October – William Bancroft, WEL Companies, Inc.
De Pere, WI
William has been a professional driver for 45 years, the last 35 with WEL Companies. William has over 5 million accident-free miles. He has been an OTR Trainer for 25 of the 35 years with WEL. He was in the Army and fought for our country in the Vietnam War. He has several heroic moments over the years. One of them happened in PA when a driver’s trailer was on fire, and he helped the driver to unhook the trailer from the truck and get to safety before the trailer went up in flames. He has been in the WMCA President Safe Driver club for 7 years. Bill has been awarded WEL Companies Best of the Best Drivers Award 15 times.
November – Roger Guralski, Schneider
Green Bay, WI
Roger has been a driver for 22 years, all with Schneider. He is a driver that Schneider says they can lean on for anything, that difficult road, that challenging customer, assisting the new driver, etc. Roger does it and does it exceptionally well. In addition to his driving responsibilities (which he has over 2 million safe miles), he is also responsible for ensuring their Minnesota equipment is always ready, helps with trailer inspections, reports issues, helps fix things when he can, ensures the trailers have heat when the product needs it. He is also responsible for ensuring all the drivers in his area have the right tools-gaskets, hoses, PPE, and fittings. Schneider says to ask their customers about him, and they adore him. He knows many of their customers personally, knows their families, knows how the business runs, services them to perfection and always is willing to lend a hand. Every fleet has that one driver that everyone knows, respects, and just quietly walks the walk… for Schnieder’s bulk operation in the North, that driver is Roger.
December – Duane Staveness, FedEx
Portage, WI
Duane has been driving in the trucking industry since 1991. His current employer is FedEx. Through his 25 years with FedEx he has driven about 2,550,000 miles. He has competed in the Wisconsin Truck Driving Championships every year that it was held since 2001. In the 22 years of competition, he has won State and has been to Nationals 4 times. In 2018, Duane won 1st place at Nationals in the 5 axle class. Duane has also served on the Wisconsin Road Team in 2011, 2012, 2013 and is currently serving this year in 2024. He has received the Presidents Club Award and Master Presidents Award from FedEx. Duane also received Bravo Zulu Awards for his dedication to helping other drivers be successful in the Truck Driving Competition. He is very involved in his church, making it possible for them to overcome Covid times by setting up and operating zoom for the church. He also serves as the Financial Secretary.
From the twelve Drivers of the Month, one will be selected as the 2024 Driver of the Year. All 12 Drivers of the Month will be honored at the Annual Safety Awards Banquet which will be held on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at Lambeau Field!