The Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) of the American Trucking Associations has awarded its highest honor - the Silver Spark Plug Award - to five trucking industry professionals.

The awards were presented late last month during the council's fall meeting in Nashville.
The 2007 TMC Silver Spark Plug Recipients are: John Adami, vice president of sales, GT Development - A Norgren Co., Auburn, Wash.; Joe Stianche, fleet manager, Sanderson Farms, Laurel, Miss.; Brian Strach, OEM sales and account manager, The Penray Companies, Bolingbrook, Ill.; Mac Whittemore, regional manager, ArvinMeritor, Troy, Mich.; and Dave Williams, region fleet manager, Verizon Fleet Operations.
These recipients were awarded the Silver Spark Plug for their outstanding contributions to the improvement of maintenance equipment, maintenance, industry-related technology and management practices.
Adami joined TMC in 1992 and has actively participated in many parts of the council, most notably the S.1 Electrical, S.3 Engines and S.4 Cab and Controls Study Groups. He has chaired several Task Forces, including the Fan Drive Maintenance and Fan Drive Design and Application Task Forces within S.3, both of which led to TMC Recommended Practices. Adami was named a Recognized Associate in 2002 and now serves as chairman of TMC's Recognized Associates.
Strach has been a TMC member since June 1999. In that short time is credited with Study Group activity in the S.5 Fleet Maintenance Management, S.6 Chassis and Brake Systems and S.15 Specialty Trucks Study Groups. He has chaired several Task Forces that have resulted in TMC Recommended Practices, including S.6's Troubleshooting Ride Complaints. Strach is a founding officer of TMC's Professional Technician Development Committee (PTDC), its Friends of the Technician sponsorship committee, and the National Technicians' Skills Competition - TMCSuperTech. He currently serves as PTDC's second-vice chairman. He has also been instrumental in establishing PTDC's Technician Training Fair, now in its fifth year. He was named a Recognized Associate in 2006 and has supported TMC International's meetings in Canada and Mexico.
Stianche has been a member of TMC since the 1980s. He served as chairman of the S.6 Chassis and Brake Systems Study Group in 1990 and 1991 and again in 2002 until present. He has been a presenter for TMC technical and mini-technical presentations where he has offered additional insight as a fleet manager of a private fleet with a diverse range of vehicles and equipment.
Whittemore, a TMC member since 1995, has been active in the S. 6 Chassis and Brake Systems Study Group in numerous capacities, including as a presenter on a number of well-received technical presentations. He has assisted the Study Group in producing hands-on demonstration sessions covering ECBS and vehicle alignment, and is perhaps best known for his work in chairing related Task Force that developed TMC's "Guidelines for Total Vehicle Alignment." He was named a Recognized Associate in 2005. Whittemore is active in TMC's Professional Technician Development Committee's TMCSuperTech competitions and currently servers as S.6 Study Group secretary and as the S.6 liaison to TMC's recently organized Corrosion Control Action Committee.
Williams has been a TMC member since 1996. He has served as chairman of the TMC's S.14 Light- & Medium-Duty Trucks Study Group since 2000. He's taken a lot of the work of running the Study Group himself over the years, with the support of a few faithful regulars. He often serves as chairman of S.14 Task Forces to ensure the work progresses to the ultimate goal of becoming a TMC Recommended Practice. He serves as the S.14 liaison to the Corrosion Control Action Committee.