Joseph “Ziggy” Zygas, a Lafayette, Ind.-based driver for Irving Materials Inc., won the 4th Annual National Mixer Driver Championship, staged amid NRMCA’s 2009 ConcreteWorks Conference & Expo, Oct. 17-20, in Indianapolis
Sources: CP staff; National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.
Joseph Ziggy Zygas, a Lafayette, Ind.-based driver for Irving Materials Inc., won the 4th Annual National Mixer Driver Championship, staged amid NRMCA’s 2009 ConcreteWorks Conference & Expo, Oct. 17-20, in Indianapolis. Second- and third-place honors, respectively, went to Aggregate IndustriesÌ Jeffrey Clark of Crofton, Md., and Irving MaterialsÌ Trent Slavens of Rossville, Ind. The top finishers received $2,500, $1,000 and $500 cash prizes from NRMCA-affiliate, the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau (TMMB). They were among 34 delivery professionals from 21 states in a competition combining written exam, truck walk around and visual inspection, and 10-station challenge course.
Drivers had their choice of rear- or front-discharge trucks to navigate challenge course stations along the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a few miles from the ConcreteWorks venue, the Indianapolis Marriott. In addition to having the best and most appropriate National Mixer Driver Championship backdrop to date–the IMS winner’s circle, pagoda and grandstands–this year’s event was the first to welcome a female competitor: Anna Brown, a Hot Springs, Ark., driver for Martin Marietta Materials. Like all her peers in this year’s competition, she has placed at or near the top of company or state/regional RMCA mixer truck rodeos or related challenges. 2009 NRMCA Chairman Henry Batten (Concrete Supply Co.), NRMCA Operations Environmental & Safety Committee Chairman Terry Green (U.S. Concrete), and TMMB Chairman Charlie Schumacher (Schwing America) led a festive salute to all drivers during an Oct. 19 awards dinner.