AMTA  E-News

May 2010

Bison's Corny Wiebe, Driver of the Year

“CORNY” WIEBE (Bison Transport), a professional transport driver whose driving career has spanned 40 years, has been named the 2010 Driver of the Year. The award, sponsored by Volvo Trucks Canada, was presented in Banff at the AMTA 2010 Management Conference (April 30 – May 2). See directly below for more details about this year’s winner as delivered in the presentation remarks:

This year’s Driver of the Year confesses he is one of the lucky ones. As he winds down an outstanding driving career, he can honestly say he has lived his dream.

Corny Wiebe vividly recalls being a 16-year-old in Clearwater, a small town in southwestern Manitoba. On the schoolyard, he would stare longingly at the gravel trucks passing by on the highway and dream of one day being behind the wheel of one of those trucks.

In 1965, as a 21-year-old, Corny was closer to realizing that dream when he was hired by McArthur’s Transport in Brandon. The policy at the time said drivers had to be 25-years-old before they were trusted to get behind the wheel. Corny was desperate to drive and would do anything to put himself in the driver’s seat – from moving a truck in the yard to backing a trailer up to the loading dock to taking a rig to be washed. His determination and enthusiasm finally convinced management to give him a chance. Corny was told he could take a load of livestock to Winnipeg – finally his dream was to be realized! Corny chuckles at the memory of that trip saying he was so excited and so scared that he suffered a bout of constipation until that load of livestock was delivered to its destination.

Corny’s next stop was Trimac, who would be is employer off-and-on for a period of 12 years. Corny was a restless soul in those days and moved around a lot. He also drove for Paul’s Hauling and sold trucks for Parkside Ford in Winnipeg before moving to Calgary and working with Bow Valley Transport with one of his career mentors, Ted Attridge. He then helped open up Northern Cartage’s new site in Edmonton.

The entrepreneurial spirit then bit Corny and he started his own gravel business. (Remember that dream of his as a 16-year-old?) He enjoyed the pride of ownership but not the 20-hour days. Fate then stepped in. As Corny was growing his company, the economy took a serious backward step. Corny decided to sell the operation and then drove tour bus for 18 months. He recalls his favourite trip was a three-week jaunt from Edmonton to Alaska ending with a cruise down the Pacific coast.

Soon the trucking industry beckoned again and Corny began driving for Edmonton-based Merlin Transport. Eventually he moved to Trimac, and then he became an owner-operator. For a period of time, Corny worked dispatch for Economy Carriers while driving part-time for H&R Transport.

In 2000, Bison Transport came calling and Corny says he has never worked for a carrier that promotes the concept of “team” like Bison does. The carrier also advocates wives accompanying their driver husbands on trips. Corny and wife Lynda have taken advantage of that opportunity and, within a three-week span last year, saw both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and experienced the once-in-a-lifetime snowstorms that hit the southern American states.

Corny is now officially retired, but still drives part-time for Bison saying he couldn’t quit ‘cold turkey’. As he looks back on a driving career that has spanned over 40 years, he notes the industry has changed so much that he likens it to the transition from the horse-and-buggy era to motorized vehicles appearing on our roads – the changes have been that significant. Corny has seen number of his cohorts leave the industry because of these changes, especially in the area of technology. He says, “People don’t like change, but I always embraced it.”

One of the technology changes of note was the switch from manual to automatic transmissions. While he was certainly nervous using the new system in the beginning, he says now he wouldn’t operate any vehicle except one with an automatic transmission.

Advances in communication have kept the longhaul trucker in touch with his company and his family – and you can’t put a price on that.

Corny is always willing to share his wisdom with new drivers. When he is training new drivers, the most important idea he shares with them is that the person behind the wheel and the rig form a team. It is up to the driver to know his rig because every truck has its own perks. Then, once that knowledge is in place, one must always be aware of the surroundings – the load, the road, the weather conditions, the shoulder, and so on.

Corny is adamant when he says, “Driving is not a job. It is a way of life and that includes your family, which has to support you 100%.” Corny has been blessed with that support from Lynda and their daughters Lisa and Melissa, along with their sons-in-law and five grandchildren – all of whom are so proud of Corny’s accomplishments.

Thanks to his career, Corny has been able to meet a fabulous cast of characters, and be a part of so many fascinating stories. Thanks to a loving wife, a supportive family and his faith in God, Corny has carved out a long, safe and successful career. In the process, he has lived his dream. He is currently facing one more roadblock – a battle with cancer. He is approaching it with the same determination and commitment he gave to his career. We wish Corny all the best in this latest challenge and congratulate him on the honour we are bestowing on him today, this year’s Driver of the Year. Ladies and gentlemen, Corny Wiebe!