R. Kyle Treadway, former chairman of the American Truck Dealers, was named the 2014 Truck Dealer of the Year on Saturday.

The national award, co-sponsored by ATD and Heavy Duty Trucking magazine, was made at the opening general session of the 51st annual ATD Convention & Expo in New Orleans.

Treadway, president, dealer principal and legal counsel of Kenworth Sales Company in West Valley, Utah, was among a select group of six nominated dealers from across the country. He received a standing ovation as he made his way to the podium to accept the award.

“I am stunned,” Treadway said, before quoting English physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton. “If I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

ATD Chairman Dick Witcher said Treadway was an ideal candidate for Dealer of the Year because of his dealership performance and his civic and industry contributions. Since 2005, Treadway has served in various leadership positions for both ATD and the National Automobile Dealers Association.

In accepting the award, Treadway noted the achievements of the other nominees, including runner-up William K. Reilley Sr., CEO of Lakeside International Trucks, in Milwaukee, Wis.

Other contenders for the Truck Dealer of the Year were:

• Timothy J. Fyda, president and CEO, Fyda Freightliner in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

• William Don Larson, CEO and owner, Allstate Peterbilt Group, Wayzata, Minn.

• Michael P. McMahon, CEO, McMahon Truck Center, Charlotte, N.C.

• Donald L. Sherwood, dealer principal of Sherwood Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star, in Dunmore, Pa.

State, metro and national association leaders selected nominees for the annual award. They were evaluated on dealership performance, industry leadership and civic contributions. A panel of professors from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business chose the winner and runner-up.

The ATD convention, which runs concurrently with the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention & Expo, concludes Monday.

The American Truck Dealers is a division of NADA, representing about 2,000 medium and heavy-duty truck dealers.

Look for a story featuring interviews with Treadway and all the other nominees in the upcoming February issue of Heavy Duty Trucking magazine.