For 27 years Shequin has been in the refuse business – most of those with Walters Recycling and Refuse in Blaine, a company he enjoys working for.
“It’s nice,” Shequin said. “It’s a small family company. You avoid a lot of the big corporate politics.”
Walters is ecstatic that Shequin is part of their team. Recently he was named the National Waste & Recycling Association Driver of the Year in the Local Company Category – an honor that recognizes top employees in the industry.
“Definitely deserving,” said Kay Roberson, Walters’ Senior Operations Manager. “Very deserving.”
Roberson has glowing praise for Shequin.
“I’m very happy he got chosen for this award,” Roberson said. “He deserves it. He will represent us very well and I’m just glad that Walters is being recognized and there is no better person to do so.”
Consummate team player
Shequin is very focused when driving around the Twin Cities doing his job. He’s a key cog in the recycling process as he maneuvers his truck into position every day to pick up bins full of reusable items.
Safety is paramount because these monster trucks are like tanks and can weigh anywhere from 37 to 60,000 pounds.
“People are in a hurry,” Shequin said. “They’ll drive behind you. You’re backing out onto busy roads where you have zero visibility, backing out blind into traffic. You have to be very hyper-vigilant in your surroundings and what’s going on around you.”
Shequin is the consummate team player. According to Roberson he excels behind the wheel and uplifts his co-workers.
“Adam helped me to learn waste,” Roberson said. “My expertise is petroleum hazmat trucking. So he’s been a big help to myself as well as new team members.”
One of the payoffs for receiving this honor is that Shequin and his wife get a paid trip to Washington DC for the national awards ceremony on June 10th.
Said Shequin: “One thing for sure I want to do is see the Smithsonian.”
For Shequin it hasn’t sunk in yet that he’s going to DC.
“Not really,” Shequin said. “It’s kind of shocking because they’re so many great drivers in the country. To win it’s hard to comprehend that.”
Shequin used to be in the Marine Corp but his job in aircraft maintenance got outsourced, so he left and joined Walters when a neighbor tipped him off about the company.
