Every year, AMSA recognizes the best drivers in the moving industry with our Super Van Operator awards.  We honor drivers in four categories who stand out above the rest for their dedication and commitment to their customers.  We present their awards at our annual Education Conference & Expo, and are proud to share their stories with you here.

Clay Armbruster

2012 AMSA Super Van Operator Rookie of the Year

Clay works for some demanding bosses — his family! A driver for Mayflower Transit agent Armbruster Moving & Storage in Cleveland, Ohio, Clay started driving in 2008 at age 22. He was cross-trained to do packing and loading as well. Within one year, he had been named Mayflower Van Operator of the Year.

Clay had no accidents, moving violations or our-of-service orders in his young career, and is said by his managers that he sometimes actually runs ahead of schedule.

His customers have given Clay a 92 percent or higher score over more than four years, and they say he's polite, efficient, focused, professional, and has good attention to detail and communication skills. He also enjoys helping train other drivers coming up.

His community work involves delivering bins of donated clothing for children in the Cleveland area and he's involved with NBA Cares camp.

Joel Barber

2012 AMSA Super Van Operator/Household Goods

Although Joel lives in Arkansas, he ends up spending a fair amount of time on the West Coast as a driver for Alexander's Mobility Services, an Atlas agent in Tustin, Calif.

A 30-year household goods industry veteran, Joel has driven more than two million miles with Alexander's (another one million in trucking before that) but with no accidents, tickets or out-of-service orders at all. He's also worked as a moving services salesman and manager.

Joel has received the Atlas Customer Service Award 14 times and has a perfect customer service rating for the past five years. He also earned the Atlas award for lowest/fewest claims for seven straight years until the program was merged with another award.

He has stopped to help many stranded motorists, change ties and even put out vehicle fires a number of times. He's also been part of Alexander's Make-a-Wish fundraising team.

Joseph Savage

2012 AMSA Super Van Operator Lifetime Achievement

Joe loves working with people as a household goods mover, and has been on the job for 42 years working for agents affiliated with the same company: North American Van Lines. Today, he drives for Eckert's Van & Storage in San Marcos, Calif.

During his more than three million miles on the road, he's only had one non-chargeable accident. A consistent member of North American's Vanguard Gold fleet (top-performing haulers), Joe has also repeatedly been North American Van Lines driver of the month.

He donates to a range of charities and makes a point of trying to help the less-fortunate he encounters in his travels. But asked about his efforts, he responded, "I don't do things for recognition; I try to do the right thing when no-one is looking."

Don Alverson

2012 AMSA Super Van Operator/Special Commodities

Don drives for Mayflower Specialty Flatbed and has been in the moving industry for 26 years. His great driving record includes no accidents or moving violations in the last six years, and the last (small) claim he can remember was 25 years ago.

He says knew he wanted to drive a truck while still in high school but went to college first to get a business degree. Joined Mayflower Transit and switched from moving household goods to special products after almost four years.

As a special commodities driver, Don has had his fair share of interesting experiences. While working for a smaller carrier specializing in high-end art and electronics, he sometimes traveled with armed guards. With Mayflower, he once transported an inert Nike missile to Miami so it could be refurbished and put on display at a former Nike installation near the Everglades.

After a stint at Mayflower headquarters working in fleet management, Don rejoined the van lines' special products division in 2011.

He's been driving with his wife, Theresa, for past 17 years. Theresa has a commercial driver's license, and they operate their truck as a team except for a few months she spends at home at home in the summer.

Among his many Good Samaritan acts, Don once stopped to help a Florida Highway patrol trooper whose cruiser had caught fire.