Lowes Petroleum truckie Jon Jon Charles, 39, has been recognised as one of the winners of the company’s annual Professional Driver Awards.
Based at the company’s Boggabilla depot, Jon Jon was only eight when his family emigrated to Goondiwindi from the Philippines. He switched from driving grain tippers to fuel tankers when he joined Lowes Petroleum 10 years ago.
“Every day I work to the best of my ability,” he said. “Driving carefully and being on time – taking pride in everything I do. I love this area – the community. I was speechless when the award was announced.
“I still don’t know who nominated me, but whoever saw me do the things I do I am thankful for the recognition. I couldn’t believe I was nominated and to win was just amazing.”
Few would have blamed Mr Charles from walking away from the industry after he was seriously injured in a head-on collision in 2017 which claimed three lives.
Even though he wasn’t at fault, all these years later he’s reluctant to talk about it out of respect for the family and their grief.
“It really affected me personally and my whole family,” Jon Jon revealed. “The recovery was very long and painful: physically and mentally. It was a hard road and to this day I am still getting there.
“I am better than before though; I am very thankful to the people involved in my recovery from the medical team of doctors and nurses, my friends and family to the Lowes team and of course the Goondiwindi community. Even customers would ask me how I am going with what happened, I am very thankful to everyone.
“I love driving. I love the busy periods of harvesting and talking to customers. Like any job it does come with some risks but if more people could see what a good job it is they might find they enjoy it.”
Lowes Petroleum, a regional fuel transporter and distributor has now been running its Professional Driver Awards for four years.
Lowes HSSE General Manager Bernie Morris said the awards had lifted the company driving culture to a new level, helping to recruit younger and experienced drivers to the profession.
Drivers are nominated by their peers across the 500 plus staff, with nominations more than tripling since the awards started in 2021. The company recognises drivers from five business regions for their transportation skills as well as for working towards the betterment of the trucking industry as a profession.
As one of the judges, Bernie said more drivers qualified for the finals than ever before, adding that almost every driver has made a commitment to best-practice standards, going above and beyond in their day-to-day deliveries.
“It was our hardest year yet to pick the winners,” he revealed. “We started the awards because we understand how critical our drivers are to our industry. In acknowledging them, little did we realise the enormous and positive cultural effect (and affect) it would have.
“The trucking industry is a professional industry, and these drivers want to be seen as professionals. When we award and recognise our drivers for professionalism, it creates an awareness outside of the industry that this is a long-term career. The way to address the national driver shortage, not to mention ageing working force, is by creating a culture of professionalism which will both retain and attract people to the sector.
“These drivers are highly regarded amongst peers and customers. They are our face to not only our customers but other motorists.”
Other Lowes Petroleum Professional Driver winners include Bradley Cramp from Townsville, Tamworth’s Jason Solis, Will Hayes from Kerang and Darryn Hodgetts from Burnie, Tasmania.