K.C. Brau, a professional driver for Crete Carriers, and Brad Williamson, director, engine and component marketing for Daimler Trucks North America, were recently elected to the Trucker Buddy International’s executive committee.
An over-the-road driver for 24 years — 15 of those years with Crete Carriers — Brau was elected Trucker Buddy president. Williamson, who has been with DTNA for almost seven years and previously with General Motors, was elected Trucker Buddy secretary.
The executive committee positions opened due to directors completing their tenure at Trucker Buddy. Don Darden, executive director, communications at Bridgestone Americas, Inc., and Eric Harley, host of Red Eye Radio at Cumulus Media, both served eight years on the board with Darden serving as president the past two years.
Newly-elected board members are John Clark, director, global grand management & marketing communications with Meritor and Matt Hart, executive director of the Illinois Trucking Assn. Clark came to Meritor after spending five years at Roush Performance managing their communications and brand management. Hart worked for six years as the associate director of the Mid-West Truckers Assn. before becoming the leader of the Illinois Trucking Assn.
“Don and Eric have done so much fine work for Trucker Buddy over the last eight years, and both men have personally sacrificed time and personal expense to lead us through some perilous times,” said Randy Schwartzenburg, Trucker Buddy executive director. “Their sacrifice and service has been above and beyond the call of duty and is greatly appreciated. We’re excited to have K.C. and Brad move into a greater level of leadership for our organization — both will help take Trucker Buddy to the next level.”
Trucker Buddy International is an independent, non-profit organization that helps educate schoolchildren and introduce educators to the trucking industry. The truck driver pen-pal program gives children and educators the world through the eyes of a professional truck driver.
After an extensive screening process, professional truck drivers are matched with a K-8 class and as directed by the teacher, drivers share news about their travels with their class. Students write letters and send pictures to their drivers. Students’ skills in reading, writing, geography, mathematics, social studies, and history are enhanced and learning is made fun.
Since 1992, Trucker Buddy International has helped educate over a million schoolchildren and introduced them to caring, compassionate men and women, professional truck drivers. The on-going success of the program is due to driver volunteers, participating teachers and the contributions of sponsors. There is no cost to the drivers or teachers to participate in the program. The Trucker Buddy program is funded entirely through sponsorships and donations.
