Driver of The Year
The ATA National Driver of the Year Award recognizes one professional truck driver for his/her exemplary accomplishments and excellent driving attributes. Contestants for the ATA award start out by winning at the company level and are nominated by state trucking associations.
At the national level, the Driver of the Year Award is presented to a driver whose professional qualifications, experience and performance are noteworthy. A driver may be nominated for an outstanding deed of heroism or highway courtesy; an outstanding contribution to highway safety, and/or a long record of safe and courteous driving - or a combination of part or all of these. An impartial panel of judges from the trucking industry, government and law enforcement chooses the winner.
The honor is considered among the highest a commercial truck driver can receive. As the ATA National Driver of the Year, the winner receives a cash prize, trophy and diamond lapel pin at the ATA Annual Awards Banquet.
Past ATA National Driver of the Year Award Winners are:
| Year | Driver’s Name | Company | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Verle Langford | Eveready Truck Service | Colorado |
| 1949 | Martin Larsen | Indianhead Truck Lines | Minnesota |
| 1950 | Lloyd Reisner | Hancock Truck Lines | Indiana |
| 1951 | John Castner | Pierce Auto Freight Lines, Inc. | Oregon |
| 1952 | Allen C. Sagerhorn | Consolidated Freightways, Inc. | Oregon |
| 1953 | Pat Burkholder | Garrett Freight Lines | Nevada |
| 1954 | Gomer W. Bailey | Buckingham Transportation, Inc. | Colorado |
| 1955 | Floyd J. Pemberton | Commercial Carriers, Inc. | Michigan |
| 1956 | Lewis E. Cook | Reed’s Transfer & Storage Co. | Iowa |
| 1957 | Ernest Roedel | Freight Ways, Inc. | Missouri |
| 1958 | Reuben C. Thomas | Sessions Company, Inc. | Alabama |
| 1959 | Carl C. Crim | Hugh Breeding, Inc. | Oklahoma |
| 1960 | Russell L. Brown | American Petrofina Co. | Texas |
| 1961 | Melvin O. Griffith | Eagle Transport Co. | Texas |
| 1962 | Arthur M. Lear | St. Johnsbury Trucking Co. | Maine |
| 1963 | Wm. C. Nunley | Yellow Transit Freight Lines | Oklahoma |
| 1964 | Woodrow W. Given | Service Lines, Inc. | Tennessee |
| 1965 | Russell L. Beaulieu | Branch Motor Express Co. | Rhode Island |
| 1966 | Donald Beaudette | Land O’Lakes Creameries, Inc. | Minnesota |
| 1967 | James A. Martin | B & L Motor Freight | Ohio |
| 1968 | Wray Mundy | D C International | Colorado |
| 1969 | Frederick Marsh | Watt Transport, Inc. | Rhode Island |
| 1970 | Frank DeLucia | Adley Express Co. | Connecticut |
| 1971 | W.T. “Shorty” Smith | Central Freight Lines, Inc. | Texas |
| 1972 | Clarence Hoffman | Raymond Motor Trans. Company | Minnesota |
| 1973 | Curtis C. Stapp | System 99 | California |
| 1974 | Wilbur “Bill” Moore | Pacific Intermountain Express Co. | New Mexico |
| 1975 | Calvin W. Lane | Coors Transportation Co. | Colorado |
| 1976 | Harry R. Thomas | Robertson Truck-A-Ways, Inc. | California |
| 1977 | Olen Lee Welk | C&H Transportation Co., Inc. | Dallas, Texas/Missouri |
| 1978 | William M. Whim | Mid-American Lines, Inc. | Kansas |
| 1979 | Frank M. Waldron | C&H Transportation Co., Inc. | Arizona |
| 1980 | Malvin B. Mathews | Complete Auto Transit | Georgia |
| 1981 | Kenneth W. Olson | Murphy Motor Freight Lines | Minnesota |
| 1982 | William G. Yates | Hobart Corporation | Ohio |
| 1983 | Arthur E. Schooley | Jack Cooper Transport | Missouri |
| 1984 | N.F. Plunkett, Jr. | Chevron USA | Alabama |
| 1985 | John Chamberlain | Giant Food | Washington D.C. |
| 1986 | Davis C. Wrich | MacMillan Bloedel Bldg. Materials | Maryland |
| 1987 | Jack Wilhite | Liquid Transport, Inc. | Indiana |
| 1988 | Louis E. Mora | Sierra Pacific Power Co. | Nevada |
| 1989 | Charles K. Thompson | Neal Oil Co. (APC) | South Carolina |
| 1990 | J. Koole | Steelcase, Inc. | Michigan |
| 1991 | John D. Porter | Con-Way Central Express | Ohio |
| 1992 | Jerry Pitra | Super Valu Stores, Inc. | Minnesota |
| 1993 | David P. Maphis | Hadley Auto Transport Co. | California |
| 1994 | LaVant Bean | Anderson Trucking Service | Minnesota |
| 1995 | Floyd R. Buffington | CF Motor Freight | Illinois |
| 1996 | David G. McDonald | Roadway Express | Kansas |
| 1997 | Harold Likins, Jr. | Farmland Industries | Kansas |
| 1998 | James E. Sheriff | Roadway Express | Illinois |
| 1999 | Thomas W. Hawks | Overnite Transportation Company | Tennessee |
| 2000 | William Whim | ABF Freight System, Inc. | Kansas |
| 2001 | Steven Williams | Nobel Sysco | Colorado |
| 2002 | Kevin Scott Harris | ABF Freight System, Inc. | New York |
| 2003 | Doris Hansen | Quality Transportation, Inc. | Montana |
| 2004 | Charles Brown | Yellow Transportation, Inc. | Kansas |
| 2005 | Larry Springer | Central Freight Lines | Texas |
| 2006 | James Wilcox | Yellow Transportation, Inc. | New Mexico |
| 2007 | William Gray, Jr. | UPS Freight | Maryland |
| 2008 | David J. May | Con-way Freight | New York |
| 2009 | Keith Suits | Rite Aid Rome Distribution Center | New York |
| 2010 | Anthony A. Jones | Central Freight Lines | Texas |
| 2011 | Dalton “Rickey” Oliver | Walmart Transportation, LLC | Mississippi |
| 2012 | Ronald Fuller | Central Freight Lines | Texas |
Read more about this topic: American Trucking Associations
Famous quotes containing the words driver and/or year:
“God help the horse, and the driver too!
And the people and beasts who have never a friend!
For the driver easily might have been you,
And the horse be me by a different end!
And nobody knows how their days will cease!
And the poor, when they’re old, have little of peace!”
—James Kenneth Stephens (1882–1950)
“He bends to the order of the seasons, the weather, the soils and crops, as the sails of a ship bend to the wind. He represents continuous hard labor, year in, year out, and small gains. He is a slow person, timed to Nature, and not to city watches. He takes the pace of seasons, plants and chemistry. Nature never hurries: atom by atom, little by little, she achieves her work.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)