ORLANDO, FL. The Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI) has presented its annual Lee J. Crittenden Memorial Award to Lana R. Batts, managing partner of Transport Capital Partners, here at the Truckload Carriers Assn. (TCA) annual convention. The award, named after the late Crittenden for his staunch support of PTDI, recognizes Batts for her enormous contributions to advance the institute’s goals.

During her nearly 30 years in the trucking industry, Batts has served as TCA president and senior vp of government affairs with the American Trucking Assns. During her time at TCA, Batts was responsible for the revitalization of PTDI and agreed to manage the institute under the association.

Batts brought in new stakeholders including schools, trucking companies, insurance companies, driving funding organizations and regulatory organizations to strengthen PTDI. Additionally, she held forums and public hearings to bring entry-level training to national standards.

When Batts resigned her TCA post after four years of leadership, there were 71 schools with certified courses for entry-level training—compared to 26 when she began.

Today PTDI has certified entry-level training courses at 59 schools in 27 states and Canada and one driver-finishing program.

In addition to her current post with Transport Capital Partners, she serves on the board of directors of several companies including PeopleNet, Communication Co., IdleAire Technologies Corp., Transportation Costing Group, and SeaBridge International.

For more information, go to www.truckload.org.