2020 Drivers of the Month / Driver of the Year FTA members and their drivers are used to gathering together in a ballroom, music blasting and crowds cheering as the Truck Driving Championships competitors celebrate their work and pride in the industry. On the same evening, drivers are recognized for their work through Safety Management Council Awards. Unfortunately, it was not to be this year. Instead, the safety awards were announced during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, a (socialdistanced) social media campaign and companies were mailed certificates to present. The 2020 Driver of the Year, Sal Gonzalez, enjoyed a special treat: an award presentation at the Linder Lakeland International Airport, surrounded by his loved ones, colleagues and personally congratulated by Donald Trump, Jr. So, while the awards tradition may have detoured a little for 2020, we celebrate the following Drivers of the Month and Year:
DRIVER OF THE YEAR JANUARY Salvador Gonzalez has spent more than 36 years as a commercial motor 8 | FALL 2020
FLORIDA TRUCK NEWS
vehicle driver, averaging 25,000 miles a year in his 4-axle. He has spent eight years with UPS Freight, with 1.6 million total safe miles driven. Sal is no stranger to awards: he won second place in the 4-axle class at FTA’s 2019 Truck Driving Championships; first place in 4-axle for the Safety Drive for a Cure; and multiple local terminal Driver of the Month awards. More significant, perhaps, is his community service work. He volunteers feeding the homeless through Ocala Neighbor to Neighbor; drives the truck during the month of
April for Pinwheels for Prevention; and participates in “Touch a Truck” events for youth and educating teen drivers at Share the Road events, as a Florida Road Team member. Sal’s service manager says that Sal always leads by example and is responsible for changing the safety culture in the Ocala facility. He is known for his “positive, contagious attitude and readily volunteers for extra work including weekends.” Sal believes safety is more important than ever, during the pandemic,
