COEUR d'ALENE - There have been times Waste Management truck driver Tim Austin has been tempted to call in sick.

He hasn't.

Not in 19 years.

A combination of luck, health, love of work and the burden of responsibility has kept Austin in the driver's cab Monday through Friday for two decades.

Close calls, sure, but no excuses.

"There have been some times I thought I would," Austin said.

Like driving back from weekend softball tournaments in Seattle just in time to start the 3 a.m. shift.

Austin, a former left fielder at Lewis-Clark State College, played on some good slow pitch teams that traveled to bigger cities for competition.

As the team advanced deep into Sunday, Austin would race back with the trophy just in time to start the work week.

"He's our Cal Ripken Jr." said Steve Roberge, Waste Management director, keeping with the baseball theme. "I've always thought of him like that."

The former Baltimore Oriole shortstop played 2,632 straight baseball games over 16 years.

"We both got a chuckle," Austin said when he and Roberge were trying to remember if he had bailed on work. "I've never been a guy to really get sick. I'm very fortunate, I guess."

That dedication and baseball-like streak is why Austin was recently named Regional Waste Management Driver of the Year for the western region.

Of all the recycling, rural, residential and commercial waste drivers in California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Alaska, Arizona and British Columbia, Canada, Austin was chosen.

He'll travel to Houston in April as one of four Waste Management drivers who could be selected for the national honor.

"I'm getting excited," he said.

Baseball helped his resume, as well. The company looks for community involvement when selecting its regional winners and Austin has spent years coaching youth teams.

"I wanted to help the kids out," he said.

He gets a lot of satisfaction from going to work every day, he said, even if it means waking up at 3 a.m. to start the early routes. Part of the reason he never felt inclined to call in - even when feeling a little under the weather - is because by the time anyone else is up to cover his shift, they would already be several hours behind.

"I just come here and do my job," he said. "And I help out when I can."