Kristy Knichel, president of Knichel Logistics, Gibsonia, Pa., was presented the inaugural Distinguished Woman in Logistics award yesterday at the Transportation Intermediaries Association's (TIA) annual conference in Orlando.

Knichel was honored by the Women in Trucking Association (WIT), which created the award to promote the achievements of women in the field. She received the award from Monica Truelsch, director of marketing for TMW Systems Inc., a Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based logistics software provider that sponsored the WIT award program.

Knichel is a second-generation logistics executive who began her career in 1997 as an intermodal dispatcher. Since becoming Knichel's president in 2007, she has helped guide the company from $2 million to nearly $50 million in annual revenue. With nearly 50 employees, the company has been ranked for four straight years on the Inc. 500 list of North America's fastest-growing privately owned businesses.

Knichel's influence is felt well beyond the workplace, TMW said in a statement. She is involved in a women's mentoring program in Pittsburgh and participates in numerous charities throughout western Pennsylvania. In 2014, she received the Pittsburgh Business Times' Business Women First award, presented to the region's most influential female business leader among both for-profit and nonprofit companies.

"Under Kristy's leadership, Knichel Logistics has focused on delivering superior service and value and has reaped the benefits of that dedication in the form of a larger and more diverse base of clients," Truelsch said in the statement. "By all accounts, she's also a great boss and co-worker who values the vital contributions of every member of her team."

The other award finalists were Faith Garcia-Ross, vice president, consumer services and Latin American operations, Menlo Logistics LLC; and Jean Regan, president and CEO, TranzAct Technologies Inc.

To learn more about the award and related events, please visit www.womenintrucking.org.