For release on June 23rd, 2023
PMTC & CPC LOGISTICS ANNOUNCES INDUCTEES TO HALL OF FAME FOR PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS
The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada inducted 4 exceptional drivers into the HALL OF FAME FOR PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS during the 2nd day of its annual conference on June 22nd at Hamilton, On.
The Hall of Fame is sponsored by CPC Logistics Canada. Drivers from PMTC member companies are recognized for superior over the road performance over an extended period of time. The Hall of Fame provides a permanent recognition of their abilities and can be found on the PMTC website at www.pmtc.ca.
“The skills of professional truck drivers are evident to all road users, and are especially valued by their employers,” said PMTC President Mike Millian. “These professionals compile safe driving records that are beyond amazing, considering all the adverse conditions they face every day. Only a select few can equal the caliber of the drivers in the Hall of Fame. The industry and the PMTC salutes these individuals, and we are pleased to honor them for their amazing careers.”
The 2023 inductees are Yves Bélanger , Alvin Carter, Dwayne Saik & Grant Taylor. Together, these 4 individuals have amassed an incredible 161 years and over 18.3 million kilometers of accident-free driving.
The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada and CPC Logistics Canada are pleased to induct these four professionals into the Hall of Fame for Professional Drivers.
Yves Bélanger
Linde Canada Inc.
Yves has had a passion for trucks from an early age, being exposed to the industry as a result of his father being an owner operator. Yves spent many days in the summer getting up early so he could ride with his dad hauling lumber across his home province of Quebec. After high school Yves completed a diploma in Heavy duty mechanics. He quickly realized his true passion was trucking however and went for his class 1 license in 1989, as soon as he was old enough to obtain it.
For the next 7 years Yves hauled lumber throughout the Province of Quebec. Between 96 and 2001 Yves went to work for an aluminum smelter in Northeast Quebec, driving trucks only occasionally. In 2001 Yves returned to his passion of trucking fulltime, while at the same time Yves earned a diploma in truck transportation. During this time, he began hauling bulk & liquid dangerous goods across Canada and into the US. The company Yves was working for at the time thought he would make a perfect driver trainer, and his career expanded into promoting safety and compliance to newcomers to the industry.
Yves joined Linde Canada in 2008 as a highway driver, hauling liquid carbon dioxide and cryogenic liquid tanker trailers. While this job took Yves away from his wife Isabelle and their 2 young children each week, Yves still found time to be involved in the community, managing his young sons’ hockey team with the help and support of Isabelle. Yves work with Linde took him into the US, and across Canada, as far away as Labrador City and James Bay, hauling super b trains in all seasons.
Yves has been a full time professional driver for 30 years since 1989, spanning over 4.8million accident and incident free driving.
Alvin Carter
Home Hardware Stores Ltd.
Alvin “Al” was raised on a dairy farm near Milverton, Ontario. When he was young he enjoyed working the fields and dabbled in welding for a while in his Uncle’s fabricating shop, later working for a local tilling company. When his Uncle purchased a livestock hauling business, Alvin was keen to get on the road, and begin hauling cattle and pigs around Ontario in straight trucks. When the company was purchased by a larger organization, Al had the opportunity to move up to tractor trailers, continuing to haul livestock, while also hauling fertilizer out of Ohio, and dump trailer to grain ports around Ontario.
In 1988 Al noticed an ad in a local paper and filled out a job application, which lead to a job interview and road test. In February 1988 Al began his career with Home Hardware Stores. The first week stands out in Alvin’s mind, as it was hard work unloading the trailers at the stores, as the hardware didn’t walk itself off the trailer!! After 3 days Alvin said he was second guessing his decision, but in time he found his groove and has never looked back.
During his time with Home Hardware, Al enjoyed getting to know the store owners, dispatchers, and other co-workers, making many lifelong friends. He enjoyed the open road he travelled between Winnipeg and Nova Scotia, and also served on Home Hardware’s Accident Review Committee as well as the Health and Safety Committee.
Over the years Al has witnessed many serious accidents. Just over 2 years ago, as he approached a rural corner, he noticed a transformer flash ahead. A truck went through a stop sign and collided with another vehicle, throwing a driver clear from his vehicle, and seriously injuring him. Al called 911 and the dispatcher coached Al on how to keep the injured elderly man calm while they waited for Ornge air and other 1st responders to arrive.
