JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J., June 16, 2017 – The joint search by Kenworth, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring our Heroes Program and FASTPORT to find America’s top rookie military veteran – who has made the transition from active duty to driving for a commercial fleet – continued recently at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (MDL).
More than several hundred military personnel and their spouses attended the two-day Hiring Our Heroes transition summit and hiring fair at the base. As part of its efforts to support veterans, Kenworth displayed its on-highway flagship T680 with a 76-inch sleeper and PACCAR MX-13 engine to encourage those transitioning out of the military to explore trucking industry opportunities. For the second consecutive year, Kenworth is donating a fully loaded Kenworth T680 Advantage as the Transition in Trucking “Driving for Excellence Award” to the top military veteran who has successfully transitioned into the role of a commercial fleet driver.
“The Hiring Our Heroes event at Joint Base MDL was very well attended, and there was certainly a great deal of interest from military personnel in the Kenworth T680 and the trucking industry,” said Kurt Swihart, Kenworth marketing director, who represented Kenworth at the event. “We strongly encourage for-hire carrier and private fleets, which have pledged to hire veterans through the Trucking Track Mentoring Program, to nominate one of their drivers by the June 30 deadline for a chance to win the Kenworth T680 Advantage.”
To be eligible to win the Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Award, candidates must meet all of the following criteria:
- Military veteran or current or former member of the National Guard or Reserves
- Graduate of a PTDI-certified, NAPFTDS or CVTA member driver training school, and a current CDL holder
- Employed by any for-hire carrier or private fleet trucking company that has pledged to hire veterans through the Trucking Track Mentoring Program
- First employed as a CDL driver trucking between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017
- And a legal resident of the continental United States
Full criteria and online nomination forms can be found on the “Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence” website at: www.transitiontrucking.org. The top 10 finalists will be announced on July 21, and recognized on Aug. 26 at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Texas.
