TORONTO – Paul Leader, senior vice president at Atlas Canada, is the 2011 recipient of the Shaw Tracking-Ontario Trucking Association Service to Industry Award.

Like his career at Atlas Van Lines, Paul’s relationship with OTA is a long one where over the years he took on increasingly senior positions. As a young man just starting out in the industry almost 40 years ago, he used to hitch-hike on weekends from London to take courses at the OTA offices. Little did he know then that he would eventually become the first representative of a household goods moving company and chairman of the association, which he did in 1994.

At the time, he said that working for a moving company provided him with direct contact with the public and that he hoped he could bring some of that experience to bear on his role as chairman. And he certainly did.

As chair of the OTA Image Enhancement Committee, Paul helped spearhead a number of major initiatives including the production of an hour-long nationwide television special on the trucking industry, called Knights of the Road. Perhaps fittingly, he also helped to launch the first-ever OTA Road Knights Team — a program that lives on today.

Paul’s public relations experience was most severely put to the test during one of the most difficult times in the industry’s history. Paul was in the chair when the wheel-off crisis was putting OTA and the industry under the glare of the media spotlight — and not in a positive way.

Looking back on it now, it was during that time that OTA really came into its own as the undeniable champion of responsible trucking, not only in Ontario, but across North America. Much of the credit for that goes to Paul’s leadership.

Since that time, Paul continues to serve on the OTA board and executive committee and in recent years also joined the board of the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

Through it all he has had the support of Atlas Canada where he continued to rise through the ranks. As senior vice president he is responsible for the relocation needs of the Department of National Defense and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police among others.

Paul has also been very active in local politics over the years. He was elected Councillor of the Town of Flamborough, where he chaired the Finance & Public Works Committee as well as the Planning & Development Committee. He is a Grand Knight of the Knights of Colombus and was chairman of the St. Thomas Parish Council in Waterdown.

At the end of this year, Paul will be retiring to his new hometown of Allenford, Ontario, to spend more time with family and friends.
Mike Ham, vice president business services at Shaw Tracking, says “Paul exemplifies commitment, contribution, and dedication to the Ontario trucking industry and to OTA; he is a most deserving recipient.”

OTA president, David Bradley, echoed Ham’s sentiments. “Paul has made an enormous contribution to OTA over the years. A real gentleman, Paul leads in a quiet yet very effective manner. His pride in OTA was and is infectious.”