Travel Centers Of America wants truck drivers to receive the utmost respect, care and comfort and a good pat on the back.
They have announced the 5th annual Citizen Driver Program. This honour recognizes drivers who earn public respect for our industry through good citizenship, safety, community involvement, health and wellness, and leadership.
They are asking the public to help find the best Citizen Drivers. Anyone can nominate a driver – fleet owners, employees, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, trucking organization members, trucking industry suppliers.
Citizen Driver intends to honour the industry’s professional truck drivers who best exemplify the kind of quality individuals that we all know exist in trucking. Citizen Driver also intends to bring these drivers’ stories to the general public. We should be proud of the great men and women who drive trucks in America, and America should hear their stories.
Travel Centers of America hopes Citizen Driver might be one small act that can generate stories about drivers that help propel the image of trucking and of truck drivers to new heights, to bring one more bit of respect to the professional truck driver. Their intent is that, over time, and combined with other image enhancing programs spearheaded by many other organizations, respect for drivers from others and themselves and interest in joining the profession will increase.
The focus criteria for nominees include Citizenship, Safety, Community, Health & Wellness and Leadership. However, the company intends to consider all nominations because it is difficult to truly define the criteria that make a particular individual someone of which the industry can be proud.
In January 2018, the judging panel of distinguished trucking professionals will review the nominees, decide on a group of distinguished finalists and ultimately select one or more honourees.
Honourees and distinguished finalists will all receive recognition and a package of goods and services from TA and Petro. Some will even be selected to have a truck stop named after them.
Nominations are being accepted until September 30, 2017. Next year, a ceremony will be held at Iowa 80 Trucking Museum and the new Citizen Drivers will be announced.
