Canada’s best calls Alberta home

BANFF, Alta. — Perley MacDonald was honored last year when he was named Alberta’s Driver of the Year for 2007 and this year he took it to the next level.

During the Alberta Motor Transport Association management conference in Banff, Alta. MacDonald was crowned the Canadian Trucking Alliance/Volvo Trucks Canada Driver of the Year for 2007.

Each year the award goes to a professional truck driver who has a collision-free driving record and is an exemplary truck driver both on and off the road. Nominees for this award come from existing provincial winners of the Volvo Truck Driver of the Year award named in each of the seven Canadian provinces.

MacDonald has spent the past 33 years – and four million collision free miles – hauling freight in western Canada for Medicine Hat, Alta.- based McMillan Transport. He has been repeatedly honored for driving excellence throughout his career with awards such as: AMTA Driver of the Month, Alberta Driver of the Year and AMTA Million Mile Award.

“Perley MacDonald is what you would classify as an old time trucker,” says Rod McMillan president of McMillan Transport. “He has an amazing sense of humour, is very humble, and is always willing to share his insight and experience with any person that is new to the industry.”

Success for the humble driver has come from his personal motto of patience and anticipation: If you keep your eyes on the road ahead, you’ll see danger before it finds you.

Philip Jellicoe, at right, was accompanied by his wife
as Terry Warkentin of Volvo Trucks presented the driver with
Alberta’s top honor for 2008.

Provincial Winner

This year’s provincial Driver of the Year Award was presented to Philip Jellicoe of Whitecourt Transport.

Jellicoe has been doing city deliveries in Edmonton for 40 years and after trying his hand at retirement, decided it wasn’t for him and is still making deliveries in the Capital Region on a part-time basis.

Safety First

The Safety Person of the Year Award was presented by Bow Valley Insurance Services to Joe Woodcock of DECC Safety Services.

Woodcock has spent a quarter of a century involved with the trucking industry and has made safety a priority following the tragic death of a close friend who was killed while changing a tire.

Woodcock spent time as a trucker and as a member of the Calgary Police Service in their commercial vehicle unit, but has spent the past eight years with DECC working as a safety consultant.

He believes in safety compliance through education and the involvement of all staff, from drivers to CEOs and everyone in between, in the success of working towards a common safety goal.

Debbie Begg of H&R Transport was recognized as Alberta’s
best dispatcher by Dan Green, account manager with Shaw Tracking.

Calling All Trucks

The close relationship Debbie Begg forms with the drivers of H&R Transport of Lethbridge, Alta. helped get her the nod as Alberta’s top dispatcher.

Begg was awarded the Shaw Tracking Dispatcher of the Year Award and one of her key roles with the carrier is helping foreign workers adjust to Canada. She not only ensures they are comfortable at work, but takes the time to help them find doctors, find schools for their children, and open bank accounts.

Proud Service

Former president of the AMTA Henry Van Steenbergen was honored with the Service to the Industry Award for his ongoing involvement with the provincial association.

Van Steenbergen learned the trucking industry from the ground up working for Western Alberta Produce, which was owned by his father. After a long journey, Van Steenbergen finally struck out on his own purchasing the one-truck fleet of Legal Freight Services. In 17 years, Van Steenbergen grew the fleet to 50 trucks and still managed to find time to volunteer with the AMTA and other community organizations.

“I don’t feel deserving of this because I don’t think I did anything outstanding,” said the humble recipient. “The entire board here is made up of quality guys who give a lot of their time and do really good work.”

A handful of other industry pioneers were honored by the Alberta Chapter of the American Truck Historical Society for years of service to the industry including: Merv Fox, AMTA Historical Award; Sandy De Waal, ATHS Founders Award; and Caron Transportation, H&R Transport, and Mullen Trucking received ATHS Company Historical Awards.


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