Batesville Driver Honored for Humanitarian Efforts

Nashville, TN – The National Private Truck Council (NPTC) presented Mervin Elam, a 28-year veteran driver for Batesville Casket Company, with its Dodi Reagan Humanitarian Award during the group’s Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition held May 3-5, 2009, 2009 in Nashville, TN.

The award, named in memory of the former NPTC Director of Safety Programs who died tragically in 1997, recognizes those individuals who share her extraordinary commitment to helping others.

Elam, who has logged more than 3.3 million accident-free miles, received the award for his efforts with learning-disabled students and their family. In 2004, Marvin’s 22-year-old son, Dusty, was killed in a motorcycle accident. At the time, he was studying to become a special education teacher. To ensure that Dusty’s goals lived on, Mervin and his family launched the Dusty Elam Foundation, which has raised more than $110,000 to help provide resources for learning disabled students and underprivileged children, as well as their families.

“I will continue my support for this fund as long as I have the strength to do so,” Mervin states. “We
are committed to helping those in need in our community. This was Dusty’s dream; we are just carrying
out his dream.”

In addition, Elam remains an active volunteer with Trucker Buddy in the New Union Elementary School in Manchester, Tennessee, and has also served as a member of Highway Watch.

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. NPTC is the premier marketplace of information, networking and skill building for private fleet professionals as it leads in shaping the future of corporate transportation.

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