Goodyear wants Highway Hero Award nominations by Nov. 29

The end of the month brings us Thanksgiving and then Black Friday. It also brings us the deadline for submitting nominations for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.’s Highway Hero Award.

Each year, the tire company honors truck drivers who risk their own safety with its Highway Hero Award.

Goodyear seeks the public’s help in finding this year’s batch of heroic truckers. Goodyear is accepting nominations through Nov. 29.

The Goodyear Highway Hero Award was established in 1983 to recognize drivers who have put themselves in harm’s way to help others.

Paul Mathias received the 2019 Highway Hero Award during a ceremony in March at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky. Mathias, a truck driver from Phoenix, was recognized for providing first aid and CPR to two children who were seriously injured in a car crash.

In his acceptance speech, Mathias said this is “what we do out on the road.”

“Hopefully this is a wake-up call to a lot of people to stop and help,” he said. “There is good in this world, and that’s what we’re here for. To help each other out.”

Goodyear plans to announce the 2020 Highway Hero Award recipient in March. The winner will receive a special ring, a cash award and a trophy. Each of the other finalists also will receive a cash prize.

To be considered for the Goodyear Highway Hero Award, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Must be a full-time truck driver.
• Must reside in the United States or Canada.
• The heroic incident must have happened in the United States or Canada.
• Nominee’s truck must have had 12 wheels or more at the time of the incident.
• Nominee must have been on the job or on the way to or from work in his or her truck at the time of the incident.
• Incident must have taken place between Nov. 16, 2018, and Nov. 16, 2019.
• Finalists must clear background checks to Goodyear’s satisfaction.

Nominations also may be mailed to the Goodyear Highway Hero Award Headquarters; Dept. 798A; 200 Innovation Way; Akron, OH 44316.

Acts of kindness – and even heroism – are not uncommon in the trucking history. There many stories to tell.

For instance, last summer Land Line Digital Content Editor Greg Grisolano wrote about a truck driver who died after he swerved to avoid what could have been an even larger tragedy on Interstate 94 in Wisconsin. In May, Land Line Now’s Mary McKenna shared the tale of two heroes in Texas who helped save the life of a suicidal teen.