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The only things more fascinating than the technology coming into the trucking arena these days are the opinions about such technology within the transportation industry. Some people are eager to see new developments in vehicles, while others argue just as enthusiastically against such change, preferring to keep things “the way they’ve always been.” It would seem that about all these groups share — besides a willingness to share their opinions — is that most are starving for reliable information about new technology entering the industry, from trucks to singular components, and how to spec them correctly to perform best according to their needs. That’s where Joel Morrow comes in. In addition to being a professional truck driver with more than 5 million miles under his belt, he’s the CEO of Alpha Drivers Testing & Consulting Like everyone else, Morrow has opinions on the subject of new tech, but his commentary is different. As a longtime tester and consultant to manufacturers, he’s well-versed on the history of trucks, and he’s an expert about where truck technology is headed. Put quite simply, when Joel Morrow talks about the subject, people listen. “I’ve been around transportation my entire life,” he said. “I grew up in northern Ohio, right smack between Cleveland and Toledo, by Turnpike Route 20. My grandfather was a long-haul driver for Norwalk Truck Lines, which at one point was the biggest trucking company in the United States. So, I’ve been around trucks forever.” Morrow followed the usual path of many kids in trucking families, as his father’s recycling business gave him almost unfettered access to things with four wheels. “I started driving trucks around the lot at probably eight, nine years old,” he said. “I was hooking up trailers and backing stuff around 10, 11. When I got my driver’s license, I took a 1-ton Chevy truck and we put a homemade garbage dump on it. I made a little trailer, and I was working with some of the local businesses at 16 hauling garbage to the local landfill. From 16 to 18, until I graduated, I was running the wheels off that truck.” It wasn’t long after that Morrow started driving over the road as his father’s recycling company shifted into trucking and transportation. But he and one of his brothers chafed under the slow pace of change in the family business. “Me and my younger brother Jerry used technology, understood it and embraced it,” Morrow said. “We made a split from my dad and older brothers, and (Jerry) opened up what is now Ploger Transportation. They’re a very well-respected 100-truck fleet that’s out there on the cutting edge in terms of fuel efficiency.” Morrow speaks of his brother and their company with pride, but admits the more mundane parts of running a trucking company that size simply wasn’t for him. While involved with the company, however, he made some very good connections with Volvo, Dana Corp. and other equipment manufacturers — and that led to his forming Alpha Drivers Testing & Consulting a few years ago. There, Morrow has hit his stride as one of the most sought-after consultants of his kind. “I get pre-production items to test. Some of the stuff I talk about on social media, some of it I don’t — just depends what we’re working on and how soon it’s going to be available to the public,” he said. “I provide very high-level feedback to Volvo’s advanced engineering. I kind of speak ‘engineering language’ to a certain degree. They take my feedback and we’re comfortable with each other. “Same thing with Dana Corp. on their components,” he continued. “I’ve developed an excellent relationship with them over the years. They will do retrofits on my truck, if need be, to get product into the real world and provide feedback. I also work very closely with the people at BASF and their new supe- low-viscosity lubricants in axles and transmissions that significantly help improve fuel efficiency.” Morrow’s client list may include some of the largest and most well-known manufacturers in the business, but the focus of his work hasn’t wavered since Day 1: He says he always frames his assessment with the individual trucker or operator in mind. “You can bury yourself very quickly if you don’t get the spec of your truck right, especially nowadays,” he said. “Having the correct spec on a truck really impacts how well the system is going to perform, how trouble-free it’s going to be. If you get that wrong, it’s nothing but problems — and we all know a trip to a dealer for an emissions system issue can be $30,000 in the blink of an eye. Getting the spec of the truck right goes a long, long way toward improving that situation and reducing that risk and liability. “I have toyed with the idea of opening up a service to the individual small fleet owner-operator to help them spec trucks, especially down-spec powertrains because that seems very confusing to a lot of people,” he added. “My problem is, I’m so busy it’s very difficult.” One of the big things that’s occupied Morrow’s time of late has been Purple Haze, a Volvo VNL that has been equipped with Volvo’s I-Torque powertrain. He says it provides the perfect balance of power and efficiency. In February, he debuted the custom rig via a YouTube series, where he took the truck through its paces on the test track. He then hit the open road to meet other drivers and capture their reactions to the brawny-yet-nimble rig. “Purple Haze is the culmination of 30 years of spec’ing trucks,” he said. “It’s a 6×2 configured truck, which is somewhat unusual in that it got a bad name over the years because the OEMs did such a poor job when they decided to put 6x2s together. They just said, ‘Well, let’s just drop a driveshaft out of there and run it down the road.’ It doesn’t work that way, and that’s why it failed spectacularly here in North America.” Because of this, Purple Haze has been through a bit of tinkering. “So, I spent a lot of time with European suspensions — put together a very nice non-torque reactive suspension on the drive axle part of it and had some very advanced torque management going on,” Morrow said. “We have some axle capacity up front that’s pretty unique, that isn’t necessary on a 6×4. “As such, I have what I believe is one of the most efficient trucks on the road, without a whole lot of tire wear. (This) will be very hard for a lot of people to believe,” he continued. “I’ve also worked very hard with the guys at Volvo to solve some of the tail steer issues and helped them develop the weight biasing logic from the ground up.” As he talks, Morrow’s voice reflects the excitement he has for both the rig and the road. And even though Purple Haze was fresh from the factory less than six months ago, he’s already chomping at the bit, as they say, to see what the next chapter of truck technology holds. “I love all the new technologies coming into the market,” he said. “I love the fact that there’s going to be electric trucks, that there’s going to be hydrogen electric. It’s exciting to me. I am not one of these guys that says, ‘Oh, it’s a diesel engine or nothing.’ That’s not me. I see the potential for all of these technologies. They will get better and better and I’m all for it.”

