NPTC and SmartDrive Present Private Fleet Leadership Awards

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Private Truck Council (NPTC) and award program sponsor, SmartDrive Systems, recognized seven private fleet professionals for their impressive contributions to the private fleet community during NPTC’s Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition held April 29-May 1, 2018 in Cincinnati. Since 1990, the NPTC Private Fleet Professional Leadership Awards have recognized those individuals who have positively impacted the National Private Truck Council, their profession, and the private trucking community.

“Private fleets play a critical role in our national transportation infrastructure and the professionals who support this sector demonstrate their commitments to safety, efficiency and productivity every day,””stated NPTC President Gary Petty. “We are honored to acknowledge the efforts of these outstanding professionals who have made significant contribution to NPTC, their profession and the private trucking community.”

The Dan Smith Life Achievement Award, the Council’s highest and most prestigious honor, was awarded to Dan Norris, CTP, Dan recently retired from the position of Fleet Director for the Pepsi Beverages Company in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Regions. He spent 33 years in the beverage business working in operational roles in transportation, warehouse, production and fleet maintenance.

Dan started with Pepsi as fleet mechanic in 1983, moved into a supervisor position in 1987 before being promoted to a Manager in the mid-90’s, Senior Manager in 2005 and finally to the Fleet Director position in 2010. Dan is most proud of his work to improve mechanic training, recruiting, retention and compensation for the company’s fleet technicians.

Dan received his CTP with the class of 2007 and has served on the NPTC Board of Directors, the NPTC Institute Board of Governors, and the NPTC Conference Planning Committee. He was a member of the PFMI faculty from 2007 through 2016, participated in presenting workshops in several Annual Conferences and Safety Conferences, and was the featured fleet speaker in an NPTC/J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. webcast. Dan was named the Private Fleet Member of the Year for 2010 and Private Fleet Executive of the Year in 2015.

Recognized as the Private Fleet Executive of the Year was Bill Hartman, CTP, VF Jeanswear. Bill is a 10-year veteran of the USAF, PAANG and AF Reserves and served during the Persian Gulf War. Bill joined General Nutrition Centers in 1992 as a driver and was promoted two years later to transportation supervisor. He progressed through roles of increasing responsibility such as Manager of Transportation, Interim DC Manager, Operations Manager, and Manager of Private Fleet Operations. In 2012 Bill joined NEP Broadcasting as Fleet Director. NEP is the largest Mobile TV company in the world with locations in the US, England and Australia. He joined VF Jeanswear in 2016 of which is headquartered in Greensboro, NC as the Sr. Fleet Manager. Bill is responsible for the private fleet truck terminals in Greenville, SC where he is located, Tupelo, MS and El Paso TX. VF is one of the world’s largest apparel makers with over 60,000 employees across the globe. Bill earned his CTP designation in 2011 and remains active in many aspects of NPTC, currently is a member of the safety committee, the NPTC Annual Conference Planning Committee and is the immediate past chair of the NPTC Board of Directors.

Erle Bergstrom, CTP, of Orscheln Farm and Home, LLC was honored as the NPTC Fleet Member of the Year. As Transportation/Private Fleet Manager, Erle oversees a private fleet operation that serves 165 company-owned stores in 10 Midwestern states. He has attended NPTC meetings for each of the past ten years, earned his CTP designation in 2010, and was honored with the NPTC Professional Leadership Award for Membership Development in 2013. Erle serves as a member of the NPTC Board of Directors, is Chair of the Conference Planning Committee, and been a featured speaker at many NPTC events.

Named as the Private Fleet Safety Professional of the Year was Todd Porter of Sentinel Transportation LLC. As Vice President of Safety & Compliance for Sentinel Transportation, LLC, Todd is a professional safety, compliance, and claims executive who is dedicated to protecting lives, reducing injuries accidents and saving money by establishing and implementing industry-leading safety, compliance, and claims-management programs. He brings more than 25 years of hands-on experience in developing and implementing customized programs that ensure long-term safety improvements, regulatory compliance, and exceptional claims management. For the last 14 years, he has direct experience in the transportation and logistics field and supports nationwide.

He has experience in insurance, claims, safety consulting, chemical processing and manufacturing before finding long term home in transportation where he has held a variety of safety, claims, regulatory and risk management roles for a diverse group of mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies. Todd’s strong technical skills coupled with highly developed business acumen and collaborative leadership style have led to a strong track record of success. He has a proven ability to team with all key stakeholders from front line employees to executive leadership resulting in a culture where safety, compliance and operational excellence.

