We select three finalists to compete in our Driver of the Year competition every year. The winner of our competition goes on to compete in the NRMCA (National Ready Mix Concrete Association) Driver of the Year awards. We select finalists based on their DriveCam performance, Safety program participation, time without preventable incidents or at-fault lost loads, customer recommendations and other considerations such as participation in Continuous Improvement teams, focus groups and Touch-a-Truck events.
The finalists for 2022 were Antonio Kincade, Dewayne Gootee and Sirandon Gifford. Dewayne became our Driver of the Year and was recently selected as a runner-up in the NRMCA competition, receiving his award at the conference this month.
Antonio Kincade, 11th St. Batch Plant, Tulsa
Celebrating his 10th year at Dolese in May, Antonio has put in many driving miles for us during his career as a Concrete Delivery Professional.
“I think I’ve circled the earth at least two times,” he said.
But driving and time in his truck is one of his favorite parts of the job.
“It gives me time to myself to think and figure things out. This job helps you find out who you are.”
He has spoken actively to potential drivers at Tulsa Tech and attended numerous Touch-a-Truck events in the Tulsa area.
“I was one of those kids—the ones who loved big trucks and always wanted to honk the horn,” he laughed. “When it comes to honking the horn, I always let them have it.”
Antonio mentioned that at a recent OSHA training, Mark Helm said something that has stuck in his mind and became his slogan: It can be done.
“After Mark said that, I kept repeating it to myself – ‘it can be done, it can be done.’ That applies to everything at Dolese—safety, customer service, teamwork and more. That phrase had an impact on me.”
Along with Dewayne and Sirandon, Antonio recently was part of a CI team dedicated to improving the process for cleaning trucks and keeping them clean.
“Keeping our trucks clean and taking pride in our work is something I want all CDPs to embrace. It can be done.”
Dewayne Gootee, Moore Batch Plant
Dewayne has served as a Concrete Delivery Professional here for 17 years. He was our first master-level Concrete Delivery Professional and became an NRMCA Certified CDP.
In a 2022 newsletter article, Dewayne said, “I’m a firm believer in learning. While driving a concrete truck may seem like a simple job, there’s so much more to learn about it.”
Dewayne always has a consistent, easy-going smile on his face, which makes him a favorite with customers.
"Dewayne always shows up with the same smile on his face—a true representation of Dolese,” said Jaime Martinez of customer RC Stemwall.
Mike Crosby, superintendent of Home Creations said, “Dewayne has always been courteous and willing to work with our finishers to get any job done.”
His positive attitude, work ethic and leadership earned him our 2022 Driver of the Year and a runner-up position as NRMCA’s 2023 Driver of the Year.
Sirandon Gifford, Elk City Batch Plant
Anyone who’s attended an OSHA refresher training may know Sirandon as the “The Brake Check Guy.” Beginning his career at Dolese as a Loader/Operator in 2015, he decided to get his CDL and become a Concrete Delivery Professional in 2019. During his CDL test, the examiner refused to wear his seat belt.
“You know I’ll need to do a brake check,” Sirandon told the examiner. The examiner nodded. Shortly after pulling forward, Sirandon did the brake check with great force—sending the examiner forward and nearly hitting his head on the front windshield.
“Safety is something Dolese ingrained in me, and I’ve made it a personal value,” Sirandon said. “I knew that having someone in the cab with no seat belt was unsafe. I’d rather fail the test than lose my job.”
Considering himself a jack-of-all-trades, Sirandon values his job as a CDP because “it’s different every day.” During his time here, he’s learned batching, paving, welding and other trade skills.
“When I get ready for work, I ask myself ‘what am I going to achieve today?’ If I accomplish that goal, I see it as a successful day,” he said. “I want to do more, learn more and become more successful in my career here.”