The FINANCIAL -- A young Navy vet who joined UPS in 1960 has just become the first driver in the company's history to pass the 50-year mark for safe driving as a member of UPS's "Circle of Honor" , according to UPS.

Ron "Big Dog" Sowder began his UPS career 50 years ago as a package car driver, delivering to businesses and private residences. In 1976, he shifted to driving tractor-trailers on the open road and has served as a UPS feeder driver ever since. Currently, Sowder transports packages five days a week, making a 306-mile round trip between the distribution center here and the UPS Worldport global air hub in Louisville, Ky.

Whether driving package cars or tractor trailers, the one constant with Sowder has been safety. More than 5,200 active UPS drivers currently are members of the "Circle of Honor" - meaning they've gone at least 25 years without an accident - but until yesterday, no driver in the company's history had ever hit the 50-year mark.

A native of Springboro, Ohio, Sowder figures during the course of his career he's driven more than 4 million miles; transported more than 35 million packages, and climbed into a UPS truck more than 12,000 times.

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