ATA Safety Management Council presents annual awards

Nov. 2, 2016

The American Trucking Associations’ Safety Management Council presented Lisa Gonnerman of Ruan Transportation with the 2016 National Safety Director Award. The award was presented at the ATA Safety, Security and Human Resources National Conference and Exhibition in Oklahoma City OK.

“By establishing strong safety cultures throughout her career in trucking, Lisa has made a significant impact on highway safety and undoubtedly saved lives,” said American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear. “The trucking industry is fortunate to have committed safety leaders, like Lisa, and ATA is proud to recognize individuals who make safety their top priority.”

Under Gonnerman’s supervision, Ruan Transportation’s safety culture was reinvigorated, in part because of Gonnerman’s creation of a safety training program titled MegaSafe7. According to Ruan’s leadership team, Gonnerman’s development of the program empowered Ruan employees to take ownership of their safe driving behaviors and spread safety messages throughout the company.

Gonnerman is an active leader not only in her company, but in initiatives throughout the trucking industry, including ATA’s Safety Management Council committees and Iowa Motor Truck Association committees. She currently serves as chairman of the ATA Safety Management Council’s Regulations Committee.

Hired by Des Moines, Iowa-based Ruan Transportation in 2010 as safety director, Gonnerman has since been elevated to the role of vice president of safety and is celebrating more than 24 years in the trucking industry. She is the driving force behind continued significant investment in safety technology and was the lead advocate to install electronic logging devices across the entire Ruan fleet.

Frank Calvert, a professional truck driver with AAA Cooper, was named the industry’s National Truck Driver of the Year. Calvert received the 2016 National Driver of the Year trophy in Las Vegas NV during ATA’s Management Conference and Exhibition in October and is in the middle of his 60th year as a professional truck driver. He was also named the Alabama Driver of the Year in April.

The Safety, Security and Human Resources National Conference and Exhibition also set the stage for the presentation of several other key trucking safety and security awards. The Tennessee Trucking Association was honored with the State Excellence Award, given annually to a state trucking association making innovative and impactful progress on promoting safety to their members.

The ATA President’s Award was given to three companies who exhibited safety excellence in their daily operations:

• Gorski Bulk Transport, Detroit MI, for fleets under 25 million miles;

• TCW Inc, Nashville TN, for fleets between 25 million and 100 million miles and;

• Old Dominion Freight Line, Thomasville NC, for fleets with more than 100 million miles.