BANFF, Alta. — Twenty years to the day after Richard Warnock signed on with a little six-truck operation known as Westfreight Systems, he was being honoured for his dedication to the province’s trucking industry.

During the Alberta Motor Transport Association annual management conference in Banff, Alta. over the weekend, Warnock was honoured with the Service to the Industry Award.

Warnock, Westfreight’s president, helped grow the fleet to more than 100 trucks and the carrier was sold to TransForce in 2007.

In total, Warnock has spent 45 years in the trucking industry and still maintains his Class 1 licence, so he can get behind the wheel once in a while. He spent last year as the AMTA’s president and although he plans to retire from his current position at Westfreight, he won’t be retiring from the company altogether.

“You’re stuck with me for three or four more years,” he says.

DRIVER OF THE YEAR

Cornelius Wiebe of Bison Transport was named the Volvo Trucks/ AMTA Driver of the Year Award.

Although Wiebe might be winding down his driving career, looking back he says he’s lived his dream, which started in Brandon, Man. Since then, Wiebe has driven for a number of companies and even spent some time selling trucks in Winnipeg.

To Wiebe, driving truck was never a job but a way of life and the support of his family allowed him to live his dream.

SAFETY PERSON OF THE YEAR

Don Chapman of Canadian Freightways was named the Safety Person of the Year, an award sponsored annually by Bow Valley Insurance.

Chapman got an early start in the trucking industry, working as a teenager for Byers Transport, the carrier his family owned at the time. In 1973 he was hired on at Canadian Freightways, where he’s been ever since.

In the mid-‘90s Chapman transferred into the safety department and has had a hand in working on a number of initiatives, including: the North American Fatigue Management Study, Canadian Freightways Certificate of Recognition, Canadian Freightways professional driver improvement courses, with the Transportation Training and Development board, the AMTA greenhouse gas emissions board, the Partners in Compliance board, an LCV task force between Alberta and B.C., and a collision review committee.

Chapman’s personal approach to safety can be summed up in one word: Listen.

He says it takes everyone’s involvement to provide a safe environment and the people on the front lines — ie. mechanics, drivers and dock workers — know what it takes to operate safely.

According to Chapman, safety has become a very important part of doing in recent years and a ticket or violation is no longer an acceptable cost of doing business.

“The cost of doing business is now doing everything possible to not have that ticket or violation in the first place,” says Chapman.

AMTA HISTORICAL AWARD

George McLaine retired in 2007 and was presented with the AMTA Historical Award, sponsored by the Alberta Chapter of the American Truck Historical Society.

When McLaine was a 4-year-old in Milton, P.E.I. his father bought a big rig and it pretty much sealed the youngster’s future career. He drove whenever he had spare time as a teenager and started trucking full-time once he was done high school.

In 1969, McLaine headed to Alberta where he eventually caught on with Canada Safeway. After working his way into a management role, McLaine began experimenting with different trailer combinations and played an essential part in getting greater government acceptance of Rocky Mountain doubles and turnpike doubles.

McLaine was also a big supporter of the province’s professional driving championships. As well as getting Safeway to donate food for lunch, McLaine was always on hand to barbeque the grub.

ASSOCIATE TRADES AWARD

Sherry Orr of BFL Canada was presented with the Associate Trades Award. Orr grew up in the trucking industry and following her father’s untimely passing, she took over Trans-Mutual Truck Lines in 1984.

She credits a number other fleet owners in the province for helping her along the way and keeping the company strong in her early days. She repaid the industry by becoming an active member of the AMTA and served as the association’s president from ’98-’99.

In 2004, Orr sold the fleet and moved into the insurance side of the trucking industry with BFL Canada.