JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — LandStar recently bestowed the company’s Business Capacity Owner (BCO) Lifetime Achievement Award to driver Lenwood Ashton, who has traveled 3 million accident-free miles for the company since 1976.
Ashton, who is also a Landstar Roadstar, received the award at the 2022 Landstar BCO All-Star Celebration held earlier in July.
Ashton joined the company now known as Landstar Ligon in 1976, according to a Landstar news release.
He reached his first million miles of safe driving in 1985, and he received his Two Million Mile Safe Driver award and earned the Roadstar recognition in 1996.
He was inducted as a Three Million Mile Safe Driver in 2004.
In total, Ashton, who lives in Montross, Virginia, has driven more than 3.9 million miles with Landstar motor carriers without a preventable accident, the news release stated.
“Ashton was surprised by the award and moved by the recognition of his career as an owner-operator leased to Landstar, saying, ‘Of all the owner-operators, they chose me. It means a whole lot. I have loved being a part of Landstar and will be here until I retire,'” according to the news release.
During the award presentation, Landstar President and CEO Jim Gattoni commended Ashton for his proficiency, business acumen and dedication to the job.
“The BCO Lifetime Achievement Award is the perfect way to honor more than four decades of safe driving,” Gattoni said. “The award is a testament to Lenwood’s professionalism and excellence as an independent owner-operator leased to Landstar.”
The BCO Lifetime Achievement Award was first introduced during the 2012 BCO All-Star Celebration.
To be considered for the honor, nominees must be an active or retired Landstar BCO, Landstar’s term for independent truck owner-operators leased to a Landstar motor carrier, who has been with Landstar for at least 20 consecutive years.
Nominees must be at least a Two Million Mile Safe Driver and also have consistently demonstrated professionalism by developing a positive reputation with regulatory and enforcement personnel, customers, agents and Landstar employees, as well as through industry recognition.
The honoree must also be a Landstar Roadstar recipient.
The Roadstar designation is one of Landstar’s highest honors for truck owner-operators awarded to the “best of the best” on their high levels of safety, productivity and excellence in customer service.
“Of the tens of thousands of owner-operators who have been leased to Landstar during the company’s history, only nine BCOs have received this prestigious award,” the news release stated. “This remarkable group of Landstar BCOs collectively drove over 34 million miles without a preventable accident during decades on the road. It is Landstar’s distinct honor to recognize Ashton with the BCO Lifetime Achievement Award.”
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.
