LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Trucker Buddy International took an opportunity during the Mid-America Trucking Show to honour the Drivers of the Month from the 2005 calendar year.

The pen pal program partners professional drivers with school teachers to provide a unique educational experience. Drivers correspond with the children in their assigned classroom through letters, e-mails or photos as the children track the driver’s travels on maps in the classroom. In return, all students send individual letters to their Trucker Buddy once a month.

Through the program nearly 4,000 professional drivers write to classrooms, reaching more than 100,000 children in Grades 2 through 8. Each driver was presented with a glass plaque and the 13 recipients were:

Dave Volkert, driver for Praxair in Inver Grove Heights, Minn., January 2005
Duane Winchell, owner/operator leased to Coastal Carriers in Troy, Mo., February 2005
David Matousek, driver for Jevic Transportation in Delanco, N.J., March 2005
Leonard Emery, driver for Andrus Transportation in St. George, Utah, April 2005
Duane Donner, driver for Wal-mart’s Private Fleet in Buckeye, Ariz., May 2005
William Robles, operates B2 Transport based in Bullhead City, Ariz., June 2005
Michael Wiest, owner/operator leased to FedEx Ground in Fredericksburg, Penn., July 2005
Dan Clark, owner/operator leased to Prime, Inc. in Springfield, Mo., August 2005
Mona Van Duyn, independent operator in Auburndale, Fla., September 2005
Ben Robinson, company driver for Transport Service in Loudin, Tenn., October 2005
Walter Brown, company driver for Cowan System in Baltimore, November 2005
Ralph and Sara Bundy, owner/operators for Landstar-Ranger and live in Manchester, Ky., December 2005

Presenting the awards to the Drivers of the Month was the newly appointed executive director for Trucker Buddy, Roxanne Rose.

“I have big shoes to fill and Ellen (Voie) will truly be missed,” said Rose. “She did such a great job growing Trucker Buddy to where I can come and take over.”