The Truckload Carriers Association has presented its annual Clare C. Casey Award to Dean Newell, Vice President of Safety and Training for Maverick Transportation. The prestigious award is given to a safety professional whose actions and achievements have had “a profound and positive benefit or contribution to better safety on our highways.”

Newell has been employed by Maverick Transportation, North Little Rock, Ark., for more than 30 years. He began his career there as a truck driver before holding positions in recruiting, driver services, and safety. He now manages a fleet of over 1,400 tractors and 2,000 trailers and oversees eight terminal/facility locations and eight on-site loading and securement locations that employ over 1,500 people.

TCA noted that Newell has developed a reputation for assembling the best possible teams and making effective leadership decisions and that he continually seeks to develop new initiatives to address Maverick’s safety and driver training needs.

Over the course of his career, he has received other distinguished awards, including the American Trucking Associations’ National Safety Director of the Year and the Arkansas Trucking Association’s Safety Director of the Year awards as well as numerous safety awards from Maverick during his years as a driver.

In addition, under Newell’s leadership, Maverick Transportation has earned more than 30 industry awards from such organizations as ATA’s Safety Management Council, the Arkansas Trucking Association, the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission as well as from several insurance companies.

According to Stephen Selig, the president and COO of Maverick Transportation and the author of Newell’s award nomination, “Dean is wholeheartedly committed to the improvement of trucking safety across the board … not just within the corporate structure of Maverick.”

He outlined how Newell initiated and hosted the kick-start of a collaborative effort of flatbed safety meetings, in which he invited various flatbed carriers to attend and discuss safety ideas and concerns in a roundtable fashion. Selig also stated that Newell has made several presentations for conferences and seminars throughout the industry and has never hesitated to share his expertise with others.

Newell has also held numerous volunteer positions over the years, most notably as chairman of the Arkansas Trucking Association’s Truck Driving Championships and chairman of the ATA National Accident Review Committee. . He has also been active with the Risk and Insurance Management Society, the North American Transportation Management Institute, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and the Transportation Research Board, among other organizations.

The award was presented to Newell on Monday at TCA’s Safety & Security Division Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

According to TCA, nominees for Clare C. Casey Award “must exemplify leadership and demonstrate the goals of protecting lives and property in the motor transportation industry while serving their company, industry, and the motoring public.”