Winners of Mike Russell Image Award Named

PHILADELPHIA — Two men, a state association, a motor carrier and an allied member were honored Oct. 18 with ninth-annual Mike Russell Image Awards by American Trucking Associations during ATA's Management Conference & Exhibition here today.

“Every person working in the trucking industry has the responsibility to advocate on its behalf and demonstrate the safety-first mentality of the trucking industry to the public,” said ATA Second Vice Chairman Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express Inc. of Dayton, Ohio. “The awards we presented today celebrate a company, organization or individual who over the past year has gone above and beyond to establish positive awareness of the trucking industry.”

The winners were:

• Con-way Inc. for its community involvement and strong media outreach that changes the way people think about trucking.

• FASTPORT for arranging trucking-specific career fairs at military bases and working with companies to make it easier to recruit military personnel.

• The Tennessee Trucking Association Foundation for the organization’s publishing of the children’s book, “Papa Doug Hauls Strawberries & Smiles,” which is intended to inspire kids to dream about becoming truck drivers.

• The late Russell Gerdin of Heartland Express Inc. for his distinguished community service and for generating positive awareness about the industry.

• America’s Road Team Captain Ralph Garcia of ABF Freight System Inc., who has driven more than 3.5 million accident-free miles and has won a national driving championship and 16 state titles.

The Mike Russell Trucking Image Awards are named in honor of the late Mike Russell, former ATA vice president of public affairs.

“Those of us in trucking are aware of the vital role that it plays in the daily life of every person. Some individuals and organizations go above and beyond to broaden and strengthen that awareness among the millions of people who benefit from the trucking industry every day,” said Steven Spencer, managing director of transportation and health care of HireRight, which sponsors the Mike Russell Awards. “HireRight is honored to sponsor this year’s Mike Russell Image Awards and acknowledge the outstanding leadership that this group has exhibited in their efforts to promote a positive image of the trucking industry to policymakers, the media and the general public.”