Terry Smith, owner-op with SLH Transport.

GRAPEVINE, TX — Canadian drivers stole the show at the Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting on March 25 when they took home the top honors: 2013 Owner-Operator of the Year and 2013 Company Driver of the Year.

Terry Smith of New Brunswick and Jack Fielding of Ontario were the only two Canadians to make the shortlist in the huge American competition, Driver of the Year.

According to a statement from the TCA: “The annual Driver of the Year contests identify and honor the best men and women traveling the roads today. They drive safely, give to their communities, protect the environment, and enhance the image of trucking – in other words, they make us all proud to be a part of this great industry”

Terry Smith is a Trucker Buddy, a Shriner, an active member of his New Brunswick community and an owner-operator leased to Kingston, ON-based SLH Transport. In 2006, this cheerful and very articulate long-haul veteran driver was named the Highway Star of the Year. 

And now, 4.75 million accident-free miles under his belt, Smith has been named 2013 Driver of the Year, Owner-Operator Division.

“I still love trucking. When I get up in the morning and I go to work, I almost run to my truck. After 42 years, it’s still the best job,” Smith said in an interview with Overdrive magazine, which co-manages the competition along the TCA.

Jack Fielding, driver with Bison Transport.

Smith leaves with a brand new truck – a 2013 Ram 2500 powered by Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel. And he’ll also get a year’s supply of Chevron Delo oil, as will Jack Fielding, who drives for Bison and won the 2013 Driver of the Year, Company Driver Division.

Fielding has been a driver with Winnipeg-based Bison Transport for the past 13 years. He was named to the 2011-2012 Ontario Road Knights team.

“These drivers exemplify excellence amongst their peers,” said Amy Boerger, general manager, field sales and support for Cummins. “We are honored to play a part in thanking them for their outstanding service and commitment to the trucking industry.”

The three finalists for each award attended TCA’s meeting in Grapevine, Texas, just outside of Dallas.

The other owner-operator finalists were Thomas Miller of Bunker Hill, Ill., who hauls for Springfield, Mo.-based Prime Inc., and Bryan Smith of Asbury, Iowa, who’s leased to Dubuque, Iowa-based Art Pape Transfer.

The other company driver finalists were Reuben Dupsky of Fremont, Neb., who drives for Fremont Contract Carriers, and Allan Raffay of Hawley, Pa., who drives for Prime Inc.

Truck drivers’ “hard work deserves our thanks, respect, and admiration,” said Randy Brillhart, heavy duty commercial channel manager, North America, for Chevron Lubricants. “Being a sponsor of the TCA Driver of the Year Awards is one way we at Chevron attempt to show our support for this industry and those that exemplify all that is good about it.”