Nikki Weaver, company driver for FedEx Freight, is known for her public advocacy within the trucking industry and encourages any women considering a career in the industry to “go for it.”
The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has named Nikki Weaver, company driver for FedEx Freight, as the recipient of this year’s 2021 Driver of the Year award.
Weaver has been a professional driver for over 20 years. For the first seven years of her career, she was an over-the-road driver. Then, she became a company driver with FedEx Freight and has been with the company for 13 years. She now has more than two million accident-free miles and zero moving violations.
“I am so honored to be recognize for this award,” said Weaver. “I love being a professional driver and encourage any women who are considering this career to go for it!”
Since 2019, Weaver has served as an America’s Road Team Captain. She was most recently a finalist for the Luella Bates Award at FedEx Freight and is a two-time winner of the prestigious Bravo Zulu Award, an award created by FedEx Freight founder, Fred Smith. She speaks to community colleges about the trucking industry as well as the Pennsylvania State Police Academy’s new commercial officer cadets. She is an advocate for Truckers Against Trafficking and has attended their leadership conference and is also involved with outreach programs in her community. Weaver’s 10-year-old son is proud of her and loves what she does for a living.
Sponsored by Walmart, the annual award was established to promote the achievements of female professional drivers who lead the industry in safety standards while actively enhancing the public image of the trucking industry.
“Walmart is honored to sponsor Women In Trucking’s Driver of the Year award, which recognizes an outstanding driver who is making a positive impact in the transportation industry,” said Ryan McDaniel, vice president of Walmart Transportation and board member of Women In Trucking. “With the events of the past year professional drivers all across the county demonstrated how essential our industry is in helping our communities have access to necessities such as food, medicine and cleaning supplies. We congratulate Nikki and each of the finalists for their examples of safety and service.”
Weaver was among three finalists for the award. The other finalists include Carmen Anderson, a company driver at America’s Service Line LLC and Ingrid Brown, independent owner-operator of Rolling B LLC.
“We are proud to honor Nikki Weaver with the Driver of the Year award,” said Ellen Voie, president and CEO of WIT. “She demonstrates a positive public image of the trucking industry through her safety standards and community involvement.”