Teodoro “Ted” Ballon – 2015 Smith Transport Driver of the Year
ROARING SPRING, PA… Professional Truck Driver Ted Ballon earned the top spot in 2015 as Smith Transport’s “Driver of the Year”. He was presented the award at a ceremony held at Smith Transport’s Corporate Office in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania last April.
Ted Ballon has been a Professional Truck Driver for 16 years, the past 6 working or Smith Transport as a Regional Dry Van Operator. Ted was Smith’s Driver of the Month in September 2015 and stated, “I didn’t think there was any change that I would become Smith’s Driver of the Year but I was wrong!” When asked how he earned the award, Ted replied, “You have to work hard and make sure you are in compliance.” And work hard he did, as Ted ran 135,000 miles in 2015.
The Driver of the Year award is chosen from among all Smith drivers and he/she must have the highest point score in areas including safety, performance, on-time delivery and pick-up, and attitude. The company chooses one Smith driver each month, who then becomes a finalist for Driver of the Year. The award is prestigious as the finalists are some of the best drivers in Smith’s fleet. Ted said that his Driver Manager John Jacobs was a big help in keeping him loaded and running.
When asked about what he likes about Smith Transport, Ted stated, “Everyone at Smith Transport is easy to work with. They are like family. If I have a problem, I can see Barry Smith himself, if I need to. More importantly, if I have a problem, they will do something to solve it [the problem]. People at Smith know me by name, not my truck number. I like working at Smith, I’m not going anywhere.”
Ted also said, “I have achieved two of my three goals: to be Smith’s Driver of the Month; Driver of the Year and my third goal, to drive 1 Million Safe Miles at Smith, should be reached next year. I look forward to joining that Million Mile Club and putting the Million Mile Safe Driver sticker on my truck.”
Ted Ballon resides in Chesapeake, Virginia with his wife of 19 years Sonia and daughters Kristina and Jessica.