BALTIMORE, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Maryland Motor Truck Association's Safety Management Council has named William Gray, Jr., of Overnite Transportation, A UPS Company, its Driver of the Year for 2005.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050408/OVNTLOGO )
The announcement marks the third time in the last five years an Overnite driver has won the state's highest driver safety award. Recent Overnite winners have included David Hardman, Jr., in 2003 and Tony Cesenaro in 2001.
Gray, 53, a road driver based in Cumberland, Md., has driven more than 2.8 million miles over the last 27 years with Overnite without an accident.
"Bill's selection as Maryland State Driver of the Year is no surprise to those who know him and know Overnite's continuing commitment to safety and our desire to make the roads and highways safer for all drivers," said Overnite Vice President-Safety Phil Warren.
"The overall emphasis on safety, the mentoring of young drivers and their work in the community says much about Overnite and the people who work at the company," added Capt. Bill Dofflemyer, Commander, Commercial Safety Division, Maryland State Police.
A former member and Captain of the Overnite All-Star Road Team, the company's most elite drivers, Gray has competed in both the Maryland and National Truck Driving Championships. In addition to training new commercial truck drivers, Gray has spoken to numerous youth groups regarding the safe sharing of the road with large commercial vehicles.
Long active in youth athletics in the Cumberland area, Gray has served as an administrator and coach with the Sunday School Basketball League for 17 years and the Girls' Softball Program for the past 14 years.
"As a driver and a citizen, Bill Gray remains one of the finest examples of the modern-day truck driver as you will find in America," concluded Overnite Cumberland Service Center Manager Dan James.
Overnite is the less-than-truckload freight transportation unit of UPS , the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Additional information can be found on the Web at http://www.ups.com/.
Overnite services all of North America, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands with direct service to more than 45,000 cities. For further information see the company's Web site, http://www.overnite.com/.
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk
