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TCA Scholarship Fund awards to largest class of recipients ever

Annual program assists college and university students that are associated with TCA member companies

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) Scholarship Fund is providing financial awards to the largest number of students in its 48-year history for the 2021-22 academic school year. (Photo: Ekrulila/Pexels)

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) Scholarship Fund is providing financial awards to the largest number of students in its 48-year history for the 2021-22 academic school year.

The Fund will provide assistance to 57 undergraduate students with award ranging from $2,725 to $6,250. The total pool fund for 2021-22 is $163,775.

Also, TCA announced a fully endowed Past Chairman’s Fund scholarship in the name of Robert D. Penner. Penner served as TCA chairman from 2017-2018. In order for a scholarship to be named after a past TCA chairman, the Past Chairmen’s Fund is required to receive $50,000 in donations.

The recipient of the first Robert D. Penner Scholarship is Abbigale Brown, who will receive $3,250. Brown, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, is majoring in elementary education.


Since 1973, the Fund has been providing scholarships to students associated with the trucking industry. Each scholarship recipient must be a student in good standing attending a four-year college or university and must be associated with a TCA member company as an employee, independent contractor, or the child, grandchild, or spouse of an employee or independent contractor of a TCA member company.

The Fund awards its scholarships without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, or genetic information.

“Coming off one of the most challenging years for many families, it feels particularly special to award this year’s recipients with the TCA Scholarship Fund awards,” said TCA Scholarship Fund Chairman and Wilson Logistics Founder & CEO Darrel Wilson. “The TCA and I are proud to support these young adults as they continue their education, and we look forward to seeing their successes as they progress through their collegiate careers and beyond.”

The application process for this year was managed by the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC). A selection committee, handpicked by OFIC, scored the applicants, taking into considering the applicant’s GPA, major, extracurricular activities, hours worked, and more.


This year’s scholarship recipients are:

  • Thomas Goble, Central Marketing Transport, NAIT Scholarship – $6,250
  • Rae Ballinger. H.O Wolding, Inc., John Kaburick Scholarship – $4,500
  • Landry Kirsling, H.O. Wolding, Inc., Kai Norris Scholarship – $3,250
  • Mason Jenkins, Doug Andrus Distributing, LLC, Darrel Clark Wilson III Scholarship – $3,250
  • Tristan Schelvan. H.O. Wolding, Inc., Thomas Welby Scholarship – $3,250
  • Austin Wagner, McLeod Software Corporation, Inc., Stoney Reese Stubbs Scholarship – $3,250
  • Kaitlyn Mcphee, Prime Inc., Robert Low Scholarship – $3,250
  • Abbigale Brown, Long Haul Trucking, Robert D. Penner Scholarship – $3,250

The following have been awarded $2,725 for the 2021-22 school year:

  • Adam Mejia — USA Truck Inc.
  • Alexandra Wayne — Brown Trucking Co.
  • Amy Pitzel — Bison Transport
  • Andrea Vidaurre — EFS, a WEX Inc. Company
  • Andrew Goble — Central Marketing Transport, Inc.
  • Anja Ziegler — Hill Brothers Transportation, Inc.
  • Anna Rzepkowski — Bennett Family of Companies
  • Anthony Ciraulo — Werner Enterprises, Inc.
  • Aubree Boyd — Daseke – Boyd Bros. Transportation, Inc.
  • Brittany Woods — Christenson Transportation, Inc.
  • Brittlee Broom — KLLM Transport Services
  • Brooke Robinson — Bay & Bay
  • Casey Russell — JLE Industries
  • Courtney Street — Wilson Logistics
  • Elizabeth Wilhelm — Hirschbach Motor Lines
  • Emily Dudaitis — E and V Services, Inc.
  • Emily Gomez — John Christner Trucking, Inc.
  • Erik Zaporozhets — Bison Transport
  • Ethan Neil — Werner Enterprises, Inc.
  • Freddy Brown — Wilson Logistics
  • Gavin Jeffries — Wabash National Corporation
  • Grace Hensley — Daseke – Lone Star Transportation, LLC
  • Hadley Baerns — Skyline Transportation, Inc.
  • Isabella McDaniel — Buchanan Hauling & Rigging, Inc.
  • Jack Thompson — Cheema Freightlines, LLC
  • Jared Anderson — deBoer Transportation, Inc.
  • Jeb Lucas — Werner Enterprises, Inc.
  • Jocelyn Calderon — Whiteline Express, Ltd.
  • Joseph Aiello — Abenaqui Carriers
  • Joshua Short — Cargo Transporters, Inc.
  • Kaylee Peiffer — Dickey Transport
  • Kelsey McGaughey — PGT Trucking, Inc.
  • Kenna Holtzen — Fremont Contract Carriers, Inc.
  • Keylan Newton — Covenant Transport Services
  • Lucas Leiter — Styer Transportation Company
  • Mallory Beamer — Dutch Maid Logistics
  • Martina Tolhurst — Bison Transport
  • Mason Ringger — Nussbaum Transportation Services, Inc.
  • Megan Rogers — Don Hummer Trucking Corp.
  • Morgan Tracy — Acrisure LLC, HNI Risk Services
  • Nathan Gariepy — Load One, LLC
  • Olivia Thompson — Cheema Freightlines, LLC
  • Rajpreet Gill — Bison Transport
  • Robert Tolhurst — Bison Transport
  • Ryan Nicelley — Keller Logistics, LLC
  • Timothy Gilleo — Boyle Transportation
  • Varun Sivakumar — Werner Enterprises
  • Venkatesh Mahadevan — Bison Transport
  • Victoria Freeman — U.S. Xpress Inc.

To learn more about the TCA Scholarship Fund, or for information on how you can donate to the Past Chairmen’s Fund, visit www.truckload.org/scholarships.

Brian Straight

Brian Straight leads FreightWaves' Modern Shipper brand as Managing Editor. A journalism graduate of the University of Rhode Island, he has covered everything from a presidential election, to professional sports and Little League baseball, and for more than 10 years has covered trucking and logistics. Before joining FreightWaves, he was previously responsible for the editorial quality and production of Fleet Owner magazine and fleetowner.com. Brian lives in Connecticut with his wife and two kids and spends his time coaching his son’s baseball team, golfing with his daughter, and pursuing his never-ending quest to become a professional bowler. You can reach him at [email protected].