In his 51st year in the industry, Neville ‘Yogi‘ Chambers will turn 71 in April, and loves driving trucks as much today as he did when he started driving just over half a century ago.

Best known for the W924 and T600 Kenworths he owned and drove for Thames Timber Ltd, his current ride is a Kenworth T408 he drives for Trevor Masters Ltd, still doing a full day carting logs out of the rugged Coromandel.

But Yogi‘s nomination came for a reason that applies to so many drivers of his generation. Men who were willing to give back to the industry as they were earning a living from it. At least six people in the local area, drivers, owner-drivers, and various others working in and around the industry, owe much of their training and grounding to Yogi‘s willingness to let them ride shot-gun and learn the necessary skills, if they werewilling to listen.

Yogi‘s ability to demonstrate all the great things the industry has to offer through his affable, good humoured, hard-working approach, is something the industry needs now more than ever.

Know a truckie who‘s done a good deed or just helped you or someone else out? Could be anything from saving a plover and her chicks to helping you cover a load of dry timber when the wind‘s howling and the rain‘s threatening. Send details into us at New Zealand Trucking magazine with a photo of your nominee if you can get one, and we‘ll see what we can do!