One company driver and one owner-operator have been selected by Greatwide Dedicated Transport from thousands of professional drivers across the nation to receive the Dallas-based company’s highest honor: Driver of the Year.
The Greatwide Dedicated Transport Company Driver of the Year for 2008 is Rick Gassman, who has been a professional driver since 1958 and has been a part of the Greatwide family for the past eight years. Over those eight years, Gassman has driven 1.2 million miles for GWDT out of the Dubuque, Iowa operations center with no collisions or moving violations on his record. The recipient of numerous safety awards from the American Trucking Associations and the National Safety Council, Gassman’s 50-year driving history boasts more than four million miles without a collision.
The 2008 Greatwide Dedicated Transport Owner-Operator of the Year, selected from his nearly 4,000 owner-operator peers at Greatwide, is Artie Fry, who has been a driver for 23 years, 14 of them with Greatwide. During his GWDT tenure, Fry has driven a total of 1.6 million miles with no preventable collisions or violations on his record. In March 2008, Fry also took the time to help a fellow contractor he found seriously ill at a truckstop and may have saved his life. Fry is a leader at his Temple, Texas operations center, serving as an adviser for fellow owner-operators.
John Simone, Greatwide Dedicated Transport president and chief operating officer, offered his congratulations and expressed his appreciation to the 27 nominees. “Without these outstanding men and women, we would not have the reputation of being a world-class organization in terms of safety and service,” Simone says. “These nominees provide outstanding service to our customers, serve as daily examples of best safety practices and are truly leaders and friends to their peers.”
Greatwide recognizes owner-operators and company drivers who provide the highest level of service to customers while maintaining best-in-class safety performance. The company chooses its Drivers of the Year from criteria based on each candidate’s tenure as a professional driver, the length of time employed by Greatwide and the number of collision-free miles accumulated as a Greatwide driver; hours-of-service and roadside inspection compliance; general attitude toward safety, customers and special assignments; and other factors.
The 2008 Driver of the Year winners were reviewed and chosen by a selection committee consisting of Michael Rogan of Marsh Insurance, John Mondics of Mondics Insurance, Greg Garcia of Frito-Lay and Catherine Cotton, GWDT communications specialist. Recognition for both Fry and Gassman includes special recognition events and a token of the company’s appreciation.
