NPTC Presents Private Fleet Leadership Awards

ARLINGTON, VA –

The National Private Truck Council (NPTC) recognized seven executives for their impressive contributions to the private fleet community during the group’s Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition held April 13-15, 2014 in Cincinnati.

Since 1990, the NPTC Private Fleet Professional Leadership Awards have recognized those individuals who have made significant contributions to the National Private Truck Council, their profession, and the private trucking community.

The Dan Smith Life Achievement Award, the Council’s highest and most prestigious honor, was awarded to Rick Foster, CDS, who retired recently as Senior Director of Private Fleet Safety for Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC. Rick is a 42 year veteran of the transportation industry with experience in both common carrier and private carrier environments. He has experience in many levels of trucking operations and safety management.

He started with Wal-Mart as Safety Manager in Plainview, Texas and was in his current role for 17 years. He had been a member of National Private Truck Council since 1997 and served on the Legislative and Regulatory Review Committee since its inception. Until his retirement, he was on the NPTC Board of Directors, where he served as Chair, and the NPTC Institute Board of Governors. He was a frequent speaker at NPTC events.

Rick was also a member of ATA and the Safety and Loss Prevention Management Council serving on the Regulations, Accident Review and Hazardous Material committees as well as the Management Advisory Board. He was awarded the ATA National Safety Director of the Year Award in 2005. He is an Honorary Member of the National Truck Driving Championships Committee.

Rick was also an active member of the Arkansas Trucking Association Safety Management Council and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

The Private Fleet Executive of the Year, went to Gary Strausbaugh, CTP, Vice President, Transportation, The Mennel Milling Company. His experience consists of 30 years in the grain and food industry, where he oversees both truck and rail transportation in addition to warehousing. The Mennel truck fleet consists of tractors, pneumatic bulk tanks, van trailers and hopper trailers that meet the needs of both flour and feed customers. The rail fleet consists of covered hopper and pressure differential cars to transport grain and flour. Gary is currently responsible for rail and truck rate negotiations, equipment specifications and replacement, dedicated carrier operations, private and contract truck fleets and rail profitability. He received his CTP designation in 1996 and just finished serving as chair of the NPTC Board of Directors. He is a former chair of the NPTC Institute Board of Governors, a frequent speaker at NPTC functions, including the Annual Conference, the Private Fleet Management Institute, and the NPTC/J. J. Keller & Associates webcast series.

The Fleet Safety Professional of the Year was awarded to Randy Perry, CTP, East Division Safety Manager, Frito-Lay, Inc. Randy has been employed by Frito Lay for 32 years, working in a variety of positions with increasing responsibility in Sales, Sales Operations, Traffic and Safety. In his current role he has responsibility for the East Division of Frito Lay’s fleet safety activities. He is a graduate of West Georgia College with a degree in Marketing. Randy is a certified instructor for Defensive Driving for Professional Truck Drivers, Smith System, is a Continuous Improvement Master Trainer, and on the faculty for The Private Fleet Management Institute. A 2012 recipient of the Certified Transportation Professional designation, Randy has served on the Board of Directors for the National Private Truck Council (NPTC) and Trucker Buddy International (TBI). He has also chaired NPTC’s Safety Committee and spoken at numerous NPTC events including the Annual Conference, the Private Fleet Management Institute, and the NPTC/J. J. Keller & Associates webcast series.

David Gadberry, CTP, Operations Administrator for Toyota Quality Parts Express, was named Private Fleet Member of the Year. David is responsible for motor carrier compliance and operations improvement for Toyota’s private fleet, which delivers service parts and accessories. He began his career with Toyota in 1992 and has served in various transportation-related roles in trucking, rail, marine, and port processing. David is a student and practitioner of the Toyota Production System and has participated in numerous kaizen projects, which helps Toyota meet budgetary goals and save money. He is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach, and holds a B.S. degree in Production Operations Management. He is a member of the 2010 CTP class. David currently serves on the NPTC Institute Board of Governors and is a frequent speaker at various NPTC events including the Annual Conference, the Private Fleet Management Institute.

This year’s Allied Member of the Year Award went to Lytx, Inc. Accepting the award on behalf of Lytx, Inc., Chris Silver, CTP, Director of Marketing, was recognized for encouraging the company’s expanded participation in the CTP program, the Private Fleet Management Institute, Five-Star Membership, Fleet membership growth, and new major sponsorships at the annual conference.

Luann Dunkerley, National Sales Manager for Truck Fleet Services for the CEI Group, received the Membership Development Award. She joined CEI in 2008 after a career of more than 25 years with Ryder System, Inc. In 2011, she was elected to the board of governors of the National Private Truck Council Institute (NPTCI), and serves on its safety committee. CEI provides collision repair support services to truck fleets in the U.S. and Canada. Through a managed network of more than 1,000 truck collision centers, it handles repairs on all truck types, from Class 3 through Class 8. Its truck services also include accident reporting, 24/7 towing, audited repair estimates, repair cycle time management, subrogation, salvage disposal and online access to all accident repair program data. In 2013, CEI saved its fleet customers more than $10 million in accident repairs and recovered more than $30 million in damages from third-party drivers responsible for accidents with its fleet clients’ vehicles.

Luann is an enthusiastic and energetic supporter of NPTC, participates personally on behalf of her company in several NPTC events every year, and provides inspirational testimony and endorsement of NPTC’s value to current and prospective members.

The newest NPTC award, the C.H. Robinson Worldwide Excellence in Backhauling Award, went to BCT, Inc. Accepting the award on behalf of BCT was Patrick Robinson, CTP, Driver Recruiting Manager. BCT Inc., a Packaging Corporation of America Company, delivers paper and packaging products to various customers throughout the U.S. and also supplies its mills and container plants with inbound products. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has been instrumental in utilizing BCT’s backhaul lanes when needed, as well as developing dedicated and consistent business that allows BCT to operate its business more efficiently. CHRW continues to help us reposition BCT equipment back into its locations to help them serve Packaging Corporation of America and lower operating costs.

Receiving their NPTC Professional Leadership Awards are (from left) Rick Foster, Randy Perry, CTP, Frito-Lay, Inc., Luann Dunkerley, The CEI Group; Chris Silver, CTP, Lytx, Inc.; Gary Strausbaugh, CTP, The Mennel Milling Company; and David Gadberry, CTP, Toyota Quality Parts Express.

About NPTC

Founded in 1939, the National Private Truck Council is the only national trade association exclusively representing the interests of the private truck industry and corporate/business private truck fleet management. With an actively engaged leadership team of Board representatives, member volunteers and staff, NPTC in the past decade has grown significantly to serve a rising professional class of private fleet practitioners meeting the challenges of modern corporate transportation. NPTC is the leading learning resource center, government affairs advocate, and business networking culture for America’s top private fleet and supplier member companies. The Council produces benchmarking, best practices, and economic data reports on the private fleet market; administers the highly regarded Certified Transportation Professional (CTP) training program, and conducts some of the most successful events in the trucking industry including the Annual Conference and Trade Show, the Private Fleet Management Institute, and the National Safety Conference. For more information about the Council’s activities and programs, visit our website at nptc.org.