Between them, Georgia-based drivers David and Dana Walden have nearly 70 years of trucking experience, a stint that has taught them hundreds of life lessons and given them thousands of stories. Those stories mark important events in their lives — especially the one about the cellphone. In fact, without the cellphone story, many of the others would never have happened. “I had service with AT&T and I had an old Suncom phone,” David said. “I was having trouble with it. I called a friend of mine and I go, ‘Man, this phone of mine sucks. I’m fixin’ to throw it out the window, go get me a megaphone and yell out the window at people.’ He goes, ‘No, no, actually, I know this team couple, and she’s really good with electronics. And they’re close to where you are.’ “So I call them,” David continued. “This guy answers the phone and I go, ‘Hey, my name’s David and my friend told me your girlfriend is really good with electronics.’ He goes, ‘Oh man, she’s fantastic with electronics!’ I go, ‘You don’t know me from nobody, but could she look at my phone?’” That girlfriend turned out to be Dana, an Army veteran who loved trucking as much as David did. Over time, a friendship blossomed until one day Dana, who was now single, made David an offer he couldn’t refuse. “Dana calls me out of the blue one day and goes, ‘Hey, I’m here in Louisiana, fixin’ to go out to California with a load of ice cream. Where you at?’” he said. “I go, ‘Actually, I’m coming through Vicksburg, Mississippi.’ She said, ‘I’ll sit here and wait on you. We’ll go across there together.’ One thing leads to another … and here we are 20 years later.” The couple’s professional story mirrors their personal one in all the ways that are important — a lucky break here, a fortuitous bounce there, and the sheer dogged determination to see things through. David was introduced to trucking by his father, who drove for half a century. While his father is now deceased, his legacy lives on through his son’s love of the industry. “When I was growing up, Dad drove a company truck for one company for like, 30 years,” David said. Dana’s hands-on introduction to trucking didn’t come from a parent. It came from Uncle Sam, through her stint in the U.S. Army. During her hitch, the Iowa native served in Desert Storm and Desert Shield before starting her driving career in the civilian sector. For the past 15 years, she’s driven for Tarkett, based out of Dalton, Georgia, where she has a designated local run. “I got grandfathered in on CDL,” she said. “I never did have to go for that testing. I got home like a week before you had to start; I had one week to get my CDL without testing.” In 2001, David founded Walden Transport. Since then, he has built a successful business through the ups and down of the market and the many challenges that face all entrepreneurs. “When I got my truck in 2001, (Dad) said, ‘You realize you’re making a massive mistake. You always drive for somebody else. That way they’ve got to deal with the problems,’” David said. “I go, ‘Dad, I’ve been driving 14 years. I just want to try.’ “Six months later, he went and bought his own truck,” David continued. “I said, ‘Wait a minute old man. What happened to making a mistake?’ He goes, ‘Well, I’m 62. I might as well make my first mistake in life.’” As much as David enjoys being his own boss, he says that, looking back, he has to admit his father had a point. “That thing Dad put in the back of my head, ‘You’ve got to pay for the repairs,’” he said knowingly. “I had one truck for 10 years, and I put three motors in that truck. First one was $15,000. Next one was $18,000 and the third one was $21,000. “Dealing with repairs is your biggest fear in this business, that and now fuel,” he continued. “Last year, fuel just tore me up. Running to the West Coast or Northwest was costing me $6,000 to $7,000 to go there and back to Georgia. That’s a lot of money.” Dana, who first became captivated with driving as a child after seeing a garbage truck in her neighborhood, said experiencing the freedom of the road is the best thing about her long career. It’s also taught her a lot of life lessons, including one important one concerning team driving with her spouse. “We only drove together for a little bit,” she said with a big laugh. “I would choke him now if I had to ride with him.” David’s latest rig, a 2019 International LoneStar featuring an X15 Cummins engine and Fuller 10-speed transmission, is his pride and joy. “I always had Freightliners. My first was in 2001, my second one was in 2002; got another in 2012 and in 2015,” he said. “I was just ready for something different. I’m not a Peterbilt man at all and Dana goes, ‘Have you seen the [International] LoneStar?’ I go, ‘Yeah, I’ve seen them on the road.’ She goes, ‘It looks like a train.’ I go, ‘To me, it looks like a 1938 Ford in the front end.’” Driving a rig you like, as any driver will tell you, is the key to happiness in your work, especially given the amount of time David spends in his. He estimated he’s averaged 150,000 miles a year going back to his company days, and says he never ran harder than during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We hauled food boxes from Chattanooga all over the country,” he said. “We were running out West, picking up produce, coming right back to Georgia and the Carolinas and Florida. I’d say 2021 — I probably did almost 200,000 miles by myself that year. I was running my butt off.” David has grown older and wiser when it comes to his chosen profession. He’s an owner-operator in the strictest sense, serving as his company’s sole driver, not because the opportunity to expand isn’t there but because of the headaches that come with having to manage it. “I got friends that have four, five, six trucks and I see the crap they’ve got to go through,” he said. “I don’t want that two-in-the-morning, ‘Hey, I’ve run off the road. Hey, I’ve hit somebody. Hey, I need money for this. Hey, the truck’s tore up.’ To me, that would just be too much.” While the Waldens don’t travel as a team — they’re happiest following their own paths as drivers — as a couple, they always share the journey.

Every winning team takes the best traits of each member and combines them in a way that rounds out the whole picture. In the case of Whitby Monterroso and Mary Mei Samaniego, this is especially true. Drivers for Boyle Transportation since 2019, the husband-and-wife team share many of the same characteristics and interests, yet retain their own unique individuality while working and traveling together. “I’m pretty sure it is hard for anybody as a couple, having this personal relationship — and now you’re co-workers,” Samaniego said. “It’s definitely very hard in the beginning but we got used to it. We communicate with each other, and now we love being together.” The two aren’t alone on the road; they travel with a pair of canine companions. “The best thing is that I’m with her 24/7, and we have our little puppies with us,” Monterroso said. “That’s the hardest part about being away from home — being away from your family — so with them with me, it’s perfect. “Now, the hardest part? I would have to say it is the over-the-road living, doing your basic laundry, grocery shopping and missing all the comforts of living at your house,” he continued. “That’s the hard part.” The two come from very different backgrounds — he’s of Hispanic descent and she was born in the Philippines — but points in common began to present themselves early, putting the pair on a collision course, so to speak. Both spent part of their youth in California before enlisting in the U.S. Army. “We were in the same unit when we were at Fort Hood, here in Texas,” Monterroso said. “I was an NCO (non-commissioned officer), and she was the supply sergeant. We were in the same company, same unit. We just kind of saw each other and we started hanging out. We did some work-related stuff, and we got to know each other better. One thing led to another.” By that time, Monterroso had already cut his teeth as a driver, having spent nine years of his military hitch behind the wheel of heavy vehicles both at home and abroad. “We transport our own equipment in the Army, and in my career field, driving a truck is pretty much mandatory,” he said. “Once I started doing that and I got licensed on a specific vehicle, one thing led to another; my units kept having me get licensed on multiple different types of vehicles. I started becoming a subject-matter expert not only driving vehicles, but the large vehicles in general. I found I was pretty good at it.” Monterroso transitioned into the trucking industry upon his discharge five years ago. When Samaniego decided to get behind the wheel, he also oversaw some of her initial training on the civilian side. “I already had experience with driving big vehicles, so all I needed to do what take the written exam and then I was able to get my CDL license,” she said. “I was like, ‘Why not just get it?’ I was a passenger with him for two months and then I was like, ‘This is pretty good; we can definitely do this.’ We’ve been team drivers ever since.” Driving for Boyle Transportation, the team drive reefer for the vast majority of the time. The pair is also hazmat-certified for handling specialized loads. Both say their military experience provided skills that continue to shape the way they drive. “In my case, I learned how to drive in a multitude of environments in deployment, learning to drive fast, drive evasively and drive cautiously and be aware with my head on a swivel, always looking for stuff,” Monterroso said. “Then stateside, driving hazardous materials, I always had to have my documents and paperwork on point. When I went through haz training, I was already familiar with that. “On top of that, being in the military, transporting my equipment, I had to learn how to tie that stuff down and load it on a flatbed,” he continued. “Going to the civilian side, I already knew all of the basics, it was just like military one day, walk through a door and I’m in the civilian world. There was really no difference.” Samaniego says another factor is discipline. “I think a big part of truck driving is, you’ve always got to be a defensive driver. If somebody cuts you off, what do you do? You pretty much have to press the brake and then keep the following distance,” she said. “That takes a lot of discipline sometimes, because emotions are really hard to control. When people do stupid things around you and you start getting mad, you have to be disciplined. That’s your career on the line.” The self-discipline doesn’t stop there. Avid fitness buffs, the couple have had to learn how to adapt to working out on the road. “We find quite a bit of time to work out,” Monterroso said. “There’s been times I’ll stop on my 30-minute break, and I work out. You just have to prioritize it.” “As time goes on, you start figuring things out,” Samaniego added. “We started learning more about diet and nutrition and now we pretty much make sure we go grocery shopping every week to make sure we don’t eat out every day. “ The couple also discovered the value of bringing their four-legged family members along. They have two panda Pomeranians, named Plusle and Minun, that lend a sense of normalcy to life on the road. “Having the girls with us definitely is a mood lifter,” Monterroso said. “If we’re having a stressed-out day, these girls are so damn cute! They’re like living stuffed animals. They just love attention, and they love people.” “Just having them along helps when I’m driving,” Samaniego said. “He’s sleeping while I’m driving, and the girls sit in the passenger seat. I’m looking at them and talking to them while I’m driving, and that makes me feel better.” The couple average about 3,000 miles a week, with runs predominantly in the northeast U.S. Samaniego says she makes good use of road time when not driving, scouring blogs and informative sites online to expand the couple’s horizons. “We’re living in such an information age that everything you want to know is literally one click away,” she said. “Ever since I became a truck driver, I’ve learned so many different businesses. I learned how to do Airbnb. I’m a super host now because of just listening to podcasts and YouTube. I learned how to do real estate investing, and I’m learning now about trying positive mindset. And I actually found stock trading, and I’m starting to do that now. “Without trucking, I would not have learned all this stuff because in other jobs, you just focus on the job and only the job during the day,” she continued. “In trucking you have time to listen to other things and learn other things at the same time, all the time.”

The lady knows what she wants. That’s quickly evident to anyone who has a conversation with tanker driver Nan Harguth. “I’m not messing around. I want that truck over there, and I want pink stripes on it. I’m totally dead serious. Can I please have a pink truck for God’s sake?” This is a snippet from a conversation Harguth had with one terminal manager about ordering her next truck. Harguth didn’t get that pink truck — but she got the next best thing. Gary, South Dakota-based Cliff Viessman Inc., the carrier for which she drives, operates about 350 tractors that are painted white with a triple-stripe graphic featuring maroon, orange and red. One truck, however, is different. This one features stripes in varying shades of pink. It’s Nan Harguth’s truck, a 2022 International LT with an A26 Navistar engine and a 12-speed auto-shift transmission. Harguth added pink seat covers and sheets and pillow covers, a pink duvet and even pink valve stem caps. She bought pink accessories, too, including a hard hat and safety vest. She added a pink coffee cup and some pink shoes. “I have so much pink in there, I kind of actually feel like a girl for a change,” she said with a laugh. On the outside, Harguth has added extra graphics. A pink ribbon festoons the side of the tractor, along with the words “dedicated to all that have battled.” “Cancer Sucks” is emblazoned across the rear of the sleeper. “I didn’t necessarily want the words ‘breast cancer’,” she explained. “Everybody’s going to go to push it more towards the breast cancer, and that’s fine. It’s my choice to have a cancer truck.” Harguth says she never intended to