By Jess Nicholas

Want to recognize a trucker for service above and beyond the call of duty? Goodyear says nominations for the 19th annual Highway Heroes awards program must be submitted by Oct. 15.“The Highway Hero program was created by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. to recognize professional truck drivers and the life-saving rescues and roadside assistance they provide as their jobs take them across North America,” said Rick Howell, Goodyear’s director for commercial systems. “Through this program, we’ve heard hundreds of stories of bravery and selflessness. We believe that the public should hear about these acts of heroism as well.”Nominees must be full-time truck drivers living in either the United States or Canada. The incident must have occurred in the United States or Canada, and the nominee must have been either on the job or on the way to or from work, in his or her rig, at the time of the incident. The nominee’s truck must have 14 wheels or more, and the incident must have occurred between Oct. 1, 2000, and Sept. 30, 2001.Nominations can be made by calling the Goodyear Highway Hero Hotline at (800) 627-2188 weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. After the nomination period is closed, winners will be selected from each state in the United States and each Canadian province. The list will be pared down to four finalists, and the finalists will appear at the Mid-American Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., where one of them will be selected to serve as the annual ambassador for the program.