Politics & Government
Clearwater Solid Waste Driver Takes 3rd Place In Driving Competition
Clearwater solid waste drivers compete in international competition in Denver, Colorado.
CLEARWATER, FL — The city of Clearwater's solid waste team competed Saturday, Oct. 14, in the Solid Waste Association of North America, or SWANA, international ROAD-E-O competition against other government and private collection workers.
This year's competition was held in Denver, Colorado, andgave professional solid waste drivers an opportunity to show off their large truck-driving skills and compete against some of the best solid waste drivers, operators and mechanics in the business.
Clearwater solid waste equipment operator Joe Marshall finished in third place in the tractor-trailer category. Also competing were Darius Bryant, John Garakop, Rick Palmer, Arnie Retzer and Javan Thomas.
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"I am very proud of our team," said Kervin St. Aimie, Clearwater's solid waste and recycling director. "These professionals work hard every day, and this competition gave them the opportunity to shine in the spotlight while showing what they do for the Clearwater community."
The competition consists of a written safety test, a vehicle inspection and an obstacle course.
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For the obstacle course portion, drivers must perform an off-set driving maneuver, a right-hand turn through cones, parallel park their truck, back into an alley dock, drive through a serpentine course forward and backward, put their passenger side tires through two rows of tennis balls set 30 inches apart (rear tandem tires are 24 inches), and finish on a stop line as close as possible without going over.
The solid waste department has competed in SWANA's Road-E-O competition consistently since the 1980s and has earned "Top Gun" status at the state and international levels multiple times.
Mark Beery won both the Florida state and went on to win the International "Top Gun" award in both 2007 and 2009, and John Garakop and James Deluca (now with Clearwater public utilities) won the award at the state level in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
SWANA Florida paid for competitors' airfare to Denver and hotel accommodations.
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