Carol Single, Stephanie Arpasi, Shane Pendergast and Dennis Harding were the four big award winners at the 2023 NatRoad conference
Dennis Harding of JSC Concrete Canberra has been named the National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) Professional Driver of the Year. The award was presented during the gala dinner on September 29 as part of NatRoad’s 2023 annual conference held at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
As NatRoad states, the award recognises a truck driver whose demonstrated skills, safety record, professional approach and overall performance reflects positively on them as an employee of the company and of the road transport industry as a whole.
A long-standing employee, NatRoad says Harding was nominated for his devotion to safety, integrity and performance on the job.
“Dennis is a company man who puts in long hours despite juggling commitments with a young family,” says NatRoad chair Paul Fellows.
Although Harding was not present at the conference to accept the award, he received plenty of plaudits from the presenters.
“Dennis has worked in the heavy vehicle industry for many years and is a role model for heavy vehicle drivers. His dedication to safety, integrity and performance ensures that everyone he shares the road with can get home safety,” Fellows says.
“Dennis is receiving this award for his professionalism, dedication, hard work which has not gone unnoticed and is very much appreciated.”
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The NatRoad Youth Employee of the Year award was presented to Stephanie Arpasi of Dubbo-based Fardell’s Heavy Haulage.
The award recognises a young employee, 30 years and under, working in any part of the road transport industry, whose positive approach, enthusiasm towards their job and demonstrated leadership attention puts positivity on them, their employer and the road transport industry as a whole.
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From left: National Transport Insurance’s Bert Webster, Stephanie Arpasi and NatRoad CEO Warren Clark)
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Arpasi, 22, is said to have made a huge impact on colleagues in a short period of time.
“Stephanie is a young driver doing a challenging job but will not let anything stand in her way to get the job done safely. She is willing to share her knowledge and help others, and is always keen to learn,” Fellows says on handing Arpasi her award.
“She has made an impact on those she works with and working hard to inspire more women to get into the truck industry.
Her professionalism, exceptional driving skills, her personality and dedication to the safer industry has earned her this award.”
Shane Pendergast, of Air Brake Systems in the northern Sydney suburb of Hornsby, was named winner of the NatRoad Excellence in Operational Support Award for his years of making trucking a safer industry. Hundreds of truck drivers and many more mechanics have attended workshops conducted over the past seven years by Pendergast, who is a specialist in electronic braking systems.
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From left: NTI’s Bert Webster, Shane Pendergast and NatRoad’s Warren Clark
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NatRoad says, as NSW service manager for Air Brake Systems, Pendergast has an industry-wide reputation for professionalism and a passion for making sure customers have fully functioning and fault-free braking systems.
NatRoad’s top honour – the Ted Pickering Award for an Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Road Transport Industry – was presented to Carol Single, co-owner of Single Transport Services based in Mackay, north Queensland.
The award was named after one of the founders of the National Transport Federation and industry icon Ted Pickering, whose son Daryl Pickering presented the award to Single.
“Carol and husband Ian Single’s transport business has been a fixture in Mackay since 1980,” NatRoad says.
“In 1997, Single Transport Services was accredited with TruckSafe, the national business and risk management system that improves the safety and professionalism of trucking operators nationwide.”
Single, a life member of the volunteer non-profit Mackay Road Accident Action group, remains committed to tackling road safety issues in Mackay and the Bowen Basin.
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From left: Daryl Pickering, Paul Fellows, Kent Single, Carol Single and Luke Single.
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“Carol represents the best that our industry has to offer – someone who is deeply involved in their own business but who finds time to be a champion for safer roads,” Fellows says.
“Road freight arteries like the Peak Downs Highway are the lifeblood to the Mackay Region and the Bowen Basin, with thousands of vehicles using it daily.
“Fuel trucks alone are using it to move approximately six million litres of bulk fuel each day.
“Much of Carol’s work is behind the scenes but she has made a life-saving difference for her peers – and indeed all road-users – on those long stretches of the North Queensland highway.”
Carol Single is a previous recipient of the National Trucking Industry Women of the Year award.