Nashville, Tennessee – Today, the Ӱɴý recognized Ryan Walpole, purchasing director of Walpole Inc., with the 2021 Dameo Award at the Chairman’s Membership Committee.
“Ryan is a perfect illustration of the next generation of the trucking industry,” said Ӱɴý Chief Commercial Officer Mario Grande. “A graduate of the LEAD Ӱɴý program, he’s a forward thinker, an energetic Ӱɴý state vice president, a member of the Florida Trucking Association’s board of directors and he was instrumental in the creation of FTA 2.0, the state association’s leadership program. With leaders like Ryan, our industry is in good hands.”
Since 2014, the Dameo Award, has been awarded to Ӱɴý state vice presidents who have gone above and beyond in advancing the goals of the trucking industry and Ӱɴý. The award is named for Rocque Dameo, longtime New Jersey Ӱɴý state vice president, who passed away the year the award was created. The award carries with it a $5,000 donation to the winner's state association.
This year’s donation will be presented to new FTA President and CEO Alix Miller.
Previous winners of the Dameo Award include:
- 2014 – Kevin Lhotek, president, Reliable Transportation (Illinois) and Mike Wilson, president, Whitewood Transport (Montana);
- 2015 – Clifton Parker, president, P&G Trucking Company (South Carolina);
- 2016 – Greg Brown, president of B.R. Williams Inc. (Alabama);
- 2017 – Andy Owens, president, A&M Transport Inc.(Oregon);
- 2018 – Tom Lee, vice president, Empire Warehouse (Colorado)
- 2019 – Mike Massengill, president, Big M Transportation (Mississippi);
- 2020 - Michael Collins, M&D Transportation (Rhode Island)