BOMANVILLE, Ont. – The U.S.-based Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has announced the finalists for its 1999 Independent Contractor and Company Equipment Driver of the Year awards, and it includes three Canadian truckers.

Ian Pollock, an owner/operator with Kriska Holdings, is joined in the group by two Challenger Motor Freight company drivers, Peter Dyksterhuis and Brian Saunders.

“I certainly don’t look for recognition, I just go out and do what I do,” says Pollock, who lives with his wife Linda in Ingleside, Ont., just west of Cornwall. “Mark Seymour (Kriska’s president) put my name in and I never expected any more to come of it. It sure feels good to make it this far, though.”

Maybe it’s the fact that the only two moving violations he’s ever had both came in a car and were back in 1963, or then again it could be his 2 million accident-free miles. But what ever it was, the Canadian owner/operator of a ’96 International 9200 Eagle managed to catch the eyes of the U.S. judges.

“The 1999 (contests) drew a record number of applicants,” says Cynthia Simpson, director of operations with the TCA. “All of the applicants were extremely qualified and it was a difficult decision to narrow down the number of potential finalists.” n