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NTDC supports Trucker Buddy program

The American Trucking Associations’ Safety and Loss Prevention Council chose Trucker Buddy as the charity of choice for this year’s ATA National Truck Driving Championships in Tampa, FL. “Trucker Buddy was the perfect charitable group to support,” ATA official Susan Chandler says. “We had the best-of-the-very-best truck drivers, their companies and families supporting Trucker Buddy, an organization that sends such a positive message about trucking to school children who might very well be the next generation of potential truckers and champions.”

The drivers who competed in the 2005 ATA National Truck Driving Championships represented different states, different carriers and different trucks, but they all have two things in common: professionalism and character. Some of the drivers take the time to share their experiences with students through the Trucker Buddy program. Each week they send a postcard to an assigned class, which tracks them on a map and responds with letters and drawings of their own.

Wayne Crowder, a driver from FedEx Freight who placed second in the flatbed division, joined the Trucker Buddy program last year. Don Nehring, a driver for FedEx Ground, has two Trucker Buddy classes and serves as president of the Trucker Buddy Board of Directors. Many other drivers in the Truck Buddy pen-pal program participated in the competition, and many more donated to the charity.

The ATA Safety Loss and Prevention Council matched the $744 in collected funds, and presented Trucker Buddy’s Executive Director Ellen Voie with an oversized check at the Tampa event. “These drivers are not only skilled professionals,” Voie says. “They are generous and kind-hearted.”

Nearly 4,000 other professional drivers teach children throughout the world about their trucks, their careers and their lives. For more information, call 800-MY BUDDY or visit www.truckerbuddy.org.

President Bush acknowledges NTDAW

President Bush joined with dozens of governors and other politicians in congratulating truck drivers and fleets during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

“Across America, professional truck drivers keep our country moving and support our citizens as they conduct business,” Bush stated. “Our nation relies on the men and women of our transportation industry to sustain critical networks of commerce and advance our economy.

“I applaud professional truck drivers and their motor carrier employers for your hard work and dedication to promoting high standards of safety,” the president continued. “Your commitment to excellence increases efficiency and production across our nation and advances American prosperity.”

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week was observed Aug. 21-27. During the week, the nation’s motor carriers, state trucking associations and trucking industry manufacturers and suppliers honored drivers in various ways —million-mile and safety awards, cash bonuses or gifts, an extra paid day off, a cup of coffee, even a simple windshield cleaning.