PLOVER, Wis. — The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) on April 27 named Nikki Weaver, a company driver for FedEx Freight, as the winner of the association’s second annual Driver of the Year award sponsored by Walmart. Weaver was among three finalists for the award. The other finalists include Carmen Anderson, a company driver at America’s Service Line LLC and Ingrid Brown, independent owner-operator of Rolling B LLC.
Weaver has been a professional driver for more than 20 years, and has been a company driver for FedEx Freight for the past 13 years. She has accrued more than 2 million accident-free miles with zero moving violations.
“I am so honored to be recognized for this award,” Weaver said. “I love being a professional driver and encourage any women who are considering this career to go for it!”
She has served as an America’s Road Team Captain since 2019. She was most recently a finalist for FedEx Freight’s Luella Bates Award, and she is a two-time winner of the prestigious Bravo Zulu Award, an honor created by FedEx Freight founder Fred Smith. Weaver speaks to community colleges about the trucking industry as well as the Pennsylvania State Police Academy’s new commercial officer cadets. She is an advocate for Truckers Against Trafficking and has attended their leadership conference and is also involved with outreach programs in her community.
Perhaps Weaver’s most important achievement, however, is that her 10-year-old son is proud of her and loves what she does for a living.
“We are proud to honor Nikki Weaver with the Driver of the Year award. She demonstrates a positive public image of the trucking industry through her safety standards and community involvement,” said Ellen Voie, president and CEO of WIT.
Sponsored by Walmart, the annual award was established to promote the achievements of female professional drivers who lead the industry in safety standards while actively enhancing the public image of the trucking industry.
“Walmart is honored to sponsor Women In Trucking’s Driver of the Year award, which recognizes an outstanding driver who is making a positive impact in the transportation industry,” said Ryan McDaniel, vice president of Walmart Transportation and a Women In Trucking board member. “With the events of the past year professional drivers all across the county demonstrated how essential our industry is in helping our communities have access to necessities such as food, medicine and cleaning supplies. We congratulate Nikki and each of the finalists for their examples of safety and service.”
Members of the judging panel included Tricia Tullis, general transportation manager for Walmart Transportation; Jeana Hysell, senior safety consultant for J.J. Keller & Associates Inc.; Tim Ridley, talk radio host; and Ellen Voie, president and CEO of WIT.
To view a YouTube video of the virtual announcement, click here.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
