Henry Albert, a fleet owner and professional driver, has been awarded the annual Gary King Memorial Trophy for his  representation of the Trucker Buddy student pen-pal program.

Trucker Buddy International and the Iowa 80 Group in Walcott, Iowa, recognized Albert as “a stellar example of the superior and caring drivers who make the time to visit, teach and correspond with thousands of students throughout the year,” said Randy Schwartzenburg, executive director of Trucker Buddy.

Albert has helped schoolteacher Rachael Tann and her second-grade students in Manheim, Pa, to better understand the trucking industry and how trucking impacts all of their lives while encouraging them to be excellent students and valuable community members.

Albert has been a Trucker Buddy Ambassador for the last three years. Ambassadors are experienced Trucker Buddies who help the group at trade shows and help spread the word about Trucker Buddies while on the road. They also send advice and suggestions on how to improve the program.

He and his wife have developed a coloring book for his class that helps the students understand more about the trucking industry, as well as worksheets to improve geography and writing skills.

The award was presented at the Super Truck Beauty Contest, part of Iowa 80’s Truckers Jamboree held annually in Walcott, where Albert also was involved in helping a group of Boy Scouts earn a trucking transportation badge.

The award is named for the late Gary King, who founded Trucker Buddy International 1992. He dedicated the program to helping educate and mentor schoolchildren via a pen pal relationship between professional truck drivers and children in grades K-8. Trucker Buddy matches classes of students with professional truck drivers.

Albert is the owner of Albert Transportation of Statesville, N.C., and a current Trucker Buddy Ambassador as well as a member of the Freightliner Run Smart team. He has been an industry-leading contributor to help improve aerodynamics and fuel efficiency for the trucking industry.