Kenworth T680 Next Gen. truck awarded to military vet rookie driver
A distinguished veteran with nearly 16 years in the U.S. Army received the annual “Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence” award during a special ceremony held recently at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.
For the seventh consecutive year, Kenworth teamed with FASTPORT and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes to find America’s top rookie military veteran who made the successful transition from active duty to driving for a commercial fleet.
Professional truck driver Ashley Leiva of Noemi Trucking in Corpus Christi, Texas, received the keys to a Kenworth T680 Next Generation, the top award in the recognition program. The T680 Next Gen features a spacious, comfortable 76-inch sleeper, as well as a PACCAR Powertrain that includes a PACCAR MX-13 diesel engine, PACCAR TX-12 automatic transmission, and PACCAR DX-40 tandem axles.
Leiva retired from U.S. Army in 2021 and returned to Corpus Christi (Texas) where she was born. After graduating from the transportation training program at Del Mar College, she and her brother Johnny Leiva began running the trucking business of their late mother Noemi – and renamed it Noemi Trucking in her honor. Their company is a crude oil hauler for Draco Energy, South Texas. Leiva was the first recipient to be nominated for a National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools.
Two runners-up in the Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Program were Sean Adams/U.S. Navy/McElroy Truck Lines and Dave Marihugh/U.S. Navy/Roehl Transport; were each awarded with a check for $10,000.
The 11 semifinalists received a trip for themselves to Washington, D.C., to be honored and take part in the awards ceremony. Under the program, driver nominations can made by any for-hire carrier or private fleet employers, training organizations, general public and other interested parties only by completing a nomination form on the “Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence” website.