Several Ruan professional drivers took home awards at Iowa Motor Truck Association’s (IMTA) Truck Driving Championships in August. Plus, the entire team of nine worked together to earn the second-place team award!
The Truck Driving Championships competition includes a written exam and personal interview to evaluate the drivers’ knowledge of the trucking industry and their professionalism. In addition, they compete in a driving skills test where they must navigate a series of problems like driving between cones, stopping with axles on markers, and completing turns around obstacles. They also conduct a judged pre-trip inspection.
Over the course of the two-day competition, drivers have an opportunity to earn a maximum of 600 points. Team scores are determined by adding all individual scores then dividing by the number of drivers on the team. Team Ruan was just one point behind the first-place team!
Congratulations to our competitors for their individual achievements and team award!
- Kevin Schmidt, T427, Otsego, MN – First place in the five-axle flatbed division
- Dean Key, T583, Holstein, IA – Second place in the four-axle van division
- Tex Halligan, T549, Cedar Falls, IA – Second place in the five-axle sleeper division
- Mujo Kajtazovic, T549, Cedar Falls, IA – Third place in the five-axle van division
- Eric Smith, T102, Ankeny, IA
- Aaron Imhoff, T592, Mount Pleasant, IA
- Terry Owens, T549, Cedar Falls, IA
- Leland Hildebrandt, T613 Muscatine, IA
- Dave Schafer, T427, Otsego, MN
Awards were distributed at the Banquet of Champions, where the IMTA personally recognized all 50 driver competitors and their family members.
“This event offers incredible reinforcement that truck driving is a true profession. And the people in this room and all of your peers across this great country reinforce that the work you do is critical to the standard of living we all enjoy. Your work during a challenging national crisis to deliver a semblance of normalcy, to offer daily reminders that things will be okay, is most reassuring for each of us. Thank you,” Ruan’s President and COO Dan Van Alstine, who serves as the IMTA’s chairman of the board, told the drivers at the banquet. “In these difficult times, one important silver lining came with the nationwide recognition that the work truck drivers do every single day is truly essential. You are essential, and for that I am most grateful.”
Team coach Doug Beach, Mujo Kajtazovic, Tex Halligan, Dean Key, and Kevin Schmidt.
Team Ruan.
