Clearstone’s Driver of the Year award has gone to Tom Cross, Aspray Transport driver from Shropshire. As first prize, Tom and a friend have won a trip to Florence, Italy to see the 2007 Ferrari World Finals at the Mugello International Racetrack. The remaining finalists all received a pampering at the Wildmoor Spa. The runners-up trophy was awarded to the only female finalist, Carol Gladwin, a Class 2 driver based in Scarisbrick, working for catering specialist 3663. Also in the finals were Nick Smy, from Abingdon, also employed by 3663; Travis Fricker from Wiltshire, a Class 1 driver for Wilts Wholesale Electrical; and John Hodder, a DHL driver on the Iceland contract from the Isle of Dogs.
The battle for the DHL Fastest Lap trophy was on at this season’s Grand Prix in Brazil. Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen and team-mate Felipe Massa were neck and neck until the last second in the season’s final race. But it was Kimi, who had been one point behind Felipe before the race, who secured the trophy.
This is the first year DHL, as Formula One’s official logistics partner, has awarded the Fastest Lap trophy.
Staff at Leeds-based Masternaut couldn’t believe it when their new test driver turned up. They had looked long and hard for the right person, and when managing director Martin Port spotted Formula One star Lewis Hamilton on a plane back from Belfast – he couldn’t believe his luck. He invited him into the company to meet the staff, who were ecstatic to meet the international star, and when he got into the company Mini they expected a top racetrack performance. It was only then that Martin owned up he’d pulled a fast one. The racing superstar he’d spotted on the plane was 25 year old Andrew Jarvis from Bradford. “I get stopped five or six times a day by people asking if I’m Lewis Hamilton, so I wasn’t surprised when Martin asked me the same question – and even when he found out I wasn’t the real Lewis Hamilton, he still asked me into the company.”
International development charity Transaid, has received a new member to its budding collection. Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank will provide a fixed annual donation and employee fundraising to the charity, which works towards making transport more available and affordable to people in the developing world.
“Everyone needs transport to exist. Transport delivers the essentials for everyday life: health, education and the ability to earn a living. But in many of the poorest regions of the world, access to transport is poor or non-existent. Better managed resources can substantially reduce transport costs and can lead to a significantly improved quality of living for many of the poorest families across the developed world,” said Chris Saunders, chief executive of Transaid.
Willie Paterson, director of commercial asset finance at the bank, said: “Transaid’s work helps to improve the lives of some of the poorest people on the planet and we are delighted to have become a member of such a worthwhile cause.”
SSI Schaefer sprung to the aid of The Royal Hospital Chelsea, by providing secure storage for the popular In-Pensioners’ band instruments. The hospital, which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, needed storage to house everything from a clarinet to a tuba. The band is made up of ex full-time army musicians, a musical director and a band secretary, who perform concerts for the other in-pensioners. The husband to the hospital’s matron contacted Schaefer after finding out that the hospital’s insurance policy stated that the band’s instruments must be locked up when not in use. The hospital has placed a second order for further shelving to house the band’s many music files.
Bibby Distribution and Logistics World Alliance teamed up to deliver equipment to hospitals, an orphanage and retirement home in Romania.
A team of five Bibby employees filled a 40 ft trailer with equipment that is obsolete in the UK National Health Service, but which is much needed by hospitals and communities elsewhere in the world. The cargo comprised beds, commodes, medical equipment, bicycles and televisions.
