TMC hands out awards for service

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TMC_LOGO.557891b9711ae.56015ef9aea8fAmerican Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council handed out several awards at its annual meeting Wednesday for service to the council and the trucking industry.

Richard Winters, fleet manager for New Freedom, Pa.-based Verizon Fleet Operations, became only the 17 recipient of the Peggy Fisher Study Group Leadership Award since 1986. The award honors excellence in management of TMC study group activity. To earn this award, candidates must demonstrate distinguished service as a study group chairman for three years, earn the respect of their peers, and demonstrate leadership in the creation of new recommended practices and organizing technical programs.

Winters, has been a TMC member since 2005, and active in the S.14 Light- & Medium-Duty Trucks and S.15 Specialty Trucks Study Groups and Corrosion Control Action Committee for many years, serving as S.14 chairman since 2009. He has overseen the development or update of numerous recommended practices in S.14/S.15 and oversaw the merger of the two study groups. He has chaired or moderated numerous technical sessions and chaired several task forces, including CCAC’s Hydraulic Brake Systems Corrosion Control and S.14 RP Updates.

He is also a recipient of TMC’s Silver Spark Plug.

Jason Gagnon, shop manager for Transport America in North Jackson, Ohio, was honored with the Excellence in Maintenance Award, which recognizes a front-line supervisor for excellent performance in maintenance supervision.

Continuing a maintenance career that began in the U.S. Marine Corps, Gagnon has held positions from technician to shop manager at Transport America for nearly 15 years.

“Jason’s strong leadership presence combined with his interpersonal strength has earned him the respect of his team and his peers,” said Sam Broyles, regional maintenance leader for Transport America. “This has also cleared the path for positive process improvements and reduced the time necessary for successful implementation of productivity enhancing changes in his shop.”

Over the past year, Gagnon’s team delivered a 51 percent increase in warranty dollars recovered as compared to the previous year. This was 53 percent more than the expected target totaling more than $430,000.

Anita Byrne, national sales manager for Mobile InnerSpace in Wapakoneta, Ohio; Todd Cross, sales manager for Delco Remy in Pendleton, Ind., and Rob Nissen, national service manager for SAF-Holland USA in Muskegon, Mich., were honored as Recognized Associates.

Byrne, a TMC member since 2009, received the TMC Study Group Secretary Award in 2015 and has served on the Member Outreach and Secretary Committees. She currently serves as Study Group Secretary for the Corrosion Control Action Committee and has served as secretary for several task forces.

Cross, a TMC member since 1995, has served on the Meeting Mechanic and Sergeant-at-Arms Committees. He has been active in the S.1 Electrical Study Group and currently is chairman of the S.1 RP Updates Task Force.

Nissen, a TMC member since 1994, received TMC’s Silver Spark Plug award in 2015. He has served on the Mentor and Member Contact Committees. He has been active in the S.6 Chassis and Brake Systems and S.7 Trailers, Bodies and Material Handling Study Groups, having chaired several task forces.

Alex Knight, market segmentation manager for Class C Solutions Group, Independence, Ohio, was honored with the Study Group Secretary Award.

Knight, a TMC member since 2005, has contributed to the recommended practice development process and assisted in organizing technical sessions as secretary of the S.14 Light- & Medium-Duty/Specialty Trucks Study Group. In addition to her role as study group secretary, she serves as secretary for all eight of S.14’s active task forces.

Deryk Powell, president of Velociti, presented special prizes to the schools of the top three winners of TMCFutureTech 2015. First place was Daniel Hanna, Forsyth Technical Community College; Second was Jonathan Kelly, Southside Virginia Community College and third place was Karl Kerutis, WyoTech Blairsville.

Powell presented Leonard Kiser, dean of engineering, of Forsyth Technical Community College, with a $2,500 Mac Tools gift certificate to be redeemed by the school; an Eaton Fuller Reman Transmission; a year of access to Cengage Learning’s ASE Truck Technician Test Prep for their diesel tech students from Cengage Learning, and a Mini Dream Shop from Reliance Supply, which retails for $2,000.

The schools’ whose students placed 2nd and 3rd also received a year of access to Cengage Learning’s ASE Truck Technician Test Prep for their diesel tech students from Cengage Learning.

Accepting the prizes for Southside were Jonathan Kelly and Bryan Lewis, and accepting for WyoTech was Duane Tegels.

Jason Cannon has written about trucking and transportation for more than a decade and serves as Chief Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. A Class A CDL holder, Jason is a graduate of the Porsche Sport Driving School, an honorary Duckmaster at The Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee, and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Reach him at [email protected]