​Hiring Our Heroes, Kenworth, FASTPORT Announce Nomination Period of "Transition Trucking" Competition

July 2016

WASHINGTON, DC… The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes Program (HOH), Kenworth Truck Company and FASTPORT announced that nominations for the 2016 Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Award are officially open. Motor carriers and CDL training schools are encouraged to nominate up to five exceptional professional drivers with military experience for the award that will give one deserving veteran, guardsmen or reservist a fully-loaded Kenworth T680 76-inch sleeper truck equipped with a PACCAR MX-13 engine.

"We're very pleased to participate with Hiring Our Heroes and FASTPORT's Trucking Track and support its goal to educate, motivate, hire, and inspire 150,000 veterans and transitioning service members into great careers with great employers in the trucking industry," said Kurt Swihart, marketing director for Kenworth Truck Company. "The trucking industry offers excellent career opportunities. It will be an honor for Kenworth to present our on-highway flagship Kenworth T680 to a deserving veteran making the successful transition from the military to a driver for a commercial truck fleet."

"There are great careers in trucking, and we are honored to stand with Kenworth and Hiring Our Heroes to give the industry a platform to recognize exceptional military veterans who have transitioned into professional driving roles," said Brad Bentley, FASTPORT president. "As trucking employers continue to be first-responders in veteran employment and educate our military on the real economic opportunities these careers provide, I believe we will inspire even more service members to consider careers as professional drivers."

"Veterans are mission-oriented, understand the value of training, know how to lead, and they do this all with a focus on safety, said Eric Eversole, president of Hiring Our Heroes and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation vice president. "All of these skills prime veterans for successful careers in trucking. Hiring Our Heroes is pleased to have the opportunity to bring the Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Award to the veteran community and provide them with a clear picture of what economic opportunities are available in the industry."

To learn more about the Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Award and to nominate up to five Veterans, visit http://www.transitiontrucking.org.