Memorial Day has passed, and the industry that keeps the nation running has spent the past week honoring its fallen heroes—as well as the many veterans now serving the U.S. trucking industry—in this edition of Five Good Things.
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Trucking industry honors Memorial Day
The patriotic trucking industry, all over, honored the fallen in its own way. Uber Freight offices installed empty tables to remind people of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. J.B. Hunt had its annual ceremony, and Werner Enterprises had a parade and concert.
Navistar launches technician skills competition
In an effort to recognize technician excellence, Navistar has launched its inaugural Top Team technician skills competition. Taking place at Navistar’s Service Solutions Expo in Grapevine, Texas, earlier this month, 10 International Truck and IC Bus Master Certified and Diamond Certified technicians from North America competed in a series of skills-based contests surrounding diagnostics, maintenance, and repairs, according to FleetOwner sister brand Construction Equipment.
Nathan Reed from RWC Group in Seattle has been named International Truck’s 2023 Top Team Technician, and Anthony DeCicco from Wolfington Body Co. in Exton, Pennsylvania, has been named IC Bus’s 2023 Top Team Technician.
See also: Five Good Things: Students trucking toward the future
Part of Navistar’s TECH EmPOWERment program’s retention and recognition strategy, the Top Team competition replaces the Technician Rodeo, which was last held in 2019. All Master Certified technicians and Diamond Certified technicians from the International Truck and IC Bus dealer networks were invited to test for a spot in the Top Team competition. Some 420 certified technicians took the test, with the top 10 selected to participate in the contest.
During the competition, the service technicians had the opportunity to display their skills, knowledge, and professionalism as they safely and efficiently diagnosed and repaired different systems in mobile or stationary equipment. The 20 stations included tests on engines, air brakes, aftertreatment systems, electrical systems, wiring, and the Diamond Logic electrical system and fault codes.
DeCicco was inspired to join the trucking industry by his father, an ASE Master technician. After initially training under his dad when he was just 16 years old, DeCicco now has 14 years of experience and points to his Navistar ASE certification as his proudest achievement. Despite his career expertise, this win was unexpected.
“This means everything,” DiCicco said. “Working as a technician has really been my only career. To be able to come here and be recognized as the best is validation that I picked the right career. It’s not necessarily a glamorous job. So, to come here and enjoy a nice resort, get to network, and do all the things that are rarities in our field is going to encourage people to try harder and recruit more.”
Each winning contestant received a first-place medal, a voucher for a future vacation, and a trophy that Navistar designed and built at its Product Support Center in Woodridge, Illinois. Additionally, as the victorious technician from International Truck, Reed earned a sponsorship to participate in the TMC’s 2023 National Technician Skills Competition in September 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Women In Trucking Association announces its June 2023 Member of the Month
The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Stephanie Klang as its June 2023 Member of the Month. As a professional driver for 38 years with 4 million miles, she provides her knowledge and perspective as an industry advocate and driver ambassador.
Klang began her career in the trucking industry in January 1980. At the time, there were very few driving schools and the regulations were more relaxed, so when she took the written test for her Class A CDL, her husband was allowed to teach her on the job.
The pair drove as a team for 15 years, traveling through 48 states. However, she was often treated as her husband's helper or as an extra logbook.
This changed in 1987 when she started her career at CFI, saying she was treated like a fully qualified driver from the first day and was able to flourish.
Klang learned about WIT and its mission when founder Ellen Voie promoted ride-alongs in 2010. The following year, she was chosen to pick up Debbie Hersman, a U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) board member in Washington, D.C., and drive her to the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Kentucky. A film crew was hired by her employer at the time to capture the experience, launching Klang's media career. Due to this successful event, she received Conway's Constellation Award in 2012, an honor only awarded to five out of 30,000 employees.
Klang achieved her goal of retiring from driving at 60, but her influence on the trucking industry was far from over. After retirement, she transitioned into CFI's marketing department to continue attending high school career days and truck shows. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, she took it as a sign to retire.
However, in the fall of 2022, she felt called to continue her involvement with WIT as an Image Team member and driver ambassador for the association's WITney trailer program, educating and amplifying how a career in transportation can be rewarding for women. She speaks at industry events, truck shows, and career days.
"In my 4 million miles of driving in transportation, I came away with a few things," Klang said. "Do the right thing when no one is watching. Nothing great is achieved easily or without grit. If you do not like where you are in life, improve yourself and move up. Practice and improve every day. And be positive and kind. On the days I did not feel my best, I got up and fulfilled my obligations anyway, and they turned out to be some of my best days."
TCA Highway Angel saves man from stroke
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named truck driver Ty Hinton, from Georgetown, Louisiana, a Highway Angel for coming to the aid of a man having a stroke in a truck stop parking lot. Hinton drives for Melton Truck Lines (No. 89 on the FleetOwner 500 For-Hire) out of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On Feb. 15, around 11:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City, Hinton witnessed a man collapse on the ground due to a stroke. The event took place in a Flying J Travel Center parking lot. Hinton immediately recognized the life-threatening situation since he learned the signs of a stroke at an early age, so he called for medical assistance for the driver.
"I heard something hit the side of my truck, and I saw the guy stumbling by the side of the trailer kind of hanging on to it—it was pretty obvious right away," he said. "Just looking at the guy—slurring his speech, the left side of his face was not working. I called the EMT and got them to come to the truck stop."
Hinton also called the man's wife, letting her know what was happening, then waited with him and spoke to the wife until EMT arrived to take him to the hospital.
"I just wanted to make sure he was as comfortable as possible," he said. "I know strokes can be bad enough to be fatal, and I wanted to give him the opportunity to hear his wife's voice—if I was going through that, I know that is the one person I would want to hear: my wife."
C.H. Robinson
Third-party logistics giant C.H. Robinson welcomed all its Carrier of the Year Award winners yesterday, giving them a standing ovation as they entered the company headquarters.
