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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
 
Customer Service Sets PacLease Driver of the Year Apart

KANSAS CITY, Mo., October 13, 2006 –To Don Gullett driving a truck is more than simply steering his vehicle down the road safely and making the next delivery. The driver for Galvmet Inc. approaches his work as he lives his life, a friend to all he meets.

“Don is an outstanding role model and a leader to our other drivers and our employees,” says Ken Moore, president and chief operating officer of Galvmet, a Kansas City, Mo.-based processor and distributor of galvanized steel and sheet metal. “He’s much more than a driver – he’s a sales person and ambassador to our customers. When our customers know he’s going on vacation, they will buy in advance just so he can deliver to them.”

To reward that kind of service and 3 million miles of accident-free driving over the past 25 years, PacLease has named Gullett 2006 Driver of the Year. He received the award recently in Bellevue, Wash., where PacLease hosted Gullet and his wife Delores for a dinner in his honor.   That same day, Gullet went to Kenworth’s Renton plant to see a new 2007 Kenworth T800 coming off the line.  The truck will join four other Kenworths leased by Galvmet and feature signage on the door recognizing Gullet as PacLease’s driver of the year.   

“I’m astonished to get this award,” he says. “It’s tremendous that God gave me the ability to drive this many miles safely. All my customers have come out and congratulated me with cookies and cakes. I’ve probably put on 5 pounds.”

Gullett’s version of customer service takes many forms. “I know my customers by name and their families,” Gullett says. “I send them get-well cards when someone’s sick. It’s just something I’ve done all of my life.”

His commitment to helping others extends to his after-hours life. He and his wife, Delores, have taught Sunday school and participated in gift-giving projects for children in foreign countries. They are frequently in the middle of fund-raising for groups such as their hometown Little League in Lawrence, Kan.

At Galvmet, Gullett is called on to go on test drives with prospective drivers to evaluate their performance and knowledge. He’s also the designated company “trainer,” who accompanies new drivers on two-day runs to introduce them to products and the company’s brand of customer service.

Gullett received Galvmet’s “attitude” award for outstanding customer service and has won the company’s driver of the year award all three years it’s been given. He’s driven more than one million accident-free miles since joining Galvmet nine years ago.

Gullett credits his T800 and the service support from MHC PacLease in Kansas City, the PacLease franchise that leases trucks to Galvmet, for making his job easier. “To be successful, you need good equipment, and you need to be alert and love what you do,” Gullett says. “This is probably the best truck I’ve ever driven.”

“MHC offers one of the best service departments I’ve ever worked with. They’re top-notch and I know my truck will be well-maintained and ready to go on Sunday when I begin my routes,” he says.

Says Todd Harrington of MHC PacLease, who nominated Gullett for the driver-of-the-year award: “Don is an inspiration. When he’s on the road he’s outstanding as a truck driver. And when he gets to his customers, he shifts to customer service and is devoted to their needs.  When Don brings his T800 in for service it is always clean and neat.”