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Colvin named top TCA company driver
By eTrucker Staff
Con-way Truckload team drivers, Dora and Gordon 'Butch" Colvin. Butch is the 2009 Company Equipment Driver of the Year. Dora won the same contest in 2006. (Photo Max Heine)
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Gordon "Butch" Colvin of Udall, Kan., is the 2009 Company Equipment Driver of the Year. The Con-Way Truckload driver was announced as the grand prize winner at the Truckload Carriers Association’s annual meeting convention held at the Wynn resort in Las Vegas. The contest is co-sponsored by Truckers News, which will feature him in the May issue.
Colvin logged more than 5 million miles over the course of his half-a-century trucking career. He started at CFI in 1996, which was bought out by Con-way a few years ago.
For 17 years, he has driven team with his wife, Dora, who also won first place in the same contest in 2006. Together, they have been recognized twice as Con-way’s Company Team of the Year and five times as Company Team of the Month. They have also received honors for safely achieving a million miles while driving for their company.
Colvin is one of 12 drivers selected nationwide for an advisory board for Kenworth. In the past, he has tested new engines and made recommendations for components for Con-way to purchase. He most recently drove a Kenworth Model 660 test truck equipped with a 2010 Cummins engine, which uses selective catalytic reduction technology to meet new emissions standards.
When not on the road, Colvin has been active with his children’s school. He helped sponsor the first successful all-night, alcohol-free graduation party, which has now become a school-sponsored event. He is also active in his church, where he has served as a Sunday school teacher, Sunday school president, mission leader and Elders’ president. For 15 years, he has been part of a letter-writing activity for shut-ins and less active members of the church, mailing them messages from different states as he travels.
"Butch is a joy to work with. The standards he sets for himself are among the highest I’ve seen," said Randy Cornell, Con-way’s vice president of safety. "He continually guides other drivers in practices that are safe and edifying to the trucking industry. If he sees someone abusing the latitude of a policy, he’s not afraid to gently and diplomatically share with another driver how their actions affect the industry reputation, as well as the company’s. As a result, the roads are safer, and the next generation of truck drivers will better understand their personal responsibility in making it all work."
As the grand prize winner, Colvin will receive a prize package consisting of cash, gift cards, products, and services worth $25,000.
The contest’s second-place winner was Richard Gassman of Dubuque, Iowa, who drives for Greatwide Dedicated Transfer. Third place went to Brian Rhodes of Sparta, Mo., who drives for Con-way Truckload. They have 4.5 million and 1.6 million accident-free miles, respectively.
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