Bob Stanton, director of fleet management for Polk County, Fla., became just the second fleet professional to ever win a Larry Goill Memorial Quality Fleet Management Idea Award for the third time from the NAFA Fleet Management Association.

Stanton, who had previously won the award in 2004 and 2007, joined Jack Harris (winner in 1997, 1998, and 1999) as the only three-time winners in the award's history.

Stanton was recognized for his work in training and incentivizing drivers to be more eco-friendly at an award ceremony during NAFA's annual Institute & Expo on April 11 in Charlotte, N.C.. His award-winning idea reduced fuel consumption by nearly half a million gallons (13 percent), decreased preventable accidents by 22 percent, saved Polk County more than 1.5 million dollars, and was featured in a Fox News story on Florida television.

The idea was based around training Polk County employees to drive in an eco-friendly way. To enhance the training, employees were told that any savings would be split between the county and the employee.

"The question before us this morning is not what, but when," said Stanton in his acceptance speech. "Like you, we dabble in the hardware of fuel-efficient technology. Three years ago, we decided to capture the largest element in fuel efficiency: the driver. You've heard the results. It didn't cost us anything to implement. When will you do this?"

Judges for the Goill Awards agreed this was a comprehensive program with big results. They noted that sometimes a simple, easy to implement plan has the best chances for success. And that because of the low program costs and ease of implementation, the return on investment was quick and substantial.

"We received so many great entries this year," said Mario Gionet, NAFA Vice President for Canada and Northern Region Trustee. "If nothing else, this proves that hard times do indeed bring out the best in people and present opportunities for bright ideas and great change."

NAFA Vice President Bryan Flansburg, CAFM, Director of Transportation Services for the University of Colorado, also received a Goill Award for his plan to create an automated system for checking vehicles in and out of the motor pool. It was Flansburg's first Goill Award.

The NAFA/Bell Canada Larry Goill Memorial Quality Fleet Management Idea Award was named after Larry Goill, an active member of NAFA in the late '80s and early '90s. At the time of his passing in 1995, Goill was NAFA's Vice President for Canada and the Supervising Engineer of Fleet Services for Bell Canada. The awards were sponsored by Bell Canada in appreciation for how much Larry added to that company's commitment to quality.

Read more about Stanton's fuel-saving program in the special June fuel issue of Heavy Duty Trucking magazine.