- Details
- Category: Bulletin
For release on June 23rd, 2023
PMTC & CPC LOGISTICS ANNOUNCES INDUCTEES TO HALL OF FAME FOR PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS
The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada inducted 4 exceptional drivers into the HALL OF FAME FOR PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS during the 2nd day of its annual conference on June 22nd at Hamilton, On.
The Hall of Fame is sponsored by CPC Logistics Canada. Drivers from PMTC member companies are recognized for superior over the road performance over an extended period of time. The Hall of Fame provides a permanent recognition of their abilities and can be found on the PMTC website at www.pmtc.ca.
“The skills of professional truck drivers are evident to all road users, and are especially valued by their employers,” said PMTC President Mike Millian. “These professionals compile safe driving records that are beyond amazing, considering all the adverse conditions they face every day. Only a select few can equal the caliber of the drivers in the Hall of Fame. The industry and the PMTC salutes these individuals, and we are pleased to honor them for their amazing careers.”
The 2023 inductees are Yves Bélanger , Alvin Carter, Dwayne Saik & Grant Taylor. Together, these 4 individuals have amassed an incredible 161 years and over 18.3 million kilometers of accident-free driving.
The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada and CPC Logistics Canada are pleased to induct these four professionals into the Hall of Fame for Professional Drivers.
Yves Bélanger
Linde Canada Inc.
Yves has had a passion for trucks from an early age, being exposed to the industry as a result of his father being an owner operator. Yves spent many days in the summer getting up early so he could ride with his dad hauling lumber across his home province of Quebec. After high school Yves completed a diploma in Heavy duty mechanics. He quickly realized his true passion was trucking however and went for his class 1 license in 1989, as soon as he was old enough to obtain it.
For the next 7 years Yves hauled lumber throughout the Province of Quebec. Between 96 and 2001 Yves went to work for an aluminum smelter in Northeast Quebec, driving trucks only occasionally. In 2001 Yves returned to his passion of trucking fulltime, while at the same time Yves earned a diploma in truck transportation. During this time, he began hauling bulk & liquid dangerous goods across Canada and into the US. The company Yves was working for at the time thought he would make a perfect driver trainer, and his career expanded into promoting safety and compliance to newcomers to the industry.
Yves joined Linde Canada in 2008 as a highway driver, hauling liquid carbon dioxide and cryogenic liquid tanker trailers. While this job took Yves away from his wife Isabelle and their 2 young children each week, Yves still found time to be involved in the community, managing his young sons’ hockey team with the help and support of Isabelle. Yves work with Linde took him into the US, and across Canada, as far away as Labrador City and James Bay, hauling super b trains in all seasons.
Yves has been a full time professional driver for 30 years since 1989, spanning over 4.8million accident and incident free driving.
Alvin Carter
Home Hardware Stores Ltd.
Alvin “Al” was raised on a dairy farm near Milverton, Ontario. When he was young he enjoyed working the fields and dabbled in welding for a while in his Uncle’s fabricating shop, later working for a local tilling company. When his Uncle purchased a livestock hauling business, Alvin was keen to get on the road, and begin hauling cattle and pigs around Ontario in straight trucks. When the company was purchased by a larger organization, Al had the opportunity to move up to tractor trailers, continuing to haul livestock, while also hauling fertilizer out of Ohio, and dump trailer to grain ports around Ontario.
In 1988 Al noticed an ad in a local paper and filled out a job application, which lead to a job interview and road test. In February 1988 Al began his career with Home Hardware Stores. The first week stands out in Alvin’s mind, as it was hard work unloading the trailers at the stores, as the hardware didn’t walk itself off the trailer!! After 3 days Alvin said he was second guessing his decision, but in time he found his groove and has never looked back.
During his time with Home Hardware, Al enjoyed getting to know the store owners, dispatchers, and other co-workers, making many lifelong friends. He enjoyed the open road he travelled between Winnipeg and Nova Scotia, and also served on Home Hardware’s Accident Review Committee as well as the Health and Safety Committee.
Over the years Al has witnessed many serious accidents. Just over 2 years ago, as he approached a rural corner, he noticed a transformer flash ahead. A truck went through a stop sign and collided with another vehicle, throwing a driver clear from his vehicle, and seriously injuring him. Al called 911 and the dispatcher coached Al on how to keep the injured elderly man calm while they waited for Ornge air and other 1st responders to arrive.
