LOUISVILLE, KY -- Rolf Lockwood, vice president of editorial at Newcom Business Media and the founding editor of its flagship publication, Today's Trucking, last night received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Truck Writers of North America
(TWNA).

Lockwood, who is also a contributing editor for Heavy Duty Trucking, accepted the award during a special presentation at the 2012 Mid-America Trucking Show. The award celebrates a person who exhibits the highest standard of journalism or communications within the trucking industry over a career.

He said he was "astonished and deeply appreciative" of getting the award, and expressed "deep affection" for his colleagues in the truck-writing community.

Based in Toronto, Lockwood launched Today's Trucking in 1987 with the idea of helping truck owners and managers prosper during a time of deregulation, free trade, and technological change.

He developed a conversational writing style that came from being at ease with his subject and readers. He has an appreciation for the differences among fleet owners, owner-operators, company drivers, technicians, managers and suppliers across the various regions of Canada and the United States.

In 2003, Lockwood won the Harvey Southam Career Achievement Award from the Canadian Business Press, the association's highest honor.

In accepting his award, he advised journalists to produce magazines with as much pride and professionalism as the people they write for.

"That means getting out among your readers so you can see the industry you cover through their eyes," he said. "You'll come to respect your readers, and they in turn will develop respect for you. You'll gain credibility, the cornerstone of success for any of us here."

Lockwood's experience at the wheel of vehicles he writes about has fueled a passion for trucking hardware, and his ability to articulate the mechanical side of the business has earned him the trust of engineers and truck owners, his colleagues say.

Lockwood made a lifelong detour into trucking journalism more than 30 years ago, writing for Canadian bus and trucking publications. Along with his work for Today's Trucking, Lockwood is an original member of TWNA, a past president, and former chairmasn of the TWNA Technical Achievement Award committee.

Lockwood has done a lot of odd jobs in his life. He edited of an underground newspaper called Subterranean Meadow, taught poetry to prisoners, and drove a forklift at a steel plant. He still harbors hope of racing on the F1 circuit.

Previous winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Jim Winsor, HDT's retired executive editor, and Tom Berg, its senior editor.