An Abbotsford man has been named the North American Driver of the Year by Shell.
Kevin Boese has been driving for Scamp Transport, a fuel transportation company out of Langley, for about six years now. And while he’s been recognized by his employers in the past for his safety record, it’s the things he does away from the cab of his truck that has really caught their attention.
When he’s not at work, he’s busy lending a hand on local biking trails with the Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association. He was just getting off the trail when he took some time to chat with The News.
He said he’s looking forward to the coming work with the Semath First Nation regarding trail use, and hopes to be able to make a difference with those discussions.
“It’s something I have a heart for,” he said, and when he has a heart for something he ensures to make it part of his life.
The same is true for his music. Prior to the pandemic, the singer and guitarist was doing outreach in local prisons, bringing music to the prisoners regularly. Boese said he’s looking forward to a version of that resuming in the future.
But for now he’s reflecting on his recent award, which was handed to him in a once-in-a-lifetime, all expenses paid trip to Budapest with his wife, Nancy.
He received an email in February from Scamp to write up a little paragraph about all the things he does in the community. That was to be considered for an award from Shell. He wrote it out, fired it off, and forgot about it.
“They asked ‘how are you making the world a better place?’” he recalls. The judges liked what they read.
He won the Canadian level of the competition, and then North America. And then, he learned he’d be flown to Budapest. Shell covered the cost of that trip, and Scamp made it possible for the Boeses to extend there stay there at an AirBnB for another 10 days.
“It was an amazing city to visit,” he said, and the Shell conference lasted three or four days where they got to meet drivers from all over the world. In the end, a driver from Turkey won the Global Driver of the Year award, and a $10,000 prize.
Boese was given $400 and a jacket, in addition to the holiday.
“I just like to do well at whatever I’m doing and it’s paid off,” he said. It’s helped that Scamp has been such a good employer, he added, with regular incentives for drivers for their work, including bonuses every five years.
There are likely no bigger supporters than his wife and kids, though.
“No matter what Kevin does he is all in,” Nancy said. “He never does anything halfway. He’s the kind of person that works hard and he plays hard and he loves well.”
His daughter Allison also spoke fondly of him, in a video used for the awards ceremony.
“He’s taught me how to be dedicated to whatever I’m doing, whether it is just a hobby or if it’s work, to put myself into it and to always find joy in it,” she said.
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