Tony Roper was named Ruan’s 2014 Driver of the Year recently after being selected from a pool of more than 4,200 professional drivers. Roper, who operates out of T561 in Muscatine IA, has been with Ruan since 1991 and has logged more than two million miles during his 23 years as a professional truck driver.
Ruan began the search for its seventh Driver of the Year when 154 drivers from Ruan’s 270 operations were named Region Finalists based on length of service, safety performance, driving records and exceptional customer service. Vice presidents of operations then narrowed the field further to 16 Region Winners, who traveled to Des Moines IA with a guest July 14-16 for an award ceremony and other festivities. Out of the 16 Region Winners, Ruan’s senior leaders selected Roper as the 2014 Driver of the Year.
“Each of you is an outstanding performer,” said Ruan President and CEO Ben McLean at the award ceremony at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. “You consistently exceed our safety and service standards to meet the needs of our customers. This recognition is our way of honoring your dedication, professionalism and ongoing commitment to Ruan.”
Each Region Winner was awarded a trophy and cash prize at the Driver and Terminal of the Year award ceremony. Roper, who hauls for Ruan customer HNI, was honored with a trophy, a cash prize and the 2014 Driver of the Year title.
On the terminal side, The Neosho MO operation, led by Terminal Manager Ruff Yokley, was named the 2014 Terminal of the Year at the award ceremony. This was the second year for this award.
The Neosho terminals, which serve several customers, including Jarden Consumer Solutions, Gavilon and Marmon/Keystone, were selected based on their safety records, exceptional customer service and overall performance.
To select the Terminal of the Year, each of Ruan’s vice-presidents of operations selected a terminal in their region that performs at the highest level. That performance was based on 12 criteria ranging from safety, employee retention, customer satisfaction and financial performance. Then each Region Finalist terminal completed a comprehensive workbook that combined data and answers to open-ended questions. Ruan’s senior team then narrowed the field to three Region Winners and selected the Terminal of the Year.
Ruan field team members—terminal managers, transportation supervisors, dispatchers, professional drivers, office assistants, technicians and other personnel—all work together to safely and efficiently deliver customers’ products each and every day. The Terminal of the Year program is intended to recognize the efforts of Ruan terminal teams as they demonstrate our Guiding Principles of Safety Focus, People First, Customer Satisfaction, Exceptional Performance, and Continuous Improvement.
The 2014 Terminal of the Year received a trophy, awards for all winning terminal team members and a corporate-hosted celebration at the terminal, which will take place in August.