become an anti-cancer warrior; she was just looking for a way to stand out. She has participated in truck rodeo competitions and in the Special Olympics Convoy, as well as other events, and alerted Ryan Viessman, director of operations, that the company’s trucks weren’t getting noticed at the events she frequented. “I said, ‘Dude, I said they’re not even looking at us at the truck show. I want to do something to stand out,’” she related. Harguth hoped to bring home a trophy for the company — and to publicize that Viessman employs both men and women. “You know, maybe somebody will look at my truck and say, ‘So, tell me about your company,’” she said. The decision to broadcast a message about the fight against cancer was not a difficult on, however. Harguth is a survivor of the disease, and she’s seen several members of her family suffer with it as well. “My mother battled 30 years with cancer,” she explained. “My grandma found out four months before she passed away that she had cancer. I lost an aunt that broke her ankle and ended up with cancer that ravaged up her leg.” The list goes on. An uncle survived colon cancer. Another uncle died of an aneurysm, but an autopsy revealed he’d also been suffering with cancer. Harguth has been, at times, overwhelmed with the public response to her truck. “I’m trying to make it a worldwide statement, and also let women and children and grandmas and grandpas and uncles and aunts and the whole world know it,” she said. “But I usually try to just kind of hide back in the crowd, to blend in.” She often attracts waves and smiles from passers-by, in trucks and in four-wheelers, but some people have gone further. “I’ve actually been pulled over like 12 times, asked to pull over. I’ll go up the off-ramp, and stop, by all means,” she remarked. “I’ve had a grandma, whose granddaughter found out she had breast cancer, and she wanted to send pictures. And I’m like, ‘By all means, please, if this encourages her.’” A worker at a truck wash she visited was also touched. “His mom was diagnosed with cancer, and she has actually come to touch my truck and pray over it,” Harguth said. “My truck gives others encouragement to keep going, keep battling.” The day she was interviewed for this story, Harguth had another memorable experience. “I had a young man today come driving up past me; he was in the passenger seat. They got in behind me and followed me into a rest area, and asked if he could take a couple of pictures. When he saw the ‘Cancer Sucks’ graphic, he started crying. Come to find out, he was just diagnosed this morning.” Harguth has been awakened so often that she leaves a note in the window when she sleeps, granting permission for well-wishers to photograph the truck and asking that they don’t wake her. “They’re very gracious about not waking me up, and very much understanding to allow me to sleep,” she said. Like many in the trucking industry, Harguth became interested in trucking at an early age. “I grew up in Southern California, around the desert area called Trona, not too far from the salt flats,” she explained. “I would sit and watch the big dump trucks. I always told my mom that one day I would drive the big trucks — the bigger the better. She wanted me to get a pilot’s license.” However, life doesn’t always cooperate with childhood dreams. Harguth married at a young age, a relationship that eventually failed. She had another relationship, this one with a truck driver who introduced her to the industry. “I think I fell more in love with his truck than I did him,” she said. At that time, “the cards were not in line for me to get my CDL,” she said. Her mother became ill, and she had to remain close to home. Then her grandmother fell ill. “Those were the two main women in my life that raised me,” she said. In the meantime, Harguth met her current husband, who convinced her to study for her CDL. After her mother died, she eventually teamed up with her future husband and learned the ropes of trucking. The couple married soon after, and then both went solo with Viessman. She’s now been with Viessman for nine years, hauling mostly liquid food-grade products. When she isn’t hauling, Harguth enjoys cooking, crafts, fishing and mentoring new drivers. She and her husband had horses for a while, but now she rides a Harley in the summer and a snowmobile in the winter. While Harguth didn’t set out to be a cancer crusader, she recalls one encounter that truly helped her settle into the role. “This lady said, ‘I want a picture of you and me, and I want a big hug in front of your truck,’” she related. “She said, ‘I just want you in that truck because you are giving other people an inspiration to keep going.” That’s a heavy load for any driver — but rest assured, Nan Harguth can handle it.

