TORONTO, Ont. — Mark Seymour, a man well-known in the trucking community, was honoured Nov. 6 with the 2015 Shaw Tracking/OTA Service to Industry award.

“Some people are destined to lead, and Mark is one of those people,” said David Bradley, Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) president. “I have had the distinct pleasure of watching and learning from Mark as he evolved from a rather shy new guy on the OTA board to one of the greatest leaders the industry has ever had.”

Seymour, a Kemptville, Ont. native, who at the age of 17 left home to pursue a career in hockey, only to return in 1983 to join the family fleet business, is the CEO of Kriska Transportation, a Prescott, Ont.-based trucking business that delivers dry and temperature-controlled truckload commodities.

Seymour, who received the award during the OTA’s annual executive convention in Toronto, has a full resume in the transportation sector, including being a two-time chairman of the OTA, current chairman of the Canadian Transportation Association (CTA) and board member for the Trucks for Change Network. He was the architect behind the OTA’s speed limiter proposal, the CTA’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on the driver shortage and for putting driver issues at the forefront, demanding respect for the job they do each day.

“Mark doesn’t ask to lead, people look to him to lead, and he’s selfless in his willingness to put all his energy into causes that affect the industry in a positive way,” said Seymour’s friend Scott Smith, president of JD Smith & Sons and last year’s recipient of the same award. “Mark deserves this award because of the enormous amount of passion and time he’s put in, and how he’s answered the call time and again.”

Kate Rahn, Shaw Tracking’s national director of sales and marketing, presented Seymour with the award, and added, “Mark exemplifies what this prestigious award is all about. His commitment and tireless support have inspired many others to take leading roles in the issues that are vital to advancing the industry.”

Bradley referred to Seymour as a ‘giant of a man’ – literally, as he is said to don a 13.5 size shoe – and ‘a giant of the trucking industry.’