TravelCenters of America Names Sixth Annual Citizen Drivers

TravelCenters of America LLC (TravelCenters), operator of the TA^®, Petro Stopping Centers^® and TA Express^® travel center brands, announced its sixth annual Citizen Driver honorees during an award luncheon ceremony at the Mid-American Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Kentucky. Citizen Driver recognizes professional drivers who help bring respect to the truck driving profession.

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Steen Gronlund, TravelCenters of America 2019 Citizen Driver honoree. (Photo: Business Wire)

TravelCenters launched the Citizen Driver program in 2013 in an effort to honor the many great, hardworking professional truck drivers that keep our economy going. Citizen Drivers not only have an exemplary career in trucking, they honor the great profession of truck driving by demonstrating their good citizenship, safety, community involvement, and leadership.

The 2019 Citizen Drivers are listed below. Each driver has picked their favorite TA or Petro Stopping Centers location to be dedicated in their names. Citizen Drivers will also be the recipients of individual banquets and unveiling ceremonies hosted by TA executives at their chosen locations.

• Kenn & Beth Zelten- Zion, Illinois TA
• Steen Gronlund -- Laramie, Wyoming Petro

Signs will be mounted at these locations and dedication ceremonies will take place soon. With this group of honorees, there are now more than 30 TA or Petro Stopping Centers locations across the country dedicated to drivers to honor them and all professional truck drivers.

"Every year we get so many worthy nominations for this program," said Barry Richards, President and COO of TravelCenters. “We are proud of the image that these professionals and all our nominees exemplify on and off the road. Professional truck drivers play a critical role in moving our economy forward and we honor them through this program.”

TravelCenters accepted nominations for the 2019 Citizen Drivers from June until October 2018, and received entries from a wide variety of people—fleet owners and executives, other drivers, family members, trucking organization members, and trucking industry suppliers—who wanted to recognize the deserving drivers who have touched their lives.

Distinguished members of the trucking industry who served as judges this year were:

• David Cullen, Executive Editor of Heavy Duty Trucking;
• Eric Harley, On-Air Host of Red Eye Radio/Cumulus Media;
• Todd Spencer, President, Owner Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA);
• Chis Spear, President & CEO of American Trucking Association (ATA);
• Steve Sommers, On-Air Host of America’s Trucking Network; and,
• Ellen Voie, President & CEO of Women In Trucking.

Judges review dossiers for the finalists for Citizen Drivers, and select professional drivers who demonstrate an exemplary, professional career and one balanced by volunteerism, good deeds and giving back. Nomination instructions for our 2020 Citizen Driver Awards will be posted soon.

TravelCenters congratulates the 2019 Citizen Drivers once again. Articles on each of the honorees can be found in the July/August issue of RoadKing magazine, available at all TA, Petro and TA Express locations.

About TravelCenters of America LLC
TravelCenters of America LLC (TravelCenters), headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, conducts business in 43 states and Canada, principally under the TA^®, Petro Stopping Centers^® and TA Express^® brands. For more information on TA and Petro, please visit www.ta-petro.com.

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Tom Liutkus
TravelCenters of America
440-808-7364
[email protected]