Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. has been recognized by North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue for its accomplishments and contributions to the trucking industry in the state.
The state presented Brian Stoddard, who has retired as Old Dominion's vice president of safety and personnel after 43 years with the company, with the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine award. Stoddard helped start the company's in-house driving school in 1988, and since its inception, the school has trained more than 3,000 driving professionals.
Old Dominion has one of the lowest accident frequency ratios in the trucking industry. In addition to sending drivers to the in-house school, the company uses technology to monitor drivers' performance and uses that data to educate drivers about best practices behind the wheel.
'Safety is our top goal at Old Dominion,' said Ken Ludwig, Old Dominion's vice president of human resources. Ludwig and his team will be absorbing Old Dominion's safety and personnel duties.
'By employing the best people, teaching many of them in our in-house driver school and with the support of the entire Old Dominion safety program, we are creating one of the safest teams of professional drivers on the road,' Ludwig said.
-The award, one of the most prestigious that the North Carolina governor can bestow, recognizes a citizen's contributions to his or her community and dedication to his or her profession. Stoddard joins a notable rank of more than 7,000 recipients, including Billy Graham, Michael Jordan, Bob Timberlake and Doug Marlette.
-'I want to thank the state of North Carolina for their generous recognition of my career and the Old Dominion family for their support during the last four decades,' Stoddard said. 'They are very much a part of this award through their dedication to service and safety.'
