Drivers, Coaches Honored at Awards Ceremony
SAN DIEGO — Lytx recognized the safety performance of drivers and coaches at an awards ceremony held here during its annual user group conference.
The video analytics and telematics provider during a Feb. 25 dinner honored its 2019 driver and coach of the year recipients across six categories, including for-hire and private trucking, government, services and utilities, waste/construction and transit/motor coach.
In the for-hire trucking category, the winning driver was Doug Hager of American Central Transport Inc. According to Lytx, Hager has gone two consecutive years without any coachable events and was recognized by the carrier as its safe driver of the year for 2017.
Edward Perry II of TransAm Trucking came in second, while third place went to Arvis Dyches Jr. of TransWood.
The for-hire coach of the year award went to Jody Clark of Big M Transportation.
All of the awardees pictured with Lytx executives. Left to right: Brandon Nixon Lytx Chairman and CEO, Earl Brown of Performance Food Group, Leonard Leanos of Waste Management San Gabriel, Jerry Ingram of Murphy-Hoffman Co., Doug Hager of American Central Transport, Inc., Dina Dixon of ARS/Rescue Rooter (Coach of the Year), Del Lisk, Lytx VP of Safety Services. (Jill Bongiorni via Lytx)
For private trucking, Earl Brown of Performance Food Group claimed the top prize. He has worked for the company since 2000 after serving as a corporal in the U.S. Army. A husband and father of three, Brown has been active with awareness and charity campaigns for lupus since his wife was diagnosed with the disease in 2012.
Jonathan Gazda of Reyes Holdings earned second place, and third went to Mark Connealy of Fred Meyer/Kroger.
The private trucking coach of the year was James Bullwinkel of Sysco Sacramento.
In the government category, first place went to Martin Bowen of the City of Ocala, Fla. Bowen has not had a coachable event since November 2016 and won Ocala’s driver of the year in 2017 and 2018. Second place went to Juan Trujillo of Solid Waste Management for the city and county of Denver, while third went to Donald Cassedy, a driver in the land development branch of the Fairfax County, Va., government.
Martin Bowen (center) of the City of Ocala, Fla. was named Driver of the Year in the “Government” category. (Jill Bongiorni via Lytx)
The coach of the year for government was Carlos Garcia of the City of North Miami.
In the transit/motor coach category, the winner was John Como of MV Transportation. Como enjoys helping elderly and disabled passengers get to their destinations, and he works closely with his manager after coachable events to find solutions and never repeat a mistake.
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The coach of the year in this category was Harry MacGlaughlin of Keolis Transit America.
In the waste/construction category, first place went to Leonard Leanos of Waste Management San Gabriel. He has been with the company for more than three decades, and last year was recognized as the National Waste and Recycling Association driver of the year as well as the Waste Management San Gabriel employee of the year. Second place went to Bill White of Waste Connections, while DeAnn Martwick of GCC was third.
The coach of the year in this category was David Bass of Concrete Supply Co.
In the services and utilities, first went to Jerry Ingram of Murphy-Hoffman Co. Ingram has never been involved in a preventable collision nor received any moving violations during his tenure at the company. Second place went to John Enos of National Grid while third went to Louie Escando of Rescue Rooter.
In addition to claiming coach of the year for this category, Dina Dixon of ARS/Rescue Rooter was recognized as the overall coach of the year. Dixon met or exceeded safety compliance in all four quarters last year, provided weekly presentations on safety topics, conducted job site and vehicle inspections and managed annual and new-hire driver training programs. Her work helped reduce total collisions for the company from eight in 2017 to three in 2018.
“Lytx is honored to recognize these drivers and coaches who truly make a difference on America’s roadways. It’s not about never having an incident, but learning from a mistake, making a commitment to implement safety practices daily and coaching those around you to do the same,” said Del Lisk, vice president of Safety Services at Lytx. “These drivers and coaches exemplify the safest driving standards and behaviors found in the transportation industry today.”
During the ceremony, Lytx also presented a donation to Heidi Jenkins, founder of The Erich Jenkins Change-A-Life Foundation, to support its mission to provide scholarships to deserving youth. Jenkins created the foundation after her husband was killed in a car crash involving a Waste Management truck.
