Ruan Transportation Management Systems recently named its 2017 Driver and Operation of the Year winners. Glenn Combs was named 2017 Driver of the Year, and the Yuma AZ operation, led by Dedicated Transportation Manager Alan Hill, was named 2017 Operation of the Year.
Each year, one driver is selected from a pool of more than 4,400 professional drivers based on length of service, safety performance and exceptional customer service. Combs, who operates out of T403 in Phoenix AZ, has been with Ruan since 1996, logging more than 3.6 million miles during his 36 years as a professional truck driver. He serves Ruan customer Holsum Bakery and is nearly preventable-accident-free in his driving career.
“I constantly try to drive safely by giving drivers space, merging slowly and having an expanded view of the road,” said Combs.
Ruan began the search for Driver of the Year when 166 drivers from its 300 operations were named finalists. The vice presidents of operations then narrowed the field to 14 Winners’ Circle honorees, who traveled to Ruan’s headquarters in Des Moines IA for an award ceremony and other festivities. Out of the Winners’ Circle, Ruan’s senior leadership team selected Combs.
Each Winners’ Circle honoree was awarded a trophy and cash prize at the Driver and Operation of the Year award ceremony at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. Combs was honored with a trophy, a cash prize and the 2017 Driver of the Year title.
Ruan’s Yuma operation, which serves Johnson Controls Inc, was selected based on the operation’s demonstration of Ruan’s Guiding Principles. The operation employs nearly 70 team members, and professional drivers haul batteries to more than 900 customers in Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and California. This operation averages 89,000 miles and between 440 and 500 deliveries per week.
To select the Operation of the Year, each vice president of operations selected an operation in their business unit that performs at the highest level. That performance was based on criteria including safety, team member retention, customer satisfaction and overall performance. The executive leadership team then narrowed the list of finalists to three Winners’ Circle honorees—and from the honorees, the team picked the 2017 Operation of the Year.
The 2017 Operation of the Year received a trophy, awards for all winning team members, and a corporate-hosted celebration in Yuma taking place later in summer 2018.
For more information, visit www.ruan.com.
