2010 Southern California Driver's of the Month

The California Trucking Association held their 2010 Driver of the Month Reception and banquet on Saturday, November 13th at the Wyndham Hotel in Costa Mesa, California. This event proceeded the most recent Northern California awards banquet. As mentioned in the previous blog, this premier event honored and celebrated the dedicated drivers who achieve outstanding safety performance in 2010. These drivers were nominated by their companies and succeeded at the nation's most intense driver award program.

KKW Trucking and it's drivers were once again victorious at the Southern California awards banquet. Congratulations to the following KKW drivers for being selected as Drivers of the Month 2010!

January 2010 - Cesar Arellano, Line Driver, 11-20 years driving

February 2010 - Michael Rios, Local Driver, 21 or more years driving

February 2010 - Eduardo Gonzalez, Line Driver, 11-20 years driving

April 2010 - Jose Ramirez, Line Driver, 11-20 years driving

April 2010 - Alfonso Sanchez, Line Driver, 21 or more years driving

May 2010 - Jim Walker, Local Driver, 21 or more years driving

September 2010 - Kevin Marrett, Line Driver, 21 or more years driving

In attendance for the awards banquet were Steve Benninghoff, Tom Howard, Jim and Lynnette Brown, Roberto Barba, Doug McFarland, Jim Kraft, Michael Rios, Jose Ramirez and Alfonso Sanchez.

Also honored as California Trucking Association's Driver of the Year was our very own MICHAEL RIOS!!! What a great accomplishment. Congratulations!

2010 Northern California Drivers of the Month

The California Trucking Association recently held their 2010 Driver of the Month Reception and Banquet on Saturday, November 6th at the Sacramento Marriott Rancho Cordova. This event is the California trucking industry's premier event honoring and celebrating the dedicated drivers who achieve outstanding safety performance in 2010. These drivers have been nominated by their companies and succeeded at the nation's most intense driver award program.

Congratulations to the following KKW Trucking drivers for being selected as Drivers of the Month for 2010!

March 2010 - Sherry Vaughn, Local Driver, 1-10 years driving

June 2010 - Anthony Jones, Local Driver, 11-20 years driving

June 2010 - Anthony Washington, Local Driver, 21 or more years driving

In attendance for the arwards banquet were Jim Kraft, Chuck McVey, Anthony Jones and Tony (Anthony) Washington.

The purpose of the Driver of the Month awards is to recognize the men and women that our industry is built upon. This program is intended to identify and honor drivers who have displayed a high degree of excellence during their driving career. These drivers have displayed a continuous dedication to highway safety and a respect for the basic rules of the road that all drivers should live by. The selection process is very competitive. Unlike the California Truck Driving Championships, which measure the driver’s skills, this is a driver recognition program where professional drivers are selected based on their many years of:

• Driving
• Clean records, and
• Overall job and community activities

Applications are accepted for the North and the South through September 2010. There are two rounds of judging throughout the year. If an applicant is not chosen the first round, the driver is still eligible for the second round. Drivers of the Month are notified when they are chosen. A Driver of the Year for the North and one for the South is chosen from all of the winners.
The program culminates with an awards banquet for the North drivers and another for the South drivers where we recognize and salute each person and their companies for their accomplishments. The night is also filled with great excitement and anticipation as the Driver of the Year honor is revealed for the first time and bestowed upon the unknowing recipient.
This is an excellent safety incentive program as well as a chance to recognize the industry's most valuable commodity - our drivers!

The Southern California Drivers of the Month will be celebrated Saturday, November 13th at the Wyndham Hotel Costa Mesa.

KKW Staff Changes

Welcome Aboard!

There are new staff changes within the KKW/FTS corporate office and we'd like to tell you more about those individuals that have joined us or have made position changes.

Please welcome our new hire Doug "Mac" MacFarlane. This gentleman will be taking over Susan Zellmann's position as Safety Manager and begins his new adventure with us on Monday, July 19th. Mac, which he prefers to be called, is a 30 year infantry veteran of the US Army, 1971- 2003. His background is physical security and environmental health and safety. Upon retirement Mac contracted out to a local airfreight LTL to develop a safety program then moved to an oil and gas valve global heavy manufacturing company as an EHS Specialist.

