TA announces 2023 Citizen Driver Award honorees

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two more names have been added to the list of TA Citizen Drivers.

On March 31, the Westlake, Ohio-based TravelCenters of America truck stop chain announced the honorees for the 2023 TA Citizen Driver award during a luncheon at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

Two drivers, William McNamee and Lamar Buckwalter, were selected to receive the honor. The pair were among eight finalists for the award.

McNamee is a driver for Carbon Express and OOIDA member from Christopher, Ill. A 32-year trucking veteran, he was humbled by receiving the award.

“It’s an honor to be amongst all the other Citizen Drivers that have come before me,” McNamee told Land Line. “It’s amazing to be part of this group.”

As part of the award, drivers are given the opportunity to select a TA or Petro location to be dedicated in their honor. McNamee chose the TA in Mount Vernon, Ill. as his travel center. He says the location is close to home, he spends a lot of time there, and he considers the staff friends.

Buckwalter is an owner-operator with 4 million collision-free miles over his 26 years behind the wheel. The OOIDA senior member from Leola, Pa., said he had a delayed reaction to winning the award.

“Honestly, when I first got the email, I thought it was a scam,” he told Land Line.

Buckwalter received what he described as a “weird email” asking for his personal information. Because TA uses a third party to perform background checks on potential Citizen Drivers, he didn’t recognize the sender’s email address. It wasn’t until Buckwalter verified the award with TA that he realized it wasn’t a scam at all.

With all of the confusion, he said the thrill of winning didn’t hit him until he was laying in his sleeper watching TV later that evening.

Buckwalter selected the Petro in Carlisle, Pa. to be dedicated in his honor. Additionally, he has requested the dedication ceremony take place on Aug. 22, a date that holds a special place for Buckwalter. That was the day he lost his grandfather, whom he says he was the closest with.

“A day that’s usually doom-and-gloom for me, I’m going to try to turn it into something positive,” Buckwalter said.

On top of dedicating a travel center in their honor, TA will make a $2,500 donation to each winner’s organization of choice. Barry Richards, TravelCenters of America president, said the award is the company’s way to honor members of a critical industry.

“We began this program in 2013 with the intention of recognizing the professional drivers that keep our country moving,” Richards said. “And over the past few years, the roughly 3.5 million truck drivers have taken on even greater importance in the lives of all Americans. … We want to show the public why truck driving needs to be respected as an essential service, and as a profession that attracts people of solid character and great integrity.”

According to TA, the company received 150 nominations for this year’s award. The company says nominations for the 2024 Citizen Driver Award will open in late summer. LL