ABF driver honored as one of Ohio's 12 best truck drivers

For nearly 35 years, city truck driver Edwin Jarzenski has gone by the name, "Rosey."

"It was short for Roosevelt," he explained. "A bunch of us [truck drivers] just had strange nicknames. Mine stuck."

May 16 will mark the 35 years Jarzenski has spent behind the wheel of a city delivery truck, averaging 80 miles each day on his route from Kent through Cuyahoga Falls, Stow and Peninsula.

In that time, he has put 1.67 million miles behind him and accumulated nearly 30,000 accident-free hours driving a delivery truck for ABF Freight System in Kent, according to David Bartosic, communications director for the Ohio Truck Driving Association.

Jarzenski recently was named one of the 12 Best Truck Drivers in Ohio by the OTA, receiving his award May 2 in Columbus. Sixty-two individuals were nominated for the honor.

Other awards -- 20 in total -- also have poured in since 1985 as a result of his participation in state and national truck driving competitions.

"They used to call it a rodeo," said the soft-spoken truck driver. "Once you get going to the competition, you start to see the same faces and people, year after year. If you win in your state, you get to go to the nationals and compete against all the other state champions."

Over the years, Jarzenski has kept a photo of all the trophies, plaques and awards he has won, deciding not to keep many of the awards.

"But, there's the grand-daddy of them all," he said, pointing to a nearly 2-foot trophy resting on the fireplace mantel in his home. "I'm not parting with that one."

"That one" is the first-place National Truck Driving Championship Award, which Jarzenski won in 1995. He placed second nationally in 2005 and third in 2001.

"They have an obstacle course set up with six problems," said Jarzenski of the National Championship. "You have to maneuver the truck through those obstacles as best you can. Then, they have a written part of the test you have to take and tractor-trailors set up that have defects on them. You have to walk around, saying, 'This is a problem. This is a defect. This could cause a breakdown later in the day.' They judge you on all of that."

Jarzenski said he is not sure about his future plans.

"I could retire in August," he said. "I'll have the age and years. But, I enjoy going to work so much that I'd like to just keep driving. I might be a borderline workaholic."

Randy Meek, regional safety and security manager for ABF, nominated Jarzenski for the 12 Best Truck Drivers award.

"I've known him almost eight years," said Meek. "He is just a true gentleman. His poise, his demeanor -- he's courteous to everyone."

Meek said Jarzenski's driving record and state and national competition successes also stand out.

"I think it's remarkable for somebody to do that much and go that far," said Meek. "Rosey approaches his job every day with the mindset to do his best -- and he does."