Al is married to his wife Kara of 42 years and is the proud father of two daughters and grandfather to twin grandchildren. He enjoys puttering around his 9 acre farm and woodworking. He has served in many capacities at the Listowel, Poole and Wellesley Mennonite Church’s. He has supported his wife’s pastoral roles in various congregations and enjoyed working with Youth. He also went on a weeklong mission to West Virginia rebuilding and repairing homes.
In December of 2022, after almost 35 years at Home Hardware, Al retired. Al’s driving career spanned over 40 years of accident and incident free driving, spanning over 4 million km’s.
Dwayne Saik
Linde Canada Inc.
Dwayne was around 10 years old when his father taught him to drive a Massey 30 farm tractor on the family farm in Alberta. The old Massey is what motivated Dwayne to choose trucking as a career. In 1977 he obtained his commercial license and began his career with SH Concrete hauling Gravel & sand throughout the Edmonton area for the next 5 years. From 82 until 93 Dwayne worked for several other carriers where he hauled several different types of goods across Canada and the US, logging more than 2 million km’s.
In 1993, Dwayne joined Linde Canada Inc, formerly known as Praxair. He quickly realized that handling and hauling cryogenic liquids & other specialty gases was what he wanted to do for the rest of his career. Dwayne is highly respected by his peers and is the 2nd most senior driver in the West Region for Linde’s Bulk Division. He hauled Hydrogen in his early days with Linde, and also hauled propylene across North America. Dwayne has also made over 2500 deliveries to Fort McMurray in the last 20 years. In 2005 Dwayne received Linde’s million mile award.
Dwayne will tell you that what has kept him at Linde all these years is their commitment to safety, which involves providing drivers with the most up to date safety technology, as well as their emphasis on safety training and operational discipline. Dwayne tells drivers “you either fit the job at Linde or you don’t, there is no in-between” If you stay disciplined, follow procedures and follow your safety training, you will be successful, if you don’t you will get in trouble. Dwayne is also know for his handwriting being the most legible and clear handwriting in the fleet, he says “These are legal documents, you must be clear, and the recipient of these documents must know you take all tasks seriously”
In his personal life, Dwayne has 2 daughters, Jaclyn and Britney, whom he still takes camping in the US Mountains with his 40ft 5th wheel trailer. Dwyane also spends time with his 98 year old father and takes time to operate the tractor around the farm. Dwayne has a total of over 45 years and 4.5million km’s of accident and incident free driving.
Grant Taylor
Wellington Group of Companies
Grant began his unofficial driving career 49 years ago when he was 15. He worked at a dairy in Toronto with his grandfather. One day, his grandpa tossed him the keys of a spare truck and told him to go learn to drive it. It was a 24-foot tandem axel, five-speed, reefer unit. Grant spent two days in the yard learning how to maneuver it.
He got a job shunting trucks in the yard, and Grant says that is how he got hooked on truck driving.
At 19 he bought a straight truck and became an owner-operator. He later sold the vehicle and worked for a courier company for a couple of years.
He transitioned into driving concrete mixers, a job he did for 20 years.
The job had great pay, but long hours, many times you would be gone before the sun came up and come home long after the sun went down. His wife at the time stayed home and looked after the kids. He drove snowplows during winter when the concrete business was slow.
Personal problems crept in. Drinking problems contributed to the demise of his marriage. He suffered a work-related accident, the only one of his career, when another motorist blew through a stop sign. The incident messed up his head and damaged his right knee. The joint had to be replaced. Twice.
He had to give up driving concrete mixers for awhile.
Grant had three children. He is very proud of his daughters, one who transports patients and the other is a paralegal. His son has unfortunately passed and is missed early.
Taylor is passionate about helping others. At the age of 50, he graduated with a diploma in the study of addiction from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. Grant is a sponsor for alcoholics, and when he retires, he plans to open a pro bono office to provide counsel to alcoholics.
Grant and his wife have just completed renovations to their house so his wife’s elderly parents can move in with them. Grant participates in all of Wellington’s company fundraising events, and volunteers for the Santa Clause Parade. Grant cares about his fellow workers and has called in before when he feels a driver is being overworked. Grant, who has worked for Wellington for the past 4 years, was named the Wellington Driver of the Year in 2022. Over Grants career he has operated 46 years and over 4 million km’s of at fault accident-free driving.
For more information, contact:
Private Motor Truck Council of Canada Tel: 905-827-0587
225 Main Street East, Unit 5 email: info@pmtc.ca
Milton, Ontario, L9T 1N9 website: www.pmtc.ca
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