Susan Zellmann, previous Safety Manager, has accepted a new position as Market Analyst. She's been training for the last several weeks (covering both desks) learning and helping implement our new Netwise Frontline software. Netwise provides the frontline employees with the business intelligence and tools to continuously improve profits. Susan and KKW are very excited to get started.

Please welcome our new hire Mark Knickerbocker. Mark is our new KKW Logistics Manager. This young gent will be managing our new logistics division which will be located in the office space in our warehouse condo in Pomona. Mark begins his journey with us on Monday, July 19th and will have a lot on his plate while he helps us establish and launch our new division. Mark is married with two children. He started dispatching for a trucking company which has since evolved into a 30 year career in the transportation and logistics business. Mark is a sports fanatic and enjoys playing golf in his spare time.

Please welcome back Chanel Ortega. She has rejoined the linehaul Customer Service team serving the Pacific Northwest areas. Chanel left the organization in 2008 to start a family. She gave birth to a baby girl, Madison, and has enjoyed being home to watch her grow. Chanel is looking forward to getting back into the swing of things - WORK and joining KKW once again. She hopes to bring stability and innovation to the customer service team.

Last but not least, we have a new full-time receptionist at the front desk in the corporate office. Please welcome Vanessa Coryell. She's a local gal, originally from Bellflower, California. She states she's a very down to earth person and enjoys camping, hanging out with friends and traveling. So when you call into our offices, she'll be the individual on the line greeting you with a warm smile and friendly voice.

Please take a moment to introduce yourself and welcome them!

2010 Employee Anniversary Banquet

The time is near. Once again, K.K.W. Trucking, Inc. is excited to announce that we will be celebrating our annual Employee Anniversary Banquet. This event honors those employees who have surpassed the 5 year point and beyond (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, etc.). We have many employees celebrating this year as well as special retired honorees!!
Coming in July, an evening of excitement and exhilaration awaits as we roll the dice and triple our chips Vegas style. We will enjoy an evening of live music, DJ entertainment, fine food, dancing and great prizes. Not to mention the special awards that will be presented by Mr. Dennis Firestone. Everyone would enjoy an evening of fabulous food and fantastic fun. Throughout the event, we would also be raffling off prizes of all sorts.

Date: Saturday, July 24th
Time: 6:00pm - 11:00pm
Place: The Avalon Pavilion, Pomona Fairplex
1101 McKinley Drive
Pomona, California
(Guests to enter at Gate 1; follow signs to event)

Please be sure to respond by July 9, 2010 to Brandi Krueger at (909) 282-1300 or via email at blkrueger@kkwtrucks.com.

If you are interested, we are asking employees if they would like to donate any prizes such as gift certificates, a bottle of wine or premium liqueur, tickets, or similar items. This would add to the prizes already reserved for the special evening, allowing everyone a chance at the raffle. We will be holding a Chinese raffle near the end of the evening. Don’t miss out on the fun! You may also contact Brandi Krueger if you're interested in donating.

A charge of $20.00 for each additional (non-employee) guest will apply. Cash, checks and charge backs are accepted.

Hope to see you there!

2010 Truck Driving Championships

It's that time of year once again! Don't miss out on this special event. The California Truck Driving Championships is a skills competition that builds confidence and pride among competitors and fosters a commitment to safe driving – an integral part of any successful trucking company. The contest also offers companies an opportunity to build camaraderie and friendships in the family friendly environment.


KKW Trucking, Inc. will be participating in this year's event and is looking for participation from all individuals (drivers, employees for set up and clean up and volunteer judges).


The date and location of this year's contest is as follows:


Southern Regional: Saturday, June 5, 2010
Santa Anita Park (Southwest Parking Lot)
285 W Huntington Drive
Arcadia, CA 91007

Directions: I-5 South; Left on I-210 E toward Pasadena; Exit Santa Anita Ave turning right on N Santa Anita Ave; Turn right on Santa Clara Street; 2nd right onto W Huntington Drive.


