Matthew Slovack — a company driver with Smith Transport of Roaring Spring, Pa. — recently received the annual Gary King Trucker Buddy trophy, an award presented to one of the Trucker Buddies who enters the Super Truck Beauty Contest at the Walcott Truckers Jamboree. ACS MultiMedia also recently named its July Trucker Buddy of the Month recipients.
Gary King Trucker Buddy trophy awarded
Slovack, who entered the competition with his Freightliner Cascadia company truck, has been volunteering with Trucker Buddy since 2005; his class is at Lincoln Irving Elementary in Moline, Ill. Slovack — who lives in Colona, Ill. — was one of four Trucker Buddies who participated in the show truck contest; Bob and Shelley Brinker, Jim Randall and new volunteer Sean McEndree also displayed their show trucks.
The Gary King award was launched in 2006 to recognize and honor the Trucker Buddy founder, as well as spotlight a Trucker Buddy who has gone the extra mile. The recipient is selected based on both the show truck entry as well as the Trucker Buddy’s efforts for the program.
King, who attended the inaugural 2006 awarding of the trophy, died in June at his home in Elkhorn, Wis., after an extended illness. A moment of silence was held in memory of King during the presentation of the award.
July Trucker Buddies recognized
ACS MultiMedia awarded Harvey and Karen Zander with the Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month honor for July. The Zanders, who joined the Trucker Buddy program in 2000, have been matched with a fourth-grade class at Humphrey Elementary School in Waverly, Minn., for the past two years.
The Zanders’ driving record, four million accident-free miles, and show truck, Icy Blu 2, a 2003 International 9900ix Eagle that has won numerous awards in truck beauty contests, were mentioned in the 22 students’ letters that accompanied the nomination.
In 1999, Harvey Zander was the recipient of a Jefferson Award for volunteerism. In 2000, he won the National Truck Driver of the Year contest, an annual award given to one of the top five contractors in the United States and Canada by the Truckload Carriers Association and Overdrive magazine.
In addition to their Trucker Buddy volunteer work, the Zanders also teach safe driving to a high school drivers’ education class. Harvey Zander has been leased to Eagan, Minn.-based Dart Transit for more than 20 years. The Zanders make their home in St. Louis Park, Minn.