Al is married to his wife Kara of 42 years and is the proud father of two daughters and grandfather to twin grandchildren. He enjoys puttering around his 9 acre farm and woodworking. He has served in many capacities at the Listowel, Poole and Wellesley Mennonite Church’s. He has supported his wife’s pastoral roles in various congregations and enjoyed working with Youth. He also went on a weeklong mission to West Virginia rebuilding and repairing homes.
In December of 2022, after almost 35 years at Home Hardware, Al retired. Al’s driving career spanned over 40 years of accident and incident free driving, spanning over 4 million km’s.
Dwayne Saik
Linde Canada Inc.
Dwayne was around 10 years old when his father taught him to drive a Massey 30 farm tractor on the family farm in Alberta. The old Massey is what motivated Dwayne to choose trucking as a career. In 1977 he obtained his commercial license and began his career with SH Concrete hauling Gravel & sand throughout the Edmonton area for the next 5 years. From 82 until 93 Dwayne worked for several other carriers where he hauled several different types of goods across Canada and the US, logging more than 2 million km’s.
In 1993, Dwayne joined Linde Canada Inc, formerly known as Praxair. He quickly realized that handling and hauling cryogenic liquids & other specialty gases was what he wanted to do for the rest of his career. Dwayne is highly respected by his peers and is the 2nd most senior driver in the West Region for Linde’s Bulk Division. He hauled Hydrogen in his early days with Linde, and also hauled propylene across North America. Dwayne has also made over 2500 deliveries to Fort McMurray in the last 20 years. In 2005 Dwayne received Linde’s million mile award.
Dwayne will tell you that what has kept him at Linde all these years is their commitment to safety, which involves providing drivers with the most up to date safety technology, as well as their emphasis on safety training and operational discipline. Dwayne tells drivers “you either fit the job at Linde or you don’t, there is no in-between” If you stay disciplined, follow procedures and follow your safety training, you will be successful, if you don’t you will get in trouble. Dwayne is also know for his handwriting being the most legible and clear handwriting in the fleet, he says “These are legal documents, you must be clear, and the recipient of these documents must know you take all tasks seriously”
In his personal life, Dwayne has 2 daughters, Jaclyn and Britney, whom he still takes camping in the US Mountains with his 40ft 5th wheel trailer. Dwyane also spends time with his 98 year old father and takes time to operate the tractor around the farm. Dwayne has a total of over 45 years and 4.5million km’s of accident and incident free driving.
Grant Taylor
Wellington Group of Companies
Grant began his unofficial driving career 49 years ago when he was 15. He worked at a dairy in Toronto with his grandfather. One day, his grandpa tossed him the keys of a spare truck and told him to go learn to drive it. It was a 24-foot tandem axel, five-speed, reefer unit. Grant spent two days in the yard learning how to maneuver it.
He got a job shunting trucks in the yard, and Grant says that is how he got hooked on truck driving.
At 19 he bought a straight truck and became an owner-operator. He later sold the vehicle and worked for a courier company for a couple of years.
He transitioned into driving concrete mixers, a job he did for 20 years.
The job had great pay, but long hours, many times you would be gone before the sun came up and come home long after the sun went down. His wife at the time stayed home and looked after the kids. He drove snowplows during winter when the concrete business was slow.
Personal problems crept in. Drinking problems contributed to the demise of his marriage. He suffered a work-related accident, the only one of his career, when another motorist blew through a stop sign. The incident messed up his head and damaged his right knee. The joint had to be replaced. Twice.
He had to give up driving concrete mixers for awhile.
Grant had three children. He is very proud of his daughters, one who transports patients and the other is a paralegal. His son has unfortunately passed and is missed early.
Taylor is passionate about helping others. At the age of 50, he graduated with a diploma in the study of addiction from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. Grant is a sponsor for alcoholics, and when he retires, he plans to open a pro bono office to provide counsel to alcoholics.
Grant and his wife have just completed renovations to their house so his wife’s elderly parents can move in with them. Grant participates in all of Wellington’s company fundraising events, and volunteers for the Santa Clause Parade. Grant cares about his fellow workers and has called in before when he feels a driver is being overworked. Grant, who has worked for Wellington for the past 4 years, was named the Wellington Driver of the Year in 2022. Over Grants career he has operated 46 years and over 4 million km’s of at fault accident-free driving.
