Four drivers, who collectively had driven for more than 167 years while racking up more than 19.8 million miles of service without a chargeable accident, have been inducted into the NPTC Driver Hall of Fame sponsored by Omnitracs. The recognition took place June 14 in conjunction with the NPTC Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition, which was held live and in-person in Cincinnati, OH.

The drivers are from NPTC member companies and have met the minimum qualifications of 20 years, three million miles or 50,000 hours of driving without a preventable accident. Many of the drivers have far exceeded these qualifications and are known for having made significant contributions to their industry and their communities. Since its inception, 112 drivers have been installed in the Driver Hall of Fame. This year’s Driver Hall of Fame inductees are:

• Michael Gray Baity, Unifi Manufacturing Inc.
• Mike Hetric, KeHE Distribution
• Augustine Tamayo, Shaw Transport Inc.
• Luther “Junior” Weaver, Mohawk Carpet Transportation of Georgia, LLC

“Our people are, without question, our greatest asset,” explains Tim Baucom, president and CEO of Shaw Industries. “Our Shaw truck drivers are often the face of our company to our customers, and we couldn’t be the service leader we are today without drivers like Augie.”

Tamayo has driven over 5.3 million miles in his career, with 4.3 million of those miles achieved during his career at Shaw Industries. Throughout Tamayo’s 36-year career with the company, he has never had a chargeable accident or moving violation.

Junior started his driving career in 1968 and has driven 7.4 million miles without an accident or a moving violation of any kind. Of the more than 52 years he has spent behind the wheel, 29 have been with Mohawk, where he has racked up almost half of his accident-free mileage delivering residential and commercial flooring products. Junior began his driving career at the age of 18 at Rogers Dye in the warehouse and then as a yard jockey. After earning his chauffeur license, he began driving full-time locally making deliveries.

The following year, he moved on to Advance Finishers in 1969, in a similar role. Two years later, he began driving for Wellco Carpet in Calhoun, GA where he spent 21 years in an over-the-road environment travelling the country delivering carpet and flooring products. He signed on with Aladdin Mills in 1992 which merged with Mohawk Industries. In his 28.5 years with Mohawk, Junior has touched most of the continental US and delivered on time, undamaged freight to thousands of satisfied customers. Currently, Junior runs from the company’s manufacturing facility in Calhoun, GA to San Antonio, TX each week.

To learn more about the NPTC/Omnitracs Driver Hall of Fame, visit nptc.org.