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04 September 2024
By Bronwyn Hastings
Dimboola’s Caleb Baldock is Livestock and Rural Transport Association of Victoria’s young driver of the year.
Mr Baldock was presented the accolade at the association’s annual conference last month.
Progressing from farm work, Mr Baldock is now employed by Mibus Transport Dimboola, where he transports livestock and oversize machinery.
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“I started doing local stuff on a farm, then the first commercial job I had was with Hendy’s in St Arnaud,” he said.
“I then went into B-doubles, before going into stock crates with Mibus’ three years ago, and it branched out from there.”
Meeting the required age of under-35 for the award, Mr Baldock, 29, juggles work with a young family – he often stays away from home during the week.
“The biggest challenge of the job is being away from home and my family – I have a two-year-old daughter, Harriet, and another baby on the way,” he said.
“It’s hard – it’s probably harder on my wife, Ellie, but we manage and I help out where I can when I’m home.
“It’s nice to come home and spend time with them, it makes the sacrifice worth it.”
Mr Baldock said he enjoys all aspects of his job, although there are challenges.
“I love the job, the whole lot is rewarding – you can see a lot of the country,” he said.
“But it can be a challenging environment to work in, it’s not just you on the road, there are other road users, and keeping up with compliance can be tricky.
“I do a lot of our compliance work too now, such as getting oversize permits.”
Mr Baldock’s employer Daniel Mibus said he was ‘very excited’ that one of his employees won the award.
“It does make me feel good because I know that one of my young blokes is worthy of the award – I’m thrilled, but I think it’s still sinking in for Caleb,” he said.
“I’m proud to have one of my drivers representing Mibus Transport and the Wimmera in the awards.”
Award nominees must have experience and skills in a range of driving, as well as ‘clean’ insurance and police records’.
“When LRTAV puts out awards like this, it’s getting something back from the industry, giving back to you for your hard work and your good work,” Mr Mibus said.
The entire September 4, 2024 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
