TCA Honors Highway Angel, Others
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Truckload Carriers Association handed out a number of awards at its 2017 conference to honor the heroes, top performing fleets and distinguished members of the association.
Melton Truck Lines driver Daniel Sieczkarski of Rochester, New York, won the Highway Angel of the Year from TCA and EpicVue. The Highway Angel program recognizes professional truck drivers who have selflessly helped others while on the job.
On April 18, 2016, Sieczkarski was driving on Interstate 10 near Brookshire, Texas, when he spotted floodwater rising around a tractor-trailer with the driver inside. Another driver in a car stopped and pulled out a life vest and some tuibing. After 15 minutes of trying to talk the driver into leaving, Sieczkarski put on the life vest, swam out to the truck and grabbed the driver. They were dragged under multiple times, but several good Samaritans on dry land pulled them to safety.
Lance Platt, CEO of the Salt Lake City-based EpicVue, presented Sieczkarski with a trophy and a complimentary EpicVue satellite television package that includes a 24-inch flat screen, a digital video recorder, and a one-year subscription to over 100 channels of DIRECTV programming.
Other awards included:
— TCA and partner CarriersEdge named two carriers as the 2017 Best Fleets to Drive For winners. Bison Transport of Winnipeg, Manitoba, won for the large carrier category. Grand Island Express of Grand Island, Nebraska, won for small carriers. Grand Island and Bison now have been recognized three times for the honor.
“To claim the title of overall winner even once requires a strong combination of outstanding programs, high satisfaction levels and great results in safety and retention,” TCA President John Lyboldt said. “To do it three times is an unbelievable achievement that both companies should be very proud of.”
“For 2017’s program, we had to adjust scoring levels more significantly than ever before, since fleets are doing so many more things for their drivers than we’ve seen in past years," CarriersEdge CEO Jane Jazrawy said. "The fact that these two previous winners are once again at the top of the list shows just how much effort they put into building great workplaces for their drivers."
— Bison Transport also won the TCA National Fleet Safety Award in the large carrier category. Big Freight Systems Inc., another Canadian truckload carrier, won in the small truckload category. The award was sponsored by Great West Casualty Co.
“TCA is proud to operate this contest, which spotlights companies that have innovative safety programs and a rock-solid commitment to safety in the workplace and out on the highways,” Lyboldt said. “Getting to the level of safety that our grand prize winners have achieved requires much behind-the-scenes work and attention to detail.”
— Bison Transport company driver Murray Manuliak and Landstar System owner-operator Gary Buchs won Driver of the Year awards sponsored by Cummins and Love’s Travel Stops. Manuliak has been a driver for 24 years, 14 of them at Bison — and logged more than 3 million safe miles. Buchs has driven 2.3 million accident-free miles in his 27-year career, beginning his association with Landstar in 2003.
— Tom Kretsinger Jr., chairman and CEO of American Central Transport in Liberty, Missouri, won TCA’s Past Chairmen’s Award. Kretsinger served as chairman from 2013 to 2014. He was honored at a ceremony a few weeks prior to the convention in Kansas City, Missouri, because he couldn’t attend the ceremony due to health issues.
In 1981, Kretsinger began his career by joining the family law firm, Kretsinger & Kretsinger. In 1998, he joined American Central Transport as general counsel and has since held several roles, including president, before being appointed to his current positions.
Kretsinger also has been a member of American Trucking Associations' executive committee and board of directors. He also is vice chairman of the ATA Labor and Regulatory Policy Committee and a member of the Highway Policy Committee, the Revenue Committee and the ATA Strategic Planning Process Steering Committee. Kretsinger also is past chairman of the Missouri Trucking Association.
— The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund presented awards to TCA members that volunteered their time and equipment to haul The Wall That Heals in 2016. The winners were:
- American Central Transport, Inc., Liberty, Miss.
- Baylor Trucking, Inc., Milan, Ind.
- Cargo Transporters Inc., Claremont, N.C.
- Dart Transit Company, Eagan, Minn.
- Delaware Technical & Community College, Georgetown, Del.
- Don Hummer Trucking, Oxford, Iowa
- Fremont Contract Carriers, Inc., Fremont, Neb.
- Halvor Lines Inc., Superior, Wis.
- Hirschbach Motor Lines, Inc., East Dubuque, Ill.
- Interstate Distributor Co., Tacoma, Wash.
- Regency Transportation, Inc., Franklin, Mass.
- TMC Transportation Services, Des Moines, Iowa
- TWT Refrigerated Services, Cheney, Wash.
- WDS Enterprises, Shepherd, Mich.
- Werner Enterprises, Inc., Omaha, Neb.
- Wil-Trans, Springfield, Mo.
“Because of our partnership with TCA, we were able to bring a national memorial to the hometown of hundreds of thousands in 2016,” said Tim Tetz, director of outreach for VVMF. “Leading each procession was a truck owned and operated by a TCA member demonstrating dedication and commitment to our veterans — young and old — and to our nation.”
— The association also introduced nine new members of the Ambassador Club, which honors 25 years of membership. The 2017 inductees were:
- Cargo Transporters, Inc., Claremont, N.C.
- D & D Sexton Inc., Carthage, Miss.
- Daggett Truck Line Inc., Frazee, Minn.
- Hill Brothers Transportation Inc., Omaha, Neb.
- Love’s Travel Stops, Oklahoma City
- McLeod Software Corporation, Birmingham, Ala.
- RJW Transport, Inc., Bolingbrook, Ill.
- Scudder Law Firm, P.C., Lincoln, Neb.
- West Side Transport, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
