TORONTO, Ont. – In conjunction with National Transportation Week last month, several individuals and companies were honored with awards for their contributions to the trucking industry.

Glen and Anne Locke of Bison Transport received the Mandeep Dhillon Memorial Humanitarian Award in recognition of their efforts to save a driver trapped under the cab of a truck following a collision and rollover near Vermillion Bay, Ont. on Jan. 6, 2000.

The Transportation Person of the Year Award, which honors an individual who has advanced their company or field of transportation, was awarded to Harold Gilbert of the Better Roads Coalition. The Transportation Program of the Year, which acknowledges a new program, product, service or management philosophy that has been successful in increasing sales or profit, reducing cost or has improved the image of transportation, was awarded to Manitoulin Transport. The Freight Transportation Employee of the Year was awarded to Tony Scriver of The National Group.

Other awards included: Passenger Transportation Employee of the Year – Ian MacKay, Tokmakjian Group of Companies; Award of Excellence in Theft Prevention and Awareness – OTA/Crime Stoppers Trucking Program; Award of Excellence in Environmental Stewardship – Hill Transport Ltd.; Award of Excellence in Highway Safety – OPP Central Region Traffic Management Unit – 401; Colonel Robert Hardie Award of Lifetime Achievement – Bill Boyle, Transportation Health and Safety Association of Ontario.

The awards were presented by Minister of Transportation David Turnbull in Toronto on June 7. n