Shaw Tracking-OTA Service to Industry Award Winner, Norm Sneyd: ‘One of the Good Guys’
(Nov. 15, 2013) – Everybody loves Normand.
The winner of the 2013 Shaw Tracking-OTA Service to Industry Award is Norm Sneyd, Vice President, Business Development at Bison Transport. The prestigious award was presented last night to the 40-plus year industry veteran before hundreds of his industry colleagues during the Ontario Trucking Association’s 87th annual convention at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto.
It seems there could be no more popular choice. When you ask around the trucking industry about Norm Sneyd, you’ll hear a lot of words like ‘genuine, compassionate, funny, driven.’ Then, quite matter-of-factly, people will explain how Norm is one of the most admired people in trucking.
“This award represents the highest honour that can be bestowed upon a member of the trucking industry,” says Shaw Tracking vice president Mike Ham, who presented the award. “I am delighted to present this award to Norm, a man whose dedication to this industry knows no bounds and someone who I am proud to call my friend.”
David Bradley, OTA’s president & CEO, says, “Norm is truly one of the great gentlemen of our industry; it is such an honour to have him as part of our association and to know him.”
Over his career Norm has served on the OTA Board of Directors, its Executive Committee and numerous other special and standing committees of the association. He has been an effective and thoughtful champion of many of the association’s causes – from the mandatory activation of speed limiters to Envirotruck, the industry’s flagship environmental truck concept.
“When you talk to anyone in this industry, he’s just one of those rare guys that everyone knows of and absolutely no one has anything negative to say about,” says Norm’s boss, Don Streuber, president of Bison Transport. “And I think it’s because Norm genuinely cares about everybody else, right to their core.”
Born and raised by a banker and schoolteacher, in North Bay, Ont., Norm Sneyd developed early on the type of middle class, northern Ontario work ethic and loyalty that would shape his professional career and personal relationships. He is still one of the first to the office and last to leave every day.
Norm’s career in the trucking industry spans over 40 years, but he first got the itch for big wheels while driving part-time for the Simpsons department store in Toronto during his university years. He went on to drive for the household moving division of CP Trucks before stepping into an office job and working his way up to general manager. Norm then joined United Van Lines where he became a partner and helped grow the company into one of the most recognized moving fleets in Canada. He changed lanes a couple of more times after that and was named president of Highland Transport before settling into his current position in 2008 as VP Business Development at Bison Transport.
Norm relates to just about every facet of trucking. He’s a natural leader whose business outlook was forged decades ago from behind the wheel, says Streuber. “When Norm looks at the industry, he thinks about it from being behind the wheel first. He still proudly talks about his days as a driver.”
Despite his heavy workload, Norm always has time for his family (his wife Maryann, their grown children and grandchildren), his friends (if you need someone to help fix something Norm is your man) and for any number of good causes including Care for Children, Habit for Humanity, Trucks for Change and Relay For Life, among others.