NPTC/Lytx Induct Four into Driver Hall of Fame

ARLINGTON, VA – Four truck drivers who have together logged nearly 16 million miles of safe driving in approximately 165 combined years of service were honored by the National Private Truck Council (NPTC) and inducted into the NPTC/Lytx® Driver Hall of Fame during the Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition held April 24-26, 2016 in Cincinnati, OH.

The drivers are from NPTC member companies and have met the minimum qualifications of 20 years, 3 million miles or 50,000 hours of driving without a preventable accident. Many of the drivers have far exceeded these qualifications and are known for having made significant contributions to their industry and their communities. Since its inception, 104 drivers have been installed in the Driver Hall of Fame. This year’s Driver Hall of Fame inductees are:

Bradley P. Conn
CVS Transportation, LLC

Brad has been driving for 32 years. In that time, he has accumulated 3.2 million miles without an accident or a moving violation.

A native of Somerset, PA, Brad literally followed in the footsteps of his father who was also a truck driver. It was not uncommon for Brad to tag along with his dad and, at the age of 16, he started his professional career with B&W Trucking, hauling livestock, working on the trucks and cleaning out the trailers. He branched out on his own, buying his own truck and hauling steel when he was 21. He joined Revco (which was later acquired by CVS in November 1994) on a part-time basis and a year later, he was driving for the company full-time. He is currently based out of CVS’s Somerset, PA distribution center from which he runs five round trip store runs each week, delivering an average of 12 stores throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland New York and Virginia.

In his time with Revco and CVS his commitment to safety and his safety accomplishments have continued to produce outstanding results. In those 21 years, he has racked up close to 2 million miles without an accident or moving violation.

He has won numerous safe driving awards and last year was named the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association Driver of the Year. He has also been an active member of the CVS Accident Review Board and was involved in the Revco Truck Roadeo program for several years. He remains active in his church and is a past youth leader and has served on the church board.

Michael Grabowski

CPC Logistics, Inc., assigned to Walgreen Oshkosh

Mike has accumulated more than 3.5 million miles of safe driving in a driving career that spans 43 years. In that time, the only blemish on his record is a deer strike and he has never received a moving violation.

Since he joined CPC Logistics 16 years ago, he has added to those impressive credentials, accumulating more than 1.5 million miles without an accident or moving violation and all in service to Walgreens delivering general commodities and pharmaceuticals. A New Jersey native, Mike has found a home outside of Chattanooga, TN driving 50-60 hours and 2,000 miles a week back and forth to the company’s Anderson, SC distribution center.

Mike began his driving career in April of 1973 after being Honorably Discharged from the United States Navy where he hauled general commodities, oil, gas, hazmat, and bulk commodities in the military using all types of different transportation equipment. He started driving professional in 1977 for Continental for six years. He then became an owner operator for the next two years before joining J&J Dina for the next 16 years until he joined CPC Logistics in 2000.

He is active in the Walgreens’ Driver Trainer Program allows us to train and mentor new Walgreens drivers as they transition into becoming a safe and efficient team member. He is a Member of the American Legion as a Retired US Navy Vietnam Era Veteran. He enjoys bowling and has participated the USBC National Tournament for 19 consecutive years.

Wildon C. Renn III

Contract Transportation Systems/The Sherwin-Williams Company

Wildon began driving in 1981 and has accumulated 4.2 million miles of driving without an accident or a moving violation during that time. Wildon received his commercial driver’s license at the M.T.A. Trucking School in Elizabethtown, PA and has driven cabovers and conventional tractors hauling dry vans and reefers in all 48 contiguous states. His first driving job was with C. Summers Trucking in Elizabethville, PA for four years. He then joined Carreta Trucking in Paramus, NJ, from 1985-1997. For the next six years, he drove for Decker Transport out of Riverdale, NJ before joining Sherwin-Williams in May of 2003, hauling paint and paint-related materials, as well as backhauls, out of his domicile in Fredericksburg and has driven 1.8 million accident-free and violation-free miles since then. He currently drives about 3,000 miles a week delivering in and out of the Northeast and Canada.

He continues to invest in his skill and his job by taking defensive driving courses and he is a certified Smith System trainer for the past six years. He also helps the company with accident investigations to help determine fault and solutions to keep the issues from happening again. He also is a frequent participant and winner in the Sherwin Williams’ National Truck Roadeo.

Arthur Stephens CPC - Logistics, Inc., assigned to Avery Dennison

Arthur Stephens

CPC Logistics, Inc., assigned to Avery Dennison

In 55 years behind the wheel, Art Stephens has racked up 4.95 million miles of safe driving. In that time, he has no preventable accidents and no moving violations. He joined CPC 32 years ago and currently drives about 4,100 miles as part of a team operation running a dedicated route from Fort Wayne, IN to Millhall, PA hauling paper products and bulk glue. In his time with CPC and its predecessor company, he has added 2.8 million accident-free and violation-free miles.

Art learned to drive on a family farm in Pennsylvania when he was 14 years old and his first truck was a 1949 dump truck. In 1961, he began his professional career as a driver for Eastern Airlines in Baltimore, MD driving all types of ground support equipment and fuel tankers. He drove dump trucks and fuel tankers in this capacity until 1984 when he decided to become an over-the-road truck driver and went to work for Professional Driver’s Service (subsequently acquired by CPC Logistics) assigned to Avery Dennison.

In 1999, he served on a three-year contract supporting Air Force recruiting. He and his wife, June, drove a tractor trailer to various events such as NASCAR races, recruiting events, and job fairs setting up flight simulators and a life-size mock-up of an F-16 and attending the equipment to keep everything up and operating. He rejoined Avery Dennison in 2002.

He is the recipient of numerous letters of appreciation and safe driving awards and continues to hone his skills with online training, defensive driving courses and driver training programs. He is active in his local 4-H Club.

Driver Hall of Fame

NPTC President and CEO Gary Petty (left) and Del Lisk, CTP, Lytx Vice President of Safety Services (right) congratulate NPTC/Lytx Driver Hall of Fame Inductees (from left): Brad Conn, CVS Health; Art Stephens, CPC Logistics, assigned to Avery Dennison; Wildon Renn, Sherwin Williams Company/Contract Transportation Systems; and Mike Grabowski, CPC Logistics, assigned to Walgreen Oshkosh.

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.

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