Southland International’s Drew Linn receives Webb Award
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 / Alabama Trucking Association
Southland International Trucks President & CEO Drew Linn was awarded the Alabama Trucking Association’s H. Chester Webb Award during the group’s 71st Annual Convention & Meeting held in Destin, Fla.
Linn, a former ATA Chairman, accepted the award from the 2008 Webb Award winner Harold Sorrells, President of MSJ Trucking, Inc. in Opp.
Linn began his professional career in truck sales and management working for International Harvester Company, which later became Navistar, Inc. With a desire to build his own business, he left the company to become an International dealer in 1977, when he acquired his first franchise in Tuscaloosa.
By the late 1980s, Linn had added branches in Birmingham and Montgomery, and incorporated his business under the name, Southland International Trucks, Inc. Today, his dealership is recognized as one of the top International dealers in the country. In fact, earlier this year, International named Southland its 2008 worldwide dealer of the year. In 1997, he was named Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s Businessperson of the Year.
Despite his commitment to his dealership, Linn is deeply involved in his community, serving on the Board of Directors of West Alabama Bank & Trust, Shelton State Foundation and West Alabama Regional Commission. In 2006, he was appointed by the Alabama Gov. Bob Riley to serve on the Commission for Higher Education. He is also a member of his local chamber of commerce and serves as a leader in a variety of industry professional associations.
Linn served as ATA Chairman of the Board of Directors in fiscal 2002-’03 — a crucial era during which Linn spearheaded the fundraising efforts of this Association to elect Gov. Riley, a former trucker turned state politician and business leader. But according to ATA President and CEO Frank Filgo, Linn was most instrumental in translating his dedication to customer service to improved services for ATA members. “His loyalty to this Association is unmistakable, and he understands what it means to give back to the companies that support his business and to the community in which he lives,” Filgo said.
The H. Chester Webb Award is the Alabama Trucking Association’s highest honor for an individual member. The award recognizes a recipient for his or her commitment to the trucking industry, community in which they live, and service to ATA.
Past recipients, along with MSJ’s Sorrells include, Jack Fricks, B&G Supply Co., Albertville; James Suttles, formerly of Dana-Suttles Truck Leasing, Demopolis; Ronnie Stephenson, Southland International Truck & Engine, Birmingham; Barry McGriff, McGriff Transportation, Inc., Cullman; Ken Adams, Southern Cal Transport, Birmingham; Bruce MacDonald, Carrier Transicold South, Birmingham; Hubert Rogers, Golden Flake Snack Foods, Pelham, Ala.; and Bill Watson, B.R. Williams Trucking, Oxford, Ala.