OTA Dispatch Summer 2015

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8 Oregon Truck DISPATCH
2015 OREGON TRUCK DRIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
While the drivers were
hard at work competing,
attendees enjoyed some
fun in the sun, with
several raffle items
compliments of Leavitt’s
Freight Service, Joe Morten
& Sons, Stinger Transport,
and JLE Truckwash.
FedEx Freight’s Dan Shamrell
Repeats as Grand Champion!
The 2015 Oregon Truck Driving Championships held on Sat., June 13
once again brought out some of the top drivers in the state. Close to 100
professional drivers tested their pre-trip knowledge before navigating their
vehicles around the course. Friends, family and colleagues were on hand
at the Clark County Fairgrounds to help cheer their drivers to the finish.
The day started with a special performance of the National Anthem by
Nattalie Gray. Nattalie, who just turned 12 years old on June 19, learned
the National Anthem two years ago for a school talent show in order to
surprise and honor her dad, an Army vet. Since then has kicked off
several events around Oregon, including this last January’s opening
session of the Oregon House of Representatives, where she sang Lee
Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” While this Eastern Oregon 7th grader
loves to sing and share that gift with others, she is also a 4.0 student, a
member of her Hermiston middle school’s leadership team and a leader
in her church youth group, as well as the youngest member of their song
team. She wants you to know she was excited to kick off this year’s
OTA competition because her father, WalMart driver Bruce Gray from
Hermiston, was there to defend his first place title in the Sleeper Class.◉
Foster Farms fired up their grill
and provided lunch for everyone,
while Safeway provided donuts
and buns for the event.
The guy to the right didn’t make
the cut for a top-notch lunch, so
he was relegated to the raffle
table before he went home with
one of the lucky winners.
Stinger
Transport
Congratulations to all the 2015 TDC winners!
Grand Champion
Dan Shamrell, FedEx Freight
OTA would like
to congratulate all
the winners in each
class, with a special
congrats to Dan
Shamrell with
FedEx Freight who
was named Grand
Champion for the
second year running.