The Professional Truck Driver Institute Inc. has awarded its 13th annual Lee J. Crittenden Memorial Award to Carl Spatocco, regional vice president of Education Affiliates/All-State Career School, Lester, Pa. The ceremony was held during this week’s Truckload Carriers Association’s Annual Convention at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel & Convention Center in San Diego.
The award, sponsored by Delmar, Cengage Learning, is given to a person who exemplifies the overall mission of PTDI, of which Crittenden was a staunch supporter until his death in April 1998. “Delmar is proud to sponsor this prestigious award and is proud to partner with PTDI in recognizing Mr. Spatocco,” says Kristen Davis, director of transportation industry solutions at Delmar, Cengage Learning. “It is people like him that make working in this industry so rewarding.”
Spatocco has extensive experience in the commercial driver training segment of the transportation industry. His background includes managing multiple accredited commercial driver training schools for 25 years. Since 2003, he has served on PTDI’s Board of Directors, Standards Review Committee and Certification Commission. He has been a board member of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association for seven years, including holding the positions of treasurer, chairman and past chairman.
Spatocco is currently vice chairman of the Commercial Driver Training Foundation and has served on numerous industry advisory boards and committees for the American Trucking Associations, TCA, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. He also sits on the board of the Pennsylvania Association of Private School Administrators and is a former board member of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce.
According to David Money, CDS, CDT, chairman of PTDI’s Certification Commission and technical director-transportation for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Loss Control Advisory Services Group, “Carl applies a consistent, insightful, analytical approach to reviewing schools and policies for PTDI course certification; utilizes his significant knowledge not only of the transportation industry, but the business of training to benefit PTDI; and is unflappable in his commitment to detail.”
Through his involvement with CVTA, Spatocco helped to create an instructor development program that has proven to be highly beneficial to PTDI. “One of PTDI’s core standards is instructor development, so we were fortunate that we could make the program available to schools,” says Virginia DeRoze, former program director for PTDI and the 2002 recipient of the Lee J. Crittenden Memorial Award. “A number of [schools are] now using it to help ensure the quality of their instructors.”
