Steve Dyer, an owner-operator leased to Mercer Transportation, has been named the December 2010 Truck Buddy of the Month, the educational outreach Trucker Buddy International announced.

Dyer is honored for volunteering at Carr Creek Elementary in Hindman, Ky., where he visited with students in discussions about his job and his travels. He also sent pictures and e-mails from all over the nation, helping to make geography more hands-on for the students.

Dwight Creech, principal of Carr Creek Elementary, said that Dyer has been a good role model for the students. “He is a hero to our students and has given of himself and his time freely,” Creech said. “I cannot imagine what else he could do to make the Trucker Buddy Program more beneficial.”

Trucker Buddy is a nonprofit group started in 1992 to inform students about the trucking industry and to encourage their academic achievement.