TCA Presents Highest Honor Posthumously to John Kaburick, President and Owner of Earl L. Henderson Trucking Co.
Kissimmee, Florida:
Earlier today, during its convention at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Florida, the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) posthumously named John Kaburick as the 2015 recipient of its prestigious Past Chairmen’s Award. Kaburick was a former TCA chairman from 2010-11 and the president and owner of Earl L. Henderson Trucking Co., of Salem, Illinois.
John’s wife Carolyn, and son Josh, TCA’s Scholarship Fund chairman and the chief executive officer at Earl L. Henderson Trucking Company, accepted the award on John’s behalf.
The Past Chairmen’s award is the highest honor given by TCA. It goes to a leader who has made a significant contribution to the business community, the trucking industry, and the organization. Contrary to the title of the award, the awardee does NOT have to be a past chairman of the association.
John started his trucking career as an owner operator with just one truck in 1973. Two years later, he and a partner launched a small trucking company that quickly grew to a fleet of 30 trucks. In 1977, he decided to leave the trucking company to work as a salesman for a local truck dealership. This position helped build an extensive network of friends and contacts within the industry. It was 1990 when a long-time customer made John an offer he could not refuse – ownership of Earl L. Henderson Trucking. Since then, under John’s leadership, the company has grown from 125 power units to 400.
After acquiring Henderson, which was already a TCA member, Kaburick became active in the association through a variety of committees and eventually became an officer of the Refrigerated Division and later the chairman of the Association. While John’s role in TCA had grown steadily over the years, he had also been actively involved in the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the Illinois Transportation Association.
After John’s unexpected death in April, 2014, his many trucking industry friends and colleagues wanted a permanent way to honor his memory. Within just a few days, funds were collected to fully endow a new Past Chairman John Kaburick Scholarship, to be given annually to a student affiliated with the truckload industry.
“John was truly an icon within the trucking family,” said Brad Bentley, TCA’s president. “On both the state and national levels, he was fully committed to the industry that he loved so much. He generously gave his time, his effort, and his money. I only wish we could present this award to him in person.”