AKRON, Ohio — April 29, 2003 — Roadway Express, Inc. had two professional drivers named Captains of the 2003 America's Road Team of the American Trucking Associations (ATA). Volvo sponsored the program. The selected drivers are Charon Rae Crites of the Bloomington, CA terminal and James F. Wages from the Memphis, TN relay.
For the next 12 months, Crites and Wages will join 11 other representatives from other trucking companies throughout the United States, participating in speaking engagements and media events on behalf of the industry. These ‘Best-of-the-Best' drivers will spend approximately one week each month traveling throughout the country making presentations to civic organizations, media representatives, truck stops and driver's education classes on how to safely share the road with commercial vehicles. They also have the opportunity to testify on trucking and safety issues before Congressional hearings and at the state government level.
"Safety is a top priority for our engaged workforce. Charon and Jim are to be commended for this impressive achievement," said Roadway Express President, Bob Stull. "They join an elite group of drivers who exemplify million-mile, accident free professionals representing the trucking industry with their safety messages. We are very proud of them. They are examples of the strong caliber of drivers at Roadway."
The new Road Team Captains were matched against thousands of truck drivers nationwide. They were selected from a group of 30 finalists who competed before a panel of judges from the trucking industry and trucking media. The final round of competition included communications skills, knowledge of trucking industry safety issues, interview abilities and involvement in community service.
Crites joined Roadway in 1986 as a linehaul driver out of the company's Kansas City, KS facility. She started her career by driving as part of a sleeper team with her mother, Frances, who was also a road driver. Over the course of her 27-year career as a driver, she worked 17 of those years at Roadway and has logged 2 ½ million miles of safe driving. She drove linehaul and sleeper teams out of Goodman, KS; St. Louis, MO; Adelanto, CA; and Bloomington, CA, where she is currently domiciled as a shortline/shuttle driver. She is a member of Local 63 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. She was a member of the Kansas Motor Carriers Association Road Team and currently serves on Roadway's District 17 Road Team. She resides in Adelanto and has two sons and three grandchildren. She is a volunteer for the community's Ride Share and Senior Ride Share programs and belongs to the Eagles club.
As a long-haul driver, Wages joined Roadway in 1977 at the Memphis, TN terminal, where he remains today. He is a member of Local 667 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is coordinator of the Roadway Express District 7 Road Team and a member of the 2002 Tennessee State Road Team. His activities include the Boy Scouts of America as a troop leader, Unit Commissioner and Merit Badge Counselor. He is the Secretary Treasurer of the Memphis Football Club and coaches girls' Basketball at White Station School and Hope Presbyterian Church, where he and his wife are active members. Wages resides with his wife of 17 years, Regina in Arlington, TN and they have five children.
