Professionals of the Highway Tour with Bruce Outridge and Lead Pedal Podcast

August 5, 2020

We were honoured to be included in the Professionals of the Highway Tour with Bruce Outridge and Lead Pedal Podcast, discussing how we come together as an industry to promote change and make a positive impact in the community. 

Our areas of focus include SickKids Foundation, Global Dog Rescue, Canadian Cancer Society, Women's Trucking Federation of Canada, Salvation Army, Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention and more.

Looking forward to seeing Bruce's footage! Stay tuned for the links on our website!

Praxair’s Dimech to lead PMTC board

by Today's Trucking

MILTON, Ont. – Jim Dimech of Praxair Canada has been named chairman of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) as the council names its board of directors for the 2021 term.

Brad Fletcher of Terrapure Environmental is past chairman, while Steve Lawn of Parkland Corporation is first vice-chairman, and Jon Ratnasmy of Wolseley Canada is second vice-chairman.

While council members normally approve the board at an annual general meeting in June, they had to resort to email ballots this year because the conference was moved to September amid Covid-19 concerns.

Directors include:

  • Kimberly Biback, Sharp Transportation
  • Matthew Blackman, Volvo Trucks Canada Inc
  • Phil Camp, Paccar Leasing Company
  • Matthew Carr, CPC Logistics Canada
  • Gerald Carroll, Wesbell Logistics
  • Scott Creighton, Northbridge Insurance
  • Sanchia Duran, Blackberry Radar
  • Jessica Griffiths, Motive Media
  • Fred Hildebrand, Rush Truck Leasing
  • Sudhanshu Malhotra, Power Bev
  • David Marvin, Tandet
  • Terry Maw, Trailer Wizards
  • Leanne Quail, Paul Quail Transport    
  • Kim Richardson, TTSAO
  • Kevin Riley, Maple Leaf Foods
  • Michelle Roberts, Infrastructure Health & Safety Association
  • Dennis Shantz, Home Hardware Stores Ltd.     
  • Michael Thomson, MEE/ISB Canada                    
  • Claudio Venditti, Penske Truck Leasing Canada Inc
  • Andy Walker, Molson Coors
  • Donald Williams, Aviva Canada

Twenty-eight people had expressed an interest in serving on the board, which can include between 16 and 25 members, said Mike Millian, president.

“These individuals will only help to make our council and industry stronger.”

Source: https://www.trucknews.com/transportation/praxairs-dimech-to-lead-pmtc-board/1003141852/ 

Trucker hauls message as essential as her freight

Shelley Uvanile-Hesch hopes people will think twice about leaving home during the COVID-19 pandemic after seeing her trailer as she moves vital goods between Canada and the United States.

Canadian truck driver Shelley Uvanile-Hesch has a message for anyone who thinks social distancing measures shouldn’t apply to them during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s printed on her trailer in giant letters:

“Stay home. Save Lives.”

“There’s a lot of traffic on the road that shouldn’t be on the road,” Uvanile-Hesch told FreightWaves. “What are you people thinking?”

Uvanile-Hesch, a driver for Sharp Transportation Systems, will begin hauling that message across Canada and the United States on Tuesday. The 53-foot trailer wrap will be hard to miss: Apart from the message, it features photos of medical personnel wearing face masks and the hashtag “#FlattenTheCurve.”

The idea is simple: Encourage people to embrace social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19.

It also marks Uvanile-Hesch’s return to long-haul trucking after her husband and driving partner, Chris Hesch, died in a workplace accident in August. The pandemic and the need for trucks to keep moving essential freight made her decide it was time to get back on the road.

“I’m looking forward to getting back on the road,” Uvanile-Hesch told FreightWaves. “Everyone is trying to do their part. This is my part.”

Uvanile-Hesch drives her tractor-trailer in Ontario, Canada. (Image: Kimberly Biback/Sharp Transportation)

That extends to the freight, too. Uvanile-Hesch’s first load is hand sanitizer from Ontario to British Columbia. From there, she expects to take another load into the U.S before securing a backhaul to Canada as part of the cross-border movement of essential goods.

“We were looking for ways to give back. What better way than a moving, 53-foot billboard?”

— Angela Baltkois, CEO of Big Rig Wraps

An organization Uvanile-Hesch founded and leads, the Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada, sponsored the advertising wrap with Armour Insurance. The ad itself came from a Canadian executive facing a severe disruption because of COVID-19.

“We were looking for ways to give back. What better way than a moving, 53-foot billboard?” said Angela Baltkois, CEO of Big Rig Wraps, a company that places advertising on commercial vehicles.

Sharp donated three trailers for the “Stay Home” message. Baltkois hopes other fleets in Canada and the U.S. join the campaign.

Beyond the public health message, Baltkois said she wanted to show the key role trucking plays.

“I wanted to help elevate the trucking industry,” Baltkois said. “It wasn’t for truckers, front-line health workers wouldn’t get supplies.”

Uvanile-Hesch also plans to use the trip to showcase some of the conditions truck drivers face during the pandemic, including closed or dirty bathroom facilities and few places to eat.

“Hopefully this will bring attention to the plight of drivers on the road so that something changes,” Uvanile-Hesch said.

How you can help: Big Rig Wraps is seeking sponsors for the “Stay Home. Save Lives” wraps, and U.S. and Canadian fleets willing to place them on trailers. For more information, contact Angela Baltkois at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Source:

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucker-hauls-message-as-essential-as-her-freight

‘People die’ if US-Canada medical trade stops, pharma hauler says

Sharp Transportation Systems keeps Americans and Canadians supplied with essential medicines and vaccines as tensions mount over cross-border medical supply chains.

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