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Mike Baker, Vice President of Worldwide Sales, SmartDrive Systems (left) and Gary Petty, president and CEO of the National Private Truck Council (right), congratulate the recipients of the NPTC/SmartDrive Private Fleet Professional Leadership Award (from left): Rustin Keller, J. J. Keller; Ed Porter, Upstate Niagara Cooperative; Harry Haney, Loyola University; Meghan Chan, CTP, Mondelez Global, LLC; Cameron Hafer, CTP, Trans Papa Logistics/Papa Johns; and Bedford Monday, CTP, Schwans Food Company. (PRNewsFoto/SmartDrive Systems)
ARLINGTON, Va. and SAN DIEGO - The National Private Truck Council (NPTC) and award program sponsor, SmartDrive Systems, recognized six private fleet professionals for their impressive contributions to the private fleet community during NPTC’s Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition held April 24-26, 2016 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,” state Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive. “We are honored to collaborate with NPTC to acknowledge the efforts of these outstanding professionals who epitomize the very best of the commercial trucking industry.” The Dan Smith Life Achievement Award, the Council’s highest and most prestigious honor, was awarded to Harry J Haney, III, Associate Director of Loyola University Chicago’s Supply & Value Chain Center. The Center works with member companies to provide educational events, networking opportunities, training, recruiting students for internships/ full time placement, and access to academic resources (faculty and students) for consulting projects. Prior to this role, Harry was with Kraft Foods for 30 years, holding increasingly responsible supply chain roles, both in field and corporate locations. He has extensive experience in transportation management including private and dedicated fleets with Kraft. Harry is committed to the betterment of the industry, having served in a number of industry association leadership roles including chairman and treasurer of NPTC and the Coalition for Transportation Productivity. He is currently a board member of the Madison International Trade Association. He also has experience as a sole-proprietor consultant in both corporate and not-for-profit organizations emphasizing high-impact, practical, implementable solutions with a key focus in the transportation space. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Transportation and Logistics from Ohio State University and an MBA from Eastern Illinois University. The Private Fleet Executive of the Year went to Bedford Monday, (CTP), Facilities Operations Manager for The Schwans Food Company, where he oversees warehouse and shuttle operations for 12 facilities in the South. He started with Schwans in 2005 and has held several positions in logistics both in warehouse and transportation operations. Most recently he was zone warehouse manager for Schwans Consumer Brands, where he managed warehouse, shuttle, and DSD Fleet operations for the Mid-Atlantic Zone. Prior to Schwans, Bedford managed the private fleet for Toys-R-Us in Houston, TX and McDonough, GA. He also worked for over 19 years at United Parcel Service in the West Carolina District. He started his UPS career as a loader in 1981, and also held positions as a driver, supervisor and center manager. Bedford has served as chairman of the NPTC Board of Governors, chairman of the NPTC Executive Board and is currently treasurer of the NPTC Board. He earned his CTP designation in 2005 and was the top graduate. The Private Fleet Member of the Year was presented to Ed Porter, Senior Director of Transportation Services for Upstate Niagara Cooperative. Early in his career, Ed spent four years in the U.S. Air Force, then entered the transportation industry in 1971, joining the Pillsbury Company. He subsequently held roles with Red Red Wing Foods and Kraft Dairy Group, and opened the first-ever office and distribution network for Kraft Dairy Group west of the Mississippi River in Seattle in 1983. This assignment was bringing Breyers Ice Cream to the Northwest U.S. Ed was responsible for sales and distribution throughout eight states and established Kraft DSD routes in the Seattle area. Since 1991, he and his family have lived in Niagara, NY, where he plans to retire on May 6. The Private Fleet Safety Professional of the Year was awarded to Cameron Hafer, CTP, Manager of DOT Compliance and Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Development, Trans Papa Logistics, Inc. (Papa John’s Pizza). Cameron manages very robust compliance and driver development programs that keep Trans Papa Logistics on the leading edge with best practices, and quality products and people. As Papa John’s grows with its new private fleet, it is striving to upgrade capabilities and IT infrastructure by deploying state-of-the-art safety technologies and providing its people with the education and tools to ensure continuous improvement. With a culture of collaboration and a safe environment to suggest improvement, the company achieves a high level of service and customer satisfaction. Trans Papa Logistics has 490 drivers operating 130 power units out of 10 quality control centers nationwide. Cameron is a nine-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He received his bachelors and masters degrees from Chapman University and earned his CTP in 2015. The NPTC Excellence in Membership Award went to Meghan Chan, CTP, Fleet Safety and Compliance manager for Mondelez Global LLC. Chan began her career in manufacturing with Frito-Lay but quickly discovered an interest in logistics. She transferred to the transportation department and served as a fleet manager for five years. In 2012, Meghan joined the transportation team at Mondelez Global, LLC and served as the company’s private fleet manager for three years, managing maintenance programs and supporting the vehicle specification and fleet technology programs for the North American DSD fleet. In her current role, she supports DOT compliance and all safety initiatives for the Mondelez fleet. She graduated from the University of Arizona in 2006 with a bachelors’ degree in Business Management and received her CTP designation in 2014. Meghan was elected to the NPTC Institute Board of Governors this year. The Allied Member of the Year was presented to J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. the nation’s leading provider of fleet compliance and safety products and services. With over 1,400 associates, J. J. Keller serves more than 420,000 customers - including 90% of the Fortune 1000. Subject matter expertise spans nearly 1,500 topics, and diverse solutions include E-logs and mobile technology; training via online courses, streaming video or DVD; online management tools; managed services; consulting and advisory services; publications; forms and supplies. Fleet professionals rely on J. J. Keller’s in-house expertise and wide selection of products and services to reduce risk and improve regulatory compliance, performance management and operational efficiency. As a long-time allied member of NPTC, J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. actively supports NPTC members and customers within the private fleet industry. J. J. Keller and Associates, Inc. is a five star member that exhibits annually at the Education and Management Conference and Exhibition, and is actively involved in NPTC committees including Board of Governors, Annual Planning Committee, Safety Committee and participation in the National Safety Conference. J. J. Keller and NPTC also work together to jointly conduct numerous educational and informative webinars annually to NPTC members further advancing the development of thousands of fleet professionals and their companies. Currently, eight J. J. Keller associates hold an active CTP designation.