TA-Petro created the Citizen Driver program in 2013 to honor the unsung heroes of our nation’s highways. This program allows us to recognize the remarkable drivers who demonstrate values of citizenship, community involvement, health and wellness, leadership and safety, on and off the road. To date, 31 professional drivers have been recognized as Citizen Driver honorees and 28 TA or Petro Stopping Centers have been renamed in their honor.
After earning nearly 2 million accident-free miles, 11 top 10 National Truck Driving Championship finishes and the title of one of America’s Road Team Captains, Roland Bolduc defines what it means to be a Citizen Driver.
Bolduc celebrates an incredible history in the trucking industry with almost four decades under his belt. Just before he was born, Roland’s father purchased Kay’s trucking company, and Roland grew up spending his summers washing trucks and learning how to drive a tractor-trailer.
After graduating high school, he worked for his family’s business before moving onto a foodservice company, where he refined his driving skills by navigating a complicated route to Manhattan, the Bronx and Harlem. In 1993, Roland landed a position at FedEx, where he has worked ever since.
Roland’s passion for safe driving has given him the opportunity to compete in over 70 truck driving competitions, starting in Connecticut in 1996. After 47 Championships including 14 State Championships, five State Grand Championships, 11 top 10 finishes in the National Truck Driving Championships, three National titles and one National Grand Champion title, he’s still going strong.
Roland is not only proud of his driving competition success, but he happily shares the knowledge he’s learned over the years in order to help other drivers improve their own skills. In 2000, Roland became a FedEx Ramp Transport Administrator (CDL trainer), and his ability to lead his students is evident through their 100 percent pass rate.
Later that year, Roland was named one of the American Trucking Association’s (ATA) America’s Road Team Captains. America’s Road Team is a national public outreach program led by a group of professional drivers who share superior driving skills, remarkable safety records and a strong desire to spread the word about safety on the highway.
When Roland isn’t on the road or winning truck driving championships, he is giving back to his community and using his love for trucking as a means to do so. He has been competing in and donating to the annual Northeast Professional Truck Drivers Charity Challenge to benefit the St. Jude Children’s Hospital since it started in 1997. This event has raised over $600,000 to date, and Roland has earned first place in it 14 times.
Roland joined a truck convoy in 2000 to benefit the Connecticut Make-A-Wish Foundation. The result, Wishes on Wheels, had an inaugural run of 185 trucks and raised just over $12,000 for the Foundation. This organization is now the largest trucking and transportation event in the Northeast, with a current annual attendance of over 600 trucks and well over $1 million in donations.
No matter what kind of work Roland dives into, his diligence and drive tend to propel him to the top. He previously served on the Massachusetts Truck Driving Championships committee for 10 years and is currently a member of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut. He also received the Massachusetts Motor Transport Association’s Driver of the Year Award in 2013, and two years later he was the first to receive the Massachusetts Master Truck Driver Certification.
He is also the Chairman of the Connecticut Truck Driving Championships and has been an announcer at the Truck Driving Championships, as well as the Stafford Spring Speedway in Stafford Springs, Connecticut.
Roland Bolduc’s passion for the trucking industry is apparent through his astounding history of awards, honors and involvement in various organizations that give back to the trucking community. His humility, strong work ethic and desire to succeed are admirable and exemplify what it means to be a Citizen Driver.
Do you know someone who represents the values of citizenship, community involvement, health and wellness, leadership and safety on and off the road? You can nominate them for next year’s group of Citizen Drivers! We will begin accepting nominations for the 2019 Citizen Driver honorees on June 1.