The owner-operator finalists will be profiled online and in the February issue of Overdrive.

The Company Driver of the Year finalists are:

  • Don Lewis of Republic, Missouri, who drives for Wilson Logistics of Springfield, Missouri;
  • David McGowan of Marinette, Wisconsin, who drives for WEL Companies, Inc., of De Pere, Wisconsin; and
  • Ester Nemeth of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who drives for Bison Transport also of Winnipeg, Manitoba.