In The News
Tim Paxton Wins Expediter of the Year Award at Expedite Expo 2018
The 18th edition of Expedite Expo, held July 20 and 21 at the Lexington Center in Lexington, Ky., delivered a new Expediter of the Year award winner: Tim Paxton.
A van owner-operator leased to Barrett DirectLine, Paxton was nominated for the award by several people including Jamie Palmer, a driver with Barrett DirectLine, who wrote: “Tim is the reason I found this career. I was not in a good place in life, and I found his videos on YouTube that helped changed my life for the better. He has a Facebook group he started that helps so many people, and he deserves every award possible.”
That Facebook group, which he started with his brother Allen, is called “Transportation Life ‘Wheels, Wings & Rudders.” And, as of press time, the group has grown to over 1,800 members. “It has become a place for rookies and veterans alike to come and learn something new, get information on happenings on the road, and meet and make friends,” said Dawna Paxton, his wife and co-owner of Paxton Xpediting LLC.
Last year’s Expediter of the Year, Robert Burton, set a high bar for future award winners when he donated his full $500 prize to St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, a charity that helps drivers whose medical problems have led to financial hardship.
But it appears that Paxton is carrying on the giving tradition. In a statement to his Facebook group “Transportation Life,” Paxton said that he would be donating the $500 award to the group’s fund for future prize giveaways, such as t-shirts and camp raffles. “What we gain, YOU gain,” he wrote. “It’s a group effort and will always remain as such.”
The purpose of the Expediter of the Year award is to recognize those hard working, professional and safety-conscious expediters on the road today who strive to make the expedite industry better and are deeply involved in serving and making a positive impact on their community.
Paxton was selected among a strong field of finalists that included Eric Escobar with Fudpuckers Expedited and Nancy Hudson with A.D. Transport Express. The finalists and winner were chosen by three independent judges from Women in Trucking Association, Bolt Custom Trucks, and National Truckin’ Magazine.
When interviewed as a finalist for the award, Paxton shared his definition of success in expediting—and it’s about helping others succeed. “My brother (Allen Paxton) and I and those closest to us take a lot of pride in trying to better the industry as a whole by focusing on bettering the drivers,” said Paxton. “The more intelligent, the more educated drivers we have out there on the roads is going to make it easier for us to try to get a decent wage from state to state. We want everybody to do well out there because the better everybody does, the better we will do.”
Paxton also shared his story about how, as a tanker driver, he had no further career growth opportunities. “I got into expediting because there was no forward [career] momentum as a tanker driver. There were no bigger hurdles to get over. There was no hill to climb to get anywhere further than where I was. But, in expediting, I have room to grow. I am progressing forward as we speak—with other plans and future prospects—and I'm going to take advantage of them.”
And by winning the Expediter of the Year award in 2018, Paxton has taken another big step toward his career goals.