If you are interested in participating as a driver please contact Gina Fulcher in Recruiting at (909) 869-1295 or (800) 955-4559 x 1295. Applications are due by Monday, May 24th. If you are interested in volunteering for set up or competition judging you may also contact Gina to sign up. For more information regarding the competition you can visit www.caltrux.org/CTDC/.



Good luck to all of our drivers...go get 'em! Let's see if we can make it to State Finals!

Sam's Club Coming to KKW

Sam's Club is coming to Pomona

Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Time: 11:00am – 1:00pm
Place: KKW Atrium

Sign up for a New Membership or Renew your Sam’s Club Membership (Business memberships is $35.00 and Advantage (non-business) membership is $40.00) and receive a $10.00 gift card.
Promotion is offered for a short time; cash or check only .

When you become a Member of SAMS CLUB, you get great values on everything from fresh meat, produce and bakery to electronics, computer, apparel and home furniture – as well as Member benefits and Services to save you time and money. Many Clubs also have these Specialty Departments and Professional Services: Optical, Pharmacy, 1-Hour Photo, Fine Jewelry, Tire and Battery, Gas, Floral and Café.

If you're on the road and cannot make it to this event, please contact Brandi Krueger at (800) 955-4559 x 1300 to enroll.

KKW Mourns Loss of Fallen Driver

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. ~William Penn

KKW driver, Robert "Bob" Friday, passed away at a rest area near Yreka, California Wednesday, September 16, 2009. Bob's death comes as a shock to all of us that knew him and he leaves behind many friends here at KKW. Bob had just celebrated 3 years with KKW (hire date 9/13/06). He was born on July 22, 1956 in Southern California and grew up in Anaheim. He was an inventor for the last 18 years and also worked a variety of other jobs from truck driving to sales to product development. Robert was a veteran of the Air Force and served during the Vietnam Era. He enjoyed flying, dog training andworking with stained glass. Robert is survived by his wife of 20 years, Joann Friday, his sons, Brandon (18) and Taylor (15), his parents Marva Harris, and Robert & Gilly Kuehn, sister Amy Klem and brother Greg Kuehn. Memorial services were held on Sunday September 20, 2009 at 3PM at Graystone Chapel in Alta Loma.

Some of his team members here at KKW remember Bob as a hard working and kind soul. He participated in several KKW Truck Driving Championships, he was a driver mentor and he was always there when dispatchers needed him.

When the call was received on September 16th, KKW worked closely with the Sheriff’s department to assist. They were able to use our trailer tracking (Skybitz) device to immediately locate the tractor and trailer. KKW was then able to utilize the Xata GPS mobile-comm tool to pinpoint the closest driver to go help and secure the equipment. KKW was also able to email a photograph of Bob to the Sheriff so they knew what he looked like. If we hadn’t been able to send them the location of the truck, they would have been looking up and down I-5 (like a needle in a haystack) instead, this information was able to get the police their quickly. Drivers are out, alone on the road delivering loads and hopefully they can feel safe knowing that this technology that KKW provides can help them as well and that we are always looking out for them. If you are interested and would like to make a contribution, the family has set up a benefactor account at Chase Bank for Bob's children Brandon and Taylor. Please use account #9284410994.
RIP Bob...you'll be missed!!!

Please feel free to blog about your stories, memories or feelings about Bob. We look forward to reading them.Add It Up by Dan Baker

The day will come

When you will lie

Upon the bed in which you'll die.

The grief-filled eyes, of those who care

Will vanish soon, as if in air.

For all that counts upon that day

Will be the price you dared to pay.

The love you had, the love you gave

Is all that counts when in your grave.

The things that ate up all your time,

They matter not now in your mind.

And as the light and darkness meet,

Life hands to you your balance sheet.

And by yourself you read the score,

It's all of love, and nothing more!

The money, time, and wasted days

Are not allowed to have their say.

Alone you see with tearful eye,

That values on the years gone by,

Were not of things you held so dear

But only of the people here.

And as your spirit starts to soar,

Twas love and nothing, nothing more