V3 Transportation has announced that it will make a donation to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund in honor of Robert Burton, an owner-operator with V3 who won Expediter of the Year at the recent Expedite Expo.

Burton donated the $500 that accompanied the inaugural award to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, which V3 has vowed to match in the name of Burton and his wife Christy Burton, who is his co-driver.

“We are aware of the St. Christopher Fund and the great work they do on behalf of drivers. St. Christopher’s is a terrific charity, and, while we were extremely proud of Robert’s recognition as the first-ever Expediter of the Year, the entire team at V3 was greatly moved by his decision to give the $500 cash prize to the St. Christopher Fund,” said John Sliter, V3 president. “Our management team at V3 felt the best way to pay tribute to Robert’s accomplishment and his commitment to others on the road was to match his donation. V3 is proud to make a $500 donation to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund in the names of Robert and Christy Burton.”

Burton’s wife and co-driver submitted his nomination for Expediter of the Year, citing instances on the road where he provided assistance to motorists and truck drivers during their travels. In one situation when the Burtons encountered a burning car filled with oxygen tanks along Interstate 35 in Texas, Robert was able to coordinate a blockade of traffic on both sides of the highway before authorities arrived on the scene, keeping people safe from the ensuing explosion of the burning car.

“I knew I had to nominate Robert because of the human being that he actually is. I just had to do it,” said Christy Burton. “You always hear about the old trucking stories where everybody would help everybody. You just don’t see that a lot today, but Robert still goes above and beyond. “

The Expediter of the Year was chosen by an independent, three-judge panel, which consisted of representatives from CIS Insurance, the Women In Trucking Association, and National Truckin’ Magazine. The judges narrowed down the field to three finalists before choosing Burton as the Expediter of the Year.

The Burtons said that they planned to donate the $500 cash prize to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund if Robert was selected as the winner. They said that they were inspired by the mission of the fund, having been out of work following an accident in their personal vehicle.

“We’ve been there,” said  Robert Burton of the accident that initially kept he and Christy from returning to work. “The wheels weren’t turning on our truck and we weren’t making any money. We were living off a nest egg at the time, and that nest egg was being cooked. This is what St. Christopher’s does. They help people in these situations. In my mind, this was the best thing I could have done with this money – to help someone who was in the situation that we were once in.”