....WIT News Briefs..................... Female Drivers Celebrated at the Salute to Women Behind the Wheel in Canada On Saturday, April 23rd, in partnership with the Owner-Operator’s Business Association (OBAC), the Women In Trucking Association (WIT) celebrated 21 professional female drivers and recognized their service in the industry. The event took place at Truck World in Toronto, ON and a combined 350 years of driving experience was present among the attendees. The attendees enjoyed refreshments, as well as prizes and goodie bags and the highlight of the event was the group photo of the drivers in their iconic red t-shirts. “These women bust the myth that a woman driving a truck is a relatively new phenomenon,” says Joanne Ritchie, OBAC’s Executive Director. “It also sends a strong message to other girls and women that driving can be a satisfying, stable career choice.” WIT Canadian Image Team members Susie DeRidder and Barb Duncan were present for this special event.
event is a fantastic way to showcase the women who have selected truck driving as a career. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for what they do every single day.” A very special thank you to our sponsors of the event, including Gold Sponsors, ISSAC Instruments and Kriska Transportation Group, Silver Sponsors, Armour Transportation Systems, Challenger, McConnell Transport, Nova Truck Centres, and Skelton Truck Lines, and Bronze Sponsor, Linamar Transportation. n
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“It was so awesome to attend WIT’s 6th Canadian Salute to Women Behind the Wheel,” says DeRidder. “I was very impressed with the turnout and getting to network with this amazing group of ladies!” This year’s Carrier Award for Driver Participation was awarded to Walmart Canada for having the greatest number of female drivers in attendance at the event. Additionally, guest speaker, Sarah Hilton, Program Director at LeadHERAlliance, spoke to the group of women, sharing insights into WIT’s mentoring programs. “At the Kriska Transportation Group, we continue to challenge ourselves to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive team,” says Heather Mewhinney, Director of Human Resources. “While women comprise over 63% of our senior leadership, including corporate directors, general managers, department managers, supervisory, and dispatch roles across our companies, we welcome more women drivers to join our fleets.” “ISAAC was proud to sponsor the Salute to Women Behind the Wheel during Truck World,” said Jacques DeLarochelliere, CEO, chairman and co-founder of ISAAC. “The
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