WINNIPEG, Man. – The Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA) handed out some hardware Nov. 13 at its annual awards gala, including Pioneer Club inductees Garth Pitzel and Jeff Odway and Driver of the Year Murray Slack.

Slack, of DeckX Transport, was recognized for his excellence and commitment to the trucking industry, as well as his dedication to safety and customer service, and was awarded the Volvo Trucks Canada Manitoba Driver of the Year for his stellar record.

Pitzel, of Bison Transport, and Odway, of Prairie International Container and Dray Services, have both been continually employed in the trucking industry for 25 or more years and are directly engaged in the formulation, direction and/or execution of policy in a managerial capacity of an MTA member company.

“Tonight is a celebration of industry excellence,” said MTA president Greg Arndt, “where we take the opportunity to publicly acknowledge the many significant accomplishments of our industry leaders.”

The awards were handed out at the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre and also included the Shaw Tracking/MTA Distinguished Member Award, going to transportation company Gardewine; the Payne Transportation LP/MTA Associated Trade Award, which went to John Oades of Beaver Truck Centre; and the RBC/MTA Service to the Industry Award, bestowed upon Fred Arnold of Arnold Bros. Transport.

During the event, the MTA also unveiled its recent branding alongside the newly-created Trucking Industry Safety Program, with the acronym RPM, which stands for ‘Risk. Professionally managed.’

The RPM Trucking Industry Safety Program was announced by the MTA in September and is an effort to better address the safety and health of the association’s members.