TORONTO, Ont. – OTA VP Barrie Montague was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the 35th annual National Transportation Week Ontario Awards Breakfast this morning.

The Colonel Robert Hardie Award of Lifetime Achievement was created by the NTW Ontario Committee in memory of Colonel Hardie, who sat on the very first NTW Ontario Committee 35 years ago. Colonel Hardie worked hard raising money and exciting interest in the annual event, through good times and bad. Sadly, he passed away on July 27, 1999.

The award of lifetime achievement is presented to Canadian business leaders who have dedicated their career to the field of transportation and in the process have made a significant contribution to the industry.

Montague’s roots in the trucking industry began over 35 years ago, when the U.K. based multi-national company he worked for transferred him to Canada to join an Ontario-based trucking company.

Over the years he was, among other things, president of an Ontario-based tank truck company for seven years and vice president of a major eastern-Canada tank truck company for five years. During his career in the industry he served on the OTA Board of Directors and then on the OTA Executive Committee as treasurer and vice chairman. He also served on the Board of Directors and then on the Executive Committee of the National Tank Truck Conference of the American Trucking Associations, which represents the tank truck industry in North America. He served as chairman of this organization in 1989.

Montague joined the Ontario Trucking Association in 1994. In his capacity as OTA VP and VP of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, he is responsible for safety, environmental, insurance, technological development and operations issues. He also provides expertise to the OTA Safety Council, OTA Insurance Committee, the Eastern Provinces Weights and Dimensions Task Force, and the Canadian Trucking Alliance Dangerous Goods Committee.