The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s 24th Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional Driver of the Year program recognizes three industry veterans from a pool of outstanding nominees. The Safety, Environmental and Operations Committee assembled a panel of judges to weigh nominees’ competence, driving skills, number of years without an accident, and colleague or customer testimonials.
The NRMCA Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau will present checks of $5,000 to Driver of the Year Joe Jose Bermudez and $1,000 to Runners-Up Joseph Anderson, Jr. and Mitchell “Scott” McCarty. They will also be honored this month in Las Vegas during the NRMCA 2020 Convention. As Driver of the Year program cosponsor, Concrete Products joins the association and SEO Committee in congratulating all nominees for their professionalism, safe operating skills, teamwork, and critical role in conveying a positive message about ready mixed concrete.
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Capital Concrete’s Tina Harvey credits him for leading by example, noting “As part of our Safety Team, he consistently wears all required PPE and is constantly looking to better our procedures. His input is invaluable [and] driving impeccable. He’s had no record of any accidents or injuries since 2001. With his knowledge, skills and overall attitude, he is tapped frequently to train new drivers. With Joe on our team, I can confidently say that Capital Concrete is in good hands.”
“We are highly impressed by his proactive and positive approach to this business,” adds Norfolk customer George Mann of GR Mann & Co. “With our unpredictable hours and sometimes harsh conditions, you always see him ready to work and with a smile on his face. He makes the job easier for us.”
Casey Williams of Chesapeake’s Bay Concrete cites Anderson’s “continuous hard work and integrity. Joe is an excellent example to other drivers. He follows the rules and gets along well with everyone. He is a true asset to Capital Concrete.”
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Area Manager Victtor Lopez underscores McCarty’s easy-going nature, competence and dependability, along with outstanding safety record of zero at-fault accidents and injuries over his ready mixed concrete delivery career. Lopez also describes his ace driver as embodying Right Away’s “core values of excellence in customer service, safety and productivity. He can be counted on to make each delivery a successful and positive experience for our customers, no matter the circumstances of the job.”
“Scott’s number one priority is always the customer. I’m a concrete pumper and when I ask him to put a little bit of water in the drum, he always wants to make sure I checked with a customer before doing so,” notes Carlo Dean Lucia of Mr. Nice Guy Concrete Pumping. “Scott is also a very safe driver and he always gets out of his truck and checks his surroundings before backing up to my pump. There are only a handful of drivers that I am completely comfortable with when they show up to my job site, and he is one of them.”
Former colleague and Jimmy’s Concrete Pumping principal Jimmy Esparza observed first hand McCarty’s capacity to negotiate difficult northern California sites and tendency to make “life and the job so much easier to deal with. I think he gave me confidence to be the man I am today. I left Right Away after I purchased a pump and started my own company. Now I’ve been in business 10 years and still moving strong. It’s always a pleasure to have Scott on a job; even off the clock he’s a great man.
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Daly City customer and former colleague Tony Lecue, owner of Tony’s Concrete Pumping Co., recalls his first dealings with Bermudez in the early 1990s: “I wanted to be a concrete truck driver. I received my permit and the first person to teach me the ins and out of this profession was Jose. I spent a week listening to him about the responsibility of being a ready mix driver—what to look for out in the field, etc. Safety was what he talked about most. Before he even let me drive, he told me to meet him at 5:30 every morning to learn about the truck, how to do your walk around, how to check the entire truck before even turning the key. He said driving a truck is a big responsibility and every day is a new situation and that you must always be ready to make the right choices and work to your abilities. Jose has the highest qualities of leadership and moral character.”
“Jose’s safety and driving record speaks for itself. He is always striving to provide exceptional service and does so with respect and professionalism,” adds Steve Benesi of Malcolm Drilling Co., Hayward, Calif. “As a superintendent I have worked with many concrete drivers and would rank Jose as a top driver. He is humble and hardworking, and you can tell he takes pride in his work. He is also very knowledgeable about anything related to concrete. He is an extraordinarily helpful driver and is very well liked by everyone he encounters. He is extremely deserving of this award.”