With this episode of Destinations, PodWheels begins our coverage for the 2026 edition of the Transition Trucking: Driving For Excellence Award. Launched in 2015 as a collaborative initiative from Kenworth, Fastport and the US Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes Program, the Transition Trucking: Driving For Excellence Award recognizes the accomplishments of military Veterans who have entered into careers as professional drivers.

To get things started on our journey will eventually bring us to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, we’ll be joined by FASTPORT President Brad Bentley. He will provide a look back at the history of the Driving For Excellence Award. Brad will also share how the Driving For Excellence Award grew out of conversations with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes, spotlighting the need for a pathway that could lead veterans into trucking and, eventually, entrepreneurship. Kenworth, as Brad points out, has helped smooth the road to becoming a trucking entrepreneur. For the 11th straight year, the grand prize for the Driving For Excellence Award winner will be a new Kenworth T680 truck, equipped with a 76-inch sleeper and the PACCAR Powertrain.

This edition of the podcast will also feature interesting perspectives from three of the members of the Driving For Excellence Award Committee involved with the selection process. We will hear from Brad Klepper, President of Drivers Legal Plan, Martin Garsee, the Executive Director of the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools and Elisabeth Barna, the Founder of EAB Strategies and a longtime advocate involved with the image of the trucking industry. All of the committee members discuss the Driving For Excellence Award program and what it means to them to be involved in the selection process each year.

One of the highlights of the podcast takes place at the 17:11 mark of the episode when Brad Bentley shares the names of the 11 Elite, the semifinalists for Driving For Excellence Award who have been chosen from all the submissions around the country. To learn more about Transition Trucking and the Driving For Excellence Award, please visit TransitionTrucking.org.

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