For more information, contact:
Private Motor Truck Council of Canada Tel: 905-827-0587
225 Main Street East, Unit 5 email: info@pmtc.ca
Milton, Ontario, L9T 1N9 website: www.pmtc.ca
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- Details
- Category: Bulletin
For release on June 23rd, 2023
PMTC & Tenstreet Announce Recipients of the 2023 Young Leaders Education Bursary
The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, along with the sponsor of the YLG Bursary awards, Tenstreet & The PMTC Young Leaders Group, were pleased to present 2 deserving individuals with the 2023 “PMTC Young Leaders Group Education Bursary” at its Annual General Meeting & Conference in Hamilton, Ontario. This year marked a slight change in who the awards were presented to as well. For the 2nd straight year 1 bursary was available to PMTC Members companies, while the other bursary was made available to students in Mohawk College’s Supply Chain Management Program.
Through a partnership developed in 2022, up to 5 students in the Mohawk program are provided a 1-year free YLG PMTC Membership. Each one of these students is assigned a mentor from PMTC’s Young Leaders Group and are taken to industry events to be introduced to the industry, make connections, and make for an easier transition into the field. 3 students are with us here today, and one of them was awarded a bursary.
Both awards were presented by PMTC’s YLG Chairperson, Leanne Drummond.
“These awards present emerging young leaders with the funds to take 2 of the 4 courses required to complete the PMTC Logistics Management Graduate Program,” stated PMTC President Mike Millian. “These courses are offered through CITT, a leader in Transportation Logistics training. When completed, this will arm these individuals with the skills and confidence necessary to climb the ranks in their organisation and help them become a successful Leader. We also believe this award will help promote investment in the training needs of our future leaders.”
The 2023 recipients are Udomsinachi Obioma from Mohawk College and Nick Subramaniam from Wellington Group of Companies
Udomsinachi Obioma, Mohawk College
Udomsinachi is an international student from Nigeria who has worked hard to maintain a high academic standing, earning an overall average of 92% in his final semester. He is passionate about supply chain management and the impact that it has on businesses and society. Throughout his studies, he has gained a deep understanding of the complexities of supply chain management and has been inspired by the ways in which companies can optimize their operations to create value for their customers. He believes that this field has the potential to drive economic growth and create lasting social impact, and Udomsinachi is committed to pursuing a career in this area. However, as a college student, he has faced financial challenges that have made it difficult for him to fully engage in his studies. Despite his academic success, he has also had to work part-time jobs to support myself, which he feels has limited his ability to participate in extracurricular activities and attend networking events. Despite this concern that he expresses of himself, his teacher at Mohawk indicates he is reliable, always attends classes, is always on time, and his assignments and quizzes are completed on time, and he has made the deans’ list, showing a true commitment.
Udomsinachi indicates that the PMTC Young Leaders Education Bursary will provide him with the opportunity to advance his education further by enrolling in supply chain certification courses with reputable institutions such as CITT. He feels these courses will enable him to gain specialized knowledge and skills that are highly valued in the industry and would help him stand out in a competitive job market and are courses that he otherwise would not be able to afford. By investing in his education through certification courses, he will be better equipped to make meaningful contributions to the field of supply chain management and create a lasting impact. Furthermore, Udomsinachi is also committed to giving back to his community. Prior to arriving in Canada, he volunteered his time and expertise as a mentor to young adolescents living with HIV where he coached them on life skills and helped them to develop a resilient mindset required to deal with the stigma associated with living with HIV. When he arrived to Canada, he registered to volunteer as a member of the Mohawk Green Team, showing his commitment to use his skills and knowledge to help others, which he plans to continue doing going forward.
Nick Subramaniam, Wellington Group of Companies
Nick joined Wellington in April of 2021. He was fresh out of school and looking for a place to set his roots. Nick joined Wellington in the capacity of a tracker & tracer and excelled in his role for the 5 months that he held it. He was eager to learn and advance in his career and was promoted to the role of Jr Account Manager in operations. Nick excelled there as well, and jumped at the chance to expand his knowledge and responsibilities even further, and was recently promoted to US operations manager, becoming the youngest person in the history of Wellington to achieve such a status. In this role he has led his team to much growth and success, and Wellington expects his progression to continue. Managers meet weekly with Wellington’s company President to discuss succession planning, and Wellington staff says it is obvious to them that Nick will one day become a director at the company. His manager states his intelligence and work ethic are strong, and his thirst for expanded knowledge and improvement is impressive. His manager also states he has hired over 50 people to work in the office at Wellington and feels without a doubt Nick has progressed the farthest in the shortest period of time.
