Truckload Carriers Association Past Chairman’s Award Presented to Don Orr of Central Refrigerated Service and Posthumously to C.J. “Mac” McCormick III of Bestway Express

Las Vegas, NV:

Don Orr of Central Refrigerated Service and posthumously C. J. “Mac” McCormick of Bestway Express were presented the prestigious Past Chairman’s Award during today’s general session at the Truckload Carriers Association’s (TCA’S) Annual Convention at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Past Chairman’s award is given to recognized industry leaders who make a significant contribution to the business community, the industry, and the Truckload Carriers Association. The Past Chairman’s Award is the highest award of recognition given by the Association.

Don Orr was the Chairman of Truckload Carrier Association from 1996 to 1997 and he currently serves as the Chairman of the TCA Scholarship Fund. His involvement in the trucking industry has been life-long. As a teenager, Orr spent his summers hand loading trucks for Lever Brothers, the same company that employed his father as a traffic manager. When Orr was only nineteen, he drove trucks for Lever Brothers on the east coast, presumably illegally.

Upon graduation from Temple University in 1971 with a degree in business administration, Orr served in the Army Reserves for six years. In 1972, he married his childhood sweetheart, Christine. Don and Christine have been married for 35 years and have three children, Jacqueline, a graphic artist, Camilla, a publicist, and Alex, who follows his father’s footsteps in the trucking industry as a dispatcher for Systems Transport.

In 1972, the newlyweds moved to Lafayette, Indiana to work with Tom Schilli of Schilli Motor Lines where he was employed for twelve years. In 1985, Orr began work for Roberson Transportation in Farmer City, Illinois, serving in several managerial positions, including President and CEO. In the fourteen years that Orr spent with this company, he became widely respected in the industry and remains so today.

After spending time working at Smithway Motor Xpress as executive vice president and COO and at Comcar industries as senior vice president, Orr signed on as president of Moyes Enterprises, a company that is involved with a variety of endeavors, including a specialty motor company, an aviation services business, an air transportation carrier, an Indian casino company, a restaurant chain, a magazine and several real estate development projects. When Jerry Moyes, founder of Moyes Enterprises, decided to take Central Freight Lines private again, it was natural for him to turn to Orr for assistance.

Orr’s talents have not been limited to trucking companies. As Chairman at TCA, Orr lobbied to increase the meal deduction for truck drivers, worked to help members take advantage of emerging technologies such as PrePass, and oversaw the Professional Truck Driver Institute. In addition to his chairmanship at TCA, he has served as chairman of the Illinois Trucking Association twice.

The posthumous Past Chairman, C.J. “Mac” McCormick III, came from a family with a background in trucking. His father, James McCormick, entered the trucking business in 1954 when he bought Indianapolis & Southern Motor Express. McCormick never planned to go into trucking, but decided to operate his family’s truck dealership for a year after graduating from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. McCormick found himself working in all aspects of the business, including dispatch, sales, fuel tax reporting, and even driving. After observing that “it seems to be easier to get into things than to get out of them”, McCormick decided to stay in the trucking business.

McCormick rose to become the chief executive officer of Bestway Express, the flagship company in the McCormick family chain of enterprises, as well as the Chairman of American Trucking Association. In addition, McCormick served as Chairman of Truckload Carriers Association from 1998 to 1999.

An avid fan of “everything with an engine”, McCormick died while flying a plane. However, trucking remains a part of the McCormick family today. Two of McCormick’s three sons work at Bestway to carry the company forward.