THE National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC) have launched the William A Usher Sr Award to recognize excellence within the professional tank-truck driver community. The formal announcement came April 29 during the National Tank Truck Carriers’ 65th Annual Conference in Austin, Texas.
The program will honor professional tank-truck drivers and independent contractors who serve the industry with the most reliable and safe transportation of liquid and dry-bulk commodities. The award is named after William A Usher Sr from Usher Transport Inc because of his extensive career in and service to the tank-truck industry. NTTC member Baldwin & Lyons Inc is the official sponsor of the award.
Eight finalists will be selected in the spring of 2014 and one champion driver will be named at the NTTC’s 66th Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, which takes place April 27-29, 2014.
This top tank truck driver will be selected for his or her abilities to operate safely and professionally, demonstrated leadership abilities within his or her own company, and the candidate’s contributions to the industry and community.
The Usher Award furthers the NTTC’s mission to champion safety and success in both the tank truck community and the people they serve. The association believes this new program will help promote improved safety among all drivers, advance the association’s strategic plan, and strengthen its safety committee.
NTTC Vice-Chairman Dean Kaplan proposed the new program to the membership based on his company’s valuable experience with similar programs on the state and national levels.
“This kind of program for tank-truck drivers is long overdue given the demands of our unique industry,” said Kaplan, who is chief executive officer and executive vice-president of K-Limited Carrier Ltd. “A first-class recognition program strongly complements our safety mission and allows us to honor the true assets of our respective businesses—our professional drivers.”
Said NTTC president Dan Furth, “All eight finalists will be champions in their own right, but one will rise to the occasion to be NTTC’s grand champion. We urge CEOs, presidents, and officers of companies to please take this back to their companies and get involved. NTTC takes on a lot of issues. Let’s recognize the best of the best drivers in the country—our tank-truck drivers.”
During the champion’s one-year term, The Usher Award winner will serve as the NTTC spokesperson for the industry and will attend many NTTC events.
The Usher Award trophy is a traveling trophy—“National Tank’s version of the Stanley cup, although I’d say it’s at a higher level,” Furth said.
It will go to the corporate office of the grand champion driver winner and stay there until the following April. A smaller replica trophy will go to the grand champion driver after the company returns the traveling trophy. ♦