For his part, Nick says he has a passion for this industry, and wants to learn as much as he can. Nick feels the bursary will allow him to expand his knowledge of theoretical components of the industry and feels he can use this knowledge to help elevate Wellington’s status even further to one of the biggest and best known companies, even further than their already well known and respected status. Nick wants to be part of Wellington for a long time, and feels this opportunity will help him become and even better employee to help Wellington and the Industry as a whole.
For more Information, contact:
Private Motor Truck Council of Canada Tel: 905-827-0587
225 Main Street East, Unit 5 email: info@pmtc.ca
Milton, Ontario, L9T 1N9 website: www.pmtc.ca
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- Details
- Category: Bulletin
For release on June 23rd, 2023
PMTC & KRTS announce recipient of the Professional CMV Driver Training Scholarship
The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, along with sponsor KRTS, announced the recipient of the Professional Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Training Scholarship at its Annual General Meeting & Conference in Hamilton, Ontario on June 22nd, 2023.
“The skill and professionalism that is required of today’s professional drivers is increasing with each passing year,” stated PMTC President Mike Millian. “For an entry level driver entering our industry to have the best chance possible to be successful, it is imperative that they receive the best in class training that is available. This scholarship, which provides training that is TTSAO certified & MELT approved, provides just that. We are thankful to KRTS for sponsoring this award and making this scholarship possible.”
To be eligible to receive this award, applicants must be employed by, or be a relative of a current PMTC member. They must have no more than 3 points listed against their Motor Vehicle Driving record. They must have no impaired, dangerous, careless, or similar driving convictions in the past 3 years. Must have no criminal code convictions or must have received a pardon or a waiver. The applicants must also have a conditional job offer as a professional driver, or a related field, pending successful completion of the Training Program. The applicant also had to be nominated by his or her employer, had to submit a resume and a 650 to 1000-word essay stating why they thought they were a good candidate for the scholarship and what their personal goals within the Transportation Industry are.
The 2023 recipient is Max Sundquist of Lincoln, On, employed by Spring Creek Carriers.
Max’s introduction to the trucking industry began when he was 5 years old, the first time his dad took him on a trip. Max’s dad has been a long-haul driver for over 30 years. Until Max began working for Spring Creek in 2020 however, as a dispatcher, he had not really envisioned a career in the transportation industry. Now that he has been in it for the last 3 years, he loves it. Max indicates he loves being part of such an amazing industry and playing a role in such an important industry to the economy and supplying people’s daily basic needs.
Max is passionate about the industry and wants to expand his knowledge of the daily struggles that a driver goes through, which is of central importance to his role as a dispatcher. Max feels going through Entry level Training at a quality certified school such as KRTS will help increase his knowledge and understanding of some of what a driver has to deal with.
In nominating Max, his employer Spring Creek Carriers, stressed that Max has an eagerness to learn, and an ability to quickly apprehend and understand challenges, and make suggestions for improvement. Max was hired in May of 2020, with the interview process beginning in April. This was just as Covid was in it’s infancy, and most places were in a flux, laying people off as opposed to hiring new. Despite this concern, Spring Creek saw enough through the 4 interviews they conducted to take a chance on Max. Max was hired in the Customer Service Relations department. Max quickly grasped the TMS & offered suggestions on how to improve it. He quickly began to understand Spring Creek’s model of LTL, and also how important it was to support the drivers. Max has been promoted to a junior role in outbound dispatch. In his new role Max has continued to ask questions, seek out guidance and improve in his role.
Whether Max stay’s in a role in dispatch, moves into the safety and compliance field, or becomes a driver down the road, he believes this Commercial Driver Training Scholarship will increase his knowledge and help him be an improved employee for Spring Creek and the Industry, and Spring Creek has committed to continue to support him in his career at their organization.
Please join me in congratulating Max Sundquist for receiving the PMTC-KRTS 2023 Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Training Scholarship.
PMTC & KRTS both congratulate Max on receiving this much deserved training scholarship.
For more Information, contact:
Private Motor Truck Council of Canada Tel: 905-827-0587
225 Main Street East, Unit 5 email: info@pmtc.ca
Milton, Ontario, L9T 1N9 website: www.pmtc.ca
