The Australian Trucking Association has announced the winners of the 2024 National Trucking Industry Awards.
The awards were presented at the ATA Foundation Sponsors Awards Gala Dinner, at the close of the ATA’s annual conference, Trucking Australia.
Interstate driver Joshua Ulbrich went home with the award for National Professional Driver of the Year.
Ulbrich has been with Ross Transport for the past ten years and drives a pink Kenworth T909.
His employers congratulated him on his win, describing him as “deeply passionate and dedicated to road transport and the trucking industry”.
They added: “Josh is a volunteer committee member of ‘Truckies Against Bullying’ and is regularly attending truck shows and convoys and keeping his truck in pristine condition.
“Josh, you are such a deserving winner and we really are so proud of you and humbled to have you driving for us.”
The award for Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Trucking Industry went to Bill Manton from Simon National Carriers in Carole Park, Queensland.
Manton is the National Training Manager for Simon National Carriers, but his career in the trucking industry goes back to 1982.
“Bill’s integrity, ethics, and dedication to safety and the industry make him a true role model,” a spokesperson for the ATA said.
The National Training Excellence Award went to two deserving winners, both based in Queensland – Frasers Livestock Transport and South East Queensland Hauliers.
National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year went to Jenny Fellows from Fellows Bulk Transport in Deniliquin, New South Wales.
Fellows established the Deniliquin Driver Education Program in 2006. It is now a week-long course that teaches school students how to share the road safely and has expanded from Deniliquin to outlying schools.
The TruckSafe John Kelly Memorial Award was given to Marley’s Transport in Hope Valley, WA.
Finally, the Don Watson Memorial Award went to Denis Robertson, based in Riverstone, NSW.
Robertson was one of the founders of the ATA and was its Chair from 1994 to 1996.