Chuck Amen, CTP, Hillyard, Inc., was the recipient of the NPTC Excellence in Membership Award (Fleet). Chuck has more than 30 years of transportation experience. He began employment with Hillyard in 2001 and currently oversees a private fleet that delivers to 24 distribution centers and more than 100 independent distributors in 48 states. Hillyard is a 111-year-old “cleaning resource” company with corporate headquarters in St Joseph, MO and has been an NPTC Member since 1997.

Chuck obtained his CTP designation in 2009. He was named to the NPTC Board of Directors in 2014 and was elected to the Executive Committee in the capacity of Secretary this year. Chuck is a frequent speaker at NPTC’s Annual Conference and National Safety Conference, has served as host company for the NPTC Safety Committee’s summer on-site meeting, and has encouraged numerous companies and individuals over the years to become active in NPTC and go through the CTP program.

John Trahan, CTP, Centerline Drivers, received the NPTC Excellence in Membership Award (Allied).

After serving four years in the US Air Force as a Security Policeman, John started his career in Transportation Logistics. He began with Pepsi Cola as a Route Salesman in Albuquerque and continued on to work in similar roles at Leaseway Logistics, AC Delco, Montgomery Wards, and Penske. During his time with Penske, John was awarded numerous accolades for safe locations, customer service, and customer appreciation.

In 2003, John moved on to manage Scully Distribution’s North Region for seven years before he entered the world of Driver Leasing at Centerline. As Director of Business Development at Centerline Drivers John is able to do what he loves most: provide exceptional customer service, connect people with opportunity, and manage the Dedicated Driver Management Service nationwide, working with several of the NPTC fleets. Over the years, John has promoted NPTC membership and the CTP program to several Fleet and Allied/Supplier Vendor companies.

The NPTC Allied Member of the Year was presented to Vigillo, a SambaSafety Company. Accepting the award on behalf of Vigillo was Steve Bryan, President and Founder of Vigillo, and Allison Guidette, CEO of Samba Safety.Vigillo, a SambaSafety company, leads the trucking industry in analyzing fleet safety data to provide insights that impact safe-ty performance. Combining Vigillo’s CSA Daylight Suite, the industry’s most robust CSA diagnostic and management tool, with SambaSafety’s innovative Driver Risk Management (DRM) services, Vigillo offers the most comprehensive driver Motor Vehicle Record and CSA data monitoring solution. These combined capabilities provide customers with the ability to manage and track driver performance, mitigate high risk driver behavior and address driver safety through the entire employment lifecycle.

The final award, the NPTC Excellence in Backhauling Award, went to Jacob Klingbeil, CTP, of Walgreen Oshkosh. Jacob is the Director of Transportation for Walgreens, working to keep up with a strong team spread across the lower 48 and Puerto Rico. The team manages 800 trucks and 1300 drivers, making 13,000 deliveries (and growing) per week, and backhauling 4500 loads per month. Jacob has spent the last 20 years in various roles with Walgreens, starting in the shipping department in Wisconsin, moving to Ohio to start up an operation, to IL as the Director of the fleet.

Jacob earned his CTP in 2007 and has been a member of NPTC since 1999. He was elected to the NPTC Institute Board of Governors in 2016 and recently joined the NPTC Annual Conference Planning Committee.

Recipients of the NPTC/SmartDrive Private Fleet Professional Leadership Awards are (from left): Erle Bergstrom, CTP, Orscheln Farm and Home, LLC; Dan Norris, CTP, retired from Pepsi Beverages Company; Chuck Amen, CTP, Hillyard, Inc.; Steve Bryan, Vigillo, a Samba Safety Company; Allison Guidette, SambaSafety; Jacob Klingbeil, CTP, Walgreen Oshkosh; John Trahan, CTP, Centerline Drivers; and Todd Porter, Sentinel Transportation LLC.

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.

About SmartDrive Systems

SmartDrive Systems, the recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s Customer Value Leadership Award for Video Safety Solutions, gives fleets and drivers unprecedented driving performance insight and analysis, helping save fuel, expenses and lives. Its video analysis, predictive analytics and personalized performance program help fleets improve driving skills, lower operating costs and deliver significant ROI. With an easy-to-use managed service, fleets and drivers can access and self-manage driving performance anytime, anywhere. The company, which is ranked as one of the fastest growing companies by Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™, has compiled the world’s largest storehouse of more than 220 million analyzed risky-driving events. SmartDrive Systems is based in San Diego, Calif., and employs over 725 people worldwide.