Indiana Mixer Driver Becomes First Two-Time Winner of NRMCA Contest

Mixer truck driver Trent Slavens of Frankfort, IN, became the first two-time champion of the NRMCA National Mixer Driver Championship when he earned top honors earlier this month at NRMCA's ConcreteWorks Conference & Expo in National Harbor, MD. Slavens of NRMCA producer member Irving Materials Inc. (IMI) earned the champion’s check of $2,500. He has been driving a ready mixed concrete truck for IMI for 10 years, is an NRMCA Certified Concrete Delivery Professional and currently drives a Terex Advance front discharge mixer truck. Slavens won his first NRMCA national title in 2010; is also a past winner of the Indiana Ready Mixed Concrete Association Championship and finished third twice in NRMCA’s contest.

 

Now in its seventh year, this year’s national contest "was an extremely close competition," according to NRMCA’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Compliance Gary Mullings. Twenty-eight drivers, including state rodeo champions as well as NRMCA member company champions from around the nation, competed to be the "Best of the Best". The champion was selected based on a cumulative score derived from competitions that included a driving challenge course, visual vehicle inspection, reaction-time-test, slump estimation and 2-hour written examination. Awards were presented for the top three finishers, with all other drivers tied for fourth. 

Second place and a check for $1,000 went to Chris Harrison of Morrilton, AR. He has been driving a mixer truck for more than 10 years, the past three for Mobley Construction Company Inc. He currently drives a Kenworth, four axle truck with a McNeilus rear discharge mixer. Harrison is an NRMCA Certified Concrete Delivery Professional and was also the runner up in the 2012 Arkansas Ready Mixed Concrete Association Rodeo. Third place and a check for $500 went to John Tesi of Ferrara Bros. Building Materials Corp., in New York City. He has been with Ferrara Bros. for 20 years and is currently driving a Kenworth four axle truck with McNeilus rear discharge mixer. Tesi is an NRMCA Certified Delivery Professional and is the reigning Ferrara Bros. Corporate Rodeo Champion.