Medline National Truck Rodeo honors medical delivery drivers
The pandemic and supply-chain crisis raised Americans' awareness of truck drivers and their essential roles. National health care leader Medline recently celebrated its 1,500-plus drivers of tractor trailers, straight trucks and parcel vans with the company's first National Truck Rodeo July 22 in Grayslake.
Ten drivers from California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, and Texas competed in the inaugural Medline National Truck Rodeo at a distribution center near the company's headquarters. All are regional finalists from previously-held tests of skill and safety.
Some of the skill tests included: backing straight up over 50 feet, driving forward and backward around cones without touching any, and backing up to a loading dock, among other timed tests.
The inaugural National Truck Rodeo had six winners in two categories.
Package and straight trucks:
• First place: Luis Becerra Leal of Katy, Texas
• Second place: Samuel Garcia of Modesto, California
• Third place: Ivan Arroyo, of Chicago
Tractor trailers:
• First place: Arthur "AP" Porn of Hemet, California
• Second place: Troy White of McDonough, Georgia
• Third place, Brad Willard of Wadsworth
First-place winners received $2,500, second place received $1,000 and third place received $500.
"Our drivers know the important role we play in health services delivery," said Jeff Brennan, senior vice president of transportation at MedTrans, the transport fleet of Medline.
"We give that extra effort because we recognize that it could be our own family or friends or community members waiting for the right medical supplies to get through a surgery, or a hospital stay ... or just to help them feel better."
The event also featured food trucks and kids' activities for some 200 Medline team members and their families, who turned out to cheer on the drivers.
Truck drivers, such as those at Medline, were vital in withstanding the COVID-19 pandemic and have faced harsher conditions on the road ever since. According to the National Safety Council, traffic deaths remain historically high, with over 46,000 deaths attributed to traffic crashes in both 2021 and 2022.
MedTrans drivers remain dedicated to providing swift and accurate medical supply deliveries. The job is about more than simply driving, according to Brad Willard, MedTrans driver and regional rodeo winner.
"With everything that happened with the pandemic - you're actually playing a part in helping hospitals treat people," he said.
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