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Kari RehmKari Rihm, president and CEO of Rihm Kenworth in St. Paul, Minn., today received the fifth annual Influential Woman in Trucking award from Women In Trucking. She and other finalists were honored during this week’s Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
The award recognizes women in trucking leadership positions who also mentor other women.
“Women make a difference in the trucking industry every day, and the goal of the Influential Woman in Trucking award is to shine a spotlight on their contributions,” said Lisa Hartenberger, communications director for program sponsor Navistar.
This year’s finalists also included Elise Chianelli, senior product manager for Safety & Compliance with PeopleNet; Angie Freeman, chief human resources officer for C.H. Robinson and president of the C.H. Robinson Foundation; Karen Rasmussen, president and chief executive officer of HELP Inc.; Shelley Simpson, chief marketing officer and president of ICS & Truckload, J.B. Hunt Transport; and Karen Smerchek, president of Veriha Trucking.
“As more women move into leadership positions within the trucking industry, it will become even more difficult to narrow the list of candidates,” said Ellen Voie, WIT president.
Rihm took over Rihm Kenworth after her husband died in 2010. The company has been in her husband’s family since 1932.
With help from her two children, who represent the fourth generation at the dealership, and other employees, Rihm Kenworth has since added two additional locations, growing from three to five dealerships. Company employment has increased by over 50 percent.
Rihm Kenworth has been the Kenworth Truck Company Medium Duty Truck Dealer of the Year three out of the last four years. It is the only 100 percent woman-owned Kenworth dealer in the United States.
Rihm has been named a Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Magazine Family Business Honoree in 2013, received a National Association of Women-Owned Businesses local chapter Pioneer Award in 2014, and was honored with a 2015 nomination for American Truck Dealers Association Dealer of the Year.
