AGUERRO TAKES THIRD PLACE IN FLATBED CLASS
Alex Aguerro, a professional truck driver for Anderson Trucking Service, Inc., took third place in his class at the Minnesota Truck Driving Championships on June 12 & 13, 2004.

Aguerro, who resides in DeLeon, Texas, competed in the Flatbed Truck Class, one of eight classes in the contest. He had the third top cumulative score following the written test, personal interview, driving skills course and a pre-trip inspection where drivers must identify planted safety defects on a tractor-trailer.

The competition, which is sometimes referred to as a “Roadeo”, is made up of four examinations which reflect aspects of the professional truck driver’s job; a written test covering the trucking industry, safe driving rules, first aid and fire fighting; an oral interview assessing the driver’s character and attitude; physical inspection of the truck prior to driving to identify defects planted by the judges; and driving through six pre-arranged problems on the skills course. The competition is held among nine classes of trucks, ranging from straight trucks to tractor-trailer combinations with a variety of axle configurations and trailing equipment.

The "Roadeo" was held on Saturday & Sunday at D&T Trucking in Little Canada, MN. There were a total of 95 contestants participating from a number of trucking companies from across the State of Minnesota. This year ATS entered an "All Rookie" team, save one who had participated in a roadeo in 1999 in another State. “We were extremely proud of these driver’s for taking the time and initiative to study and practice.” Said Frank Presfield, team coordinator. Even with the butterflies around, they did ATS proud.

Here is how the team members finished:
5 Axle Van:          Steve Butler (34624): 8th Place (Jay Johnson, Flt. Mgr.)
Flatbed:               Alex Aguerro (22904): 3rd Place (Dean Danzl, Flt. Mgr.)
Flatbed:               Melody Bankhead (71525): 5th Place (Quinn Gibson, Flt. Mgr.)
Sleeper Berth:     Alan Sawin (35198): 6th Place (Joleen Volbert, Flt. Mgr.)
Sleeper Berth:     Matt O’Neil (16051): 8th Place (Gary Schloeder, Flt. Mgr.)

The Minnesota Truck Driving Championship is an annual competition hosted by the Minnesota Trucking Association.