Tim McCann, senior vice president of First Transit, presented Willie Smith, Tiger Transit driver, with First Transit’s Focus on Safety award Wednesday, May 6.
First Transit, Tiger Transit provider, conducted the corporation-wide safety campaign.
Smith was given the choice between a 2015 Ford Focus and $20,000.
Smith said he will choose the money.
“I had no idea at all this was going to happen,” Smith said. “It’s got my heart about to jump out of my chest.
Paul Meredith, regional director of safety for First Transit, said Smith was randomly selected out of 5,000 participants.
“We had all of our employees take surveys and quizzes online and attend safety meetings,” Meredith said. “Every time they did one of those events they got a key and at the end of the year we picked a winner from the stack of keys.”
Rex Huffman, manager of Tiger Transit services, said he didn’t expect this announcement.
“It’s a surprise,” Huffman said. “He’s well deserving of it, though. He’s a good guy. He’s not just a good person, he’s an excellent driver.”
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