Commercial Garbage Truck Driver Lee Wolford from Hamilton, Ohio, and Residential Garbage Truck Driver Terry Russell from Circleville, Ohio, are Rock Stars of Rubbish, Super Stars of Slinging Trash and the 2017 Driver of the Year winners.

Annually, the National Waste & Recycling Association recognizes nine drivers in the United States. One for each of the following categories:

• Large Commercial
• Large Industrial
• Large Residential
• Medium Company
• Public Sector
• Regional Commercial
• Regional Industrial
• Regional Residential
• Small Company

Wolford took the honor in Regional Commercial and Russell for Regional Residential.

Earning this title, is no easy feat. Drivers must demonstrate a commitment to safe driving by having a clean driving record for 10 years and demonstrate a commitment to customer service.

Both drivers exceeded these requirements. Wolford has a 26-year safe driving record and Russell celebrated 13-years.

Equally as impressive as their safety record, was the praise these gentlemen received from their customers, co-workers, supervisors and Rumpke vice presidents:   

“For 26 years, Lee has provided our commercial customers with a positive lasting impression of our business,” said Bill Goins, commercial supervisor, Cincinnati, Ohio.  “Lee is a stand-out amongst our front load team. He has gone his entire career not just accident free – but incident free as well.”

 “Terry is a truly valuable asset to my operations team, said Charlie Garten, route manager, Circleville, Ohio. “Terry is honest, dependable and incredibly hard working. Terry is an excellent employee who always works hard to meet or exceed safety standards.”

Yesterday, Wolford and Russell were recognized by the industry at Waste Expo – the waste and recycling industry trade show – going on this week in New Orleans. In front of a sold-out crowd, the two gentlemen stepped out of their comfort zone – their trucks – and took center stage to accept their award and well-deserved recognition.

Congratulations Lee and Terry! Rumpke is proud to have you on our team.