Each week, TruckNews.com lists news, notable moves, promotions and awards in the trucking industry.

Our latest installment includes an addition to TFI International’s board of directors; a promotion at Atlas Van Lines; an appointment at Teletrac Navman; students learning about trucking industry career; Trucks for Change Network carriers committing to haul a charity’s food until the end of the year; and Steed Standard Transport honoring a former driver by establishing a scholarship in his name.

Martel to join TFI International’s board of directors

Sebastian Martel will join TFI International’s board of directors effective July 31.

Martel is the chief financial officer of BRP, a company that designs, manufactures and distributes recreational vehicles and powersports.

He has been with BRP for nearly 20 years, serving as CFO since 2014.

A registered CPA, Martel holds a bachelor degree in accountancy from McGill University.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sebastian to our board and view his leadership qualities and contributions to BRP’s growth as valuable attributes,” said Alain Bedard, chairman, president and chief executive officer of TFI International.

Atlas Van Lines promotes Parmenter to VP of IT

Moving company Atlas Van Lines promoted Ryan Parmenter to vice-president of information technology. Nearly a year after his promotion to senior director of enterprise architecture, Parmenter was tapped to bring his IT expertise to the senior leadership team.

Parmenter will concentrate on further enhancing Atlas’ system efficiencies to provide a secure environment and a customer-centric approach, the company said.

“With 25 years of experience in information technology, 22 of those years with Atlas, Ryan has proven his ability to elevate Atlas’ technology with his relocation and logistics industry knowledge, aligning corporate, agent, and most importantly, customer needs,” said Ryan McConnell, president and chief operating officer of Atlas Van Lines. 

Parmenter is a graduate of Truman State University and a long-term volunteer for the Mount Vernon Boy Scouts, Mount Vernon Band Boosters, and the Isaiah 117 House. 

Students explore trucking industry careers

More than three dozen high school students and young adults considering their post-secondary futures had the chance to learn about various career opportunities in trucking thanks to an event co-organized by the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC), the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA), and Bison Transport.

The event was part of the TBDC’s Skilled Trades Summer Camp for Youth program.

About 40 students who expressed interest in trucking as a potential career listened to a presentation by OTA’s Marco Beghetto on the Canadian Trucking Alliance’s Choose to Truck social media campaign. The students were then bussed for a tour through Bison’s headquarters in Mississauga, Ont.

They were guided through several stations, including a maintenance shop tour, a truck and trailer display in the yard, and an interactive operations and sales overview in the boardroom.

Bison employees explained the roles and responsibilities of technicians, longhaul and shorthaul truck drivers, dispatchers, route planners, and sales and marketing teams. They also learned about the truck equipment, emerging safety and environmental technology, and software systems.

The Skilled Trades Summer Camp is a free summer training program with the TBDC and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), aimed at helping young individuals to develop workplace skills and secure work placements.

Teletrac Navman appoints Scoville as chief revenue officer

Teletrac Navman, a platform provider that manages vehicle and equipment assets, has named Shane Scoville as chief revenue officer.

Scoville joins from Verizon Connect where he was vice-president, global sales, customer success and support. He will be responsible for commercial operations and customer-facing teams. 

“Shane is an extremely experienced sales leader who will play a critical role in helping our customers see all of the benefits of telematics while enabling Teletrac Navman to achieve its growth goals,” said Alain Samaha, president and CEO at Teletrac Navman.

T4C commits to hauling charity’s food untilend of year

Trucks for Change Network (T4C) renewed its commitment to The For Good Foundation (TFGF) charity to provide transportation services until the end of 2023.

Twenty carriers are participating, delivering more than 300,000 pounds of TFGF-proprietary food to food banks across the country in the first half of 2023.

“This is the third time that carriers in our network have answered the foundation’s call for road and inter-modal transportation,” said Betsy Sharples, T4C executive director.

“The partnership with Trucks for Change has been instrumental in our foundation’s success,” said Elliott Penner, TFGF founder.

Steed Standard Transport establishes scholarship to honor driver

Steed Standard Transport and the OTA Education Foundation have partnered to establish a scholarship that honors the life and legacy of Gary Lebold, a driver who worked for the Stratford-based trucking company for more than 50 years. Lebold passed away in 2021.

The scholarship will be managed and offered through the OTA Education Foundation and awarded annually.

“Gary worked for us from 1964 until he retired in 2018”, said James Steed, president of Steed Standard Transport, and vice-chairman of the OTA Education Foundation. Lebold began driving when he was 18 years old and continued to drive with Steed Standard Transport until his early 70s.

The scholarship will be awarded annually to a third-year student who is enrolled in the supply chain and operations management business program at Conestoga College.

If you know of other people moves in the trucking industry and/or would like us to consider your announcement, email Leo Barros at leo@newcom.ca