“Hola, mi gentes!” With these words — which translate to “Hello, my people!” — and an engaging grin, Sue Peña greets an audience of TikTok followers in a video series chronicling her journey to become a professional truck driver. A native of Brooklyn, New York, who now lives in central Arkansas, Peña (known as classysassy4u on TikTok) is proud of her family’s Puerto Rican and Taino Indian heritage. “I wasn’t raised in Puerto Rico, but I follow the culture and traditions, both old and new,” she said. “We are a proud culture, and very welcoming in the sense that we will feed you — even if you’re not hungry.” Peña has extensive experience in feeding people; she graduated from culinary school in New York back in 2007. “I was actually chosen to appear on the second season of ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ but my son was too young, and as a single mother, I couldn’t leave him alone,” she said. She describes her son Nicolas, who is now 20 and a member of the National Guard, as her biggest supporter. While in her 30s, Peña decided her ultimate goal was to become a professional driver; however, it was nearly a decade later before she had a chance to follow that dream. When The Trucker Jobs Magazine team first met Peña in July 2022, she was working as a crime lab forensic technician and moonlighting as an emergency medical technician (EMT), in addition to attending night classes at Diesel Driving Academy (DDA) in Little Rock, Arkansas. In October, she completed her training and passed the final gauntlet — the driving portion of the CDL exam. She now has both hazmat and tanker endorsements and is slated to begin orientation with Dallas-based Stevens Transport in early January. “My biggest challenge was believing in myself, believing that I could do this training that I started late in life,” said Peña, who is now 44. “It wasn’t that I didn’t have confidence; if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have signed up,” she said. “Once I delved into it and realized, ‘Wow! So this is what trucking is,’ I thought, ‘Can I do this?’” She began watching other women in the trucking industry, from her instructors at DDA to female trucking groups on social media. “As I started following the trucking lifestyle of different women out there, some who were way older than me, I started to think, ‘OK, if they can do it, I can do it!’” she shared, adding that all of her instructors, male and female, brought real-world experience to the classroom. We were privileged to follow Peña through part of her journey as she learned the basics of trucking at DDA, cheering her on as she gained confidence behind the wheel. When it was her turn to ring the bell at DDA — a rite of passage signifying a student’s successful passage of the CDL test — we were (arguably) just as excited as she was. Like many women, Peña says she had to overcome obstacles related to both her gender and her ethnicity, in the trucking industry as well as other male-dominated career paths. “I’ve have to stay 10 steps ahead (of everyone else) because I’ve got so many strikes against me. One, I’m a female. Two, I’m a Hispanic female. Three, I’m very short. I’m vertically challenged. I have to be on my game,” she said with a laugh. Two of Peña’s instructors at DDA were women, something she says helped her build confidence behind the wheel. “Ms. Kat and Ms. Rachel, those two were the most that really inspired me to continue pursuing what I was doing. There were days I was like, ‘Aw hell, I can’t do this!’” she said. “But after speaking with them, learning what trucking was like when they started, I realized it was actually harder for them. They paved the way. If it wasn’t for (women like) them, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” Peña says the most memorable milestone of training, at least for her, was the first time she drove a truck a short distance across the driving pad. “It was feeling that movement, knowing that I was driving,” she said. “When they start you off, it’s a straight back; you drive forward, you drive backward. That’s it, nothing fancy. But feeling the vibration, feeling the movement, knowing that I was driving a 53-foot truck and trailer — that moment, I was like, ‘Oh my God! I’m really doing this!’” The second-most memorable step, she says, was the first time students in her class took the school rigs out on the road. “I can only imagine what the instructor was thinking and feeling, knowing that this person was driving a truck for the first time,” she said. “Now I’m comfortable with it.” Watching Peña’s skills progress from those first shaky, tentative attempts to smoothly and confidently completing straight and offset backs, then 90-degree backs and other maneuvers was an amazing experience for The Trucker team. While she’s excited about starting her new career behind the wheel, Peña is well aware that she still has much to learn and that actual over-the-road driving will be quite different from training. The challenge is one she looks forward to overcoming. “Male or female, if this is what you want to do, if this is your passion, if all you think about when you get up and go to bed is driving a truck — then go for it,” she said when asked what advice she would give other would-be drivers. “Do it for the right reasons, do it with the best intentions, and just go for it.”

Don’t ask truck driver Ron Szewczyk how many dogs he has. It’s not that it’s a secret — it’s just that the number might change at any given moment. As a “service human” for Ronco’s Rescue Ranch, he helps find homes for dogs who need one, he makes arrangements for medical assistance or treatment, drives trailer loads of dog food to shelters that are always strapped for funding — the list goes on. He’ll share whatever resources he has, including his income, to help his furry friends. Some of those friends are fortunate enough to ride along with Szewczyk in his truck. Szewczyk, who owns Ronco Trucking of Tn Inc., says his passion for rescuing dogs is reciprocal, in that dogs rescued him first. Back in 2000, he was involved in a head-on fatality collision. “I guarantee you, none of your readers ever want to deal with a head-on collision,” he said. “I still have some issues with it from time to time. Call it PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) or whatever term, it’s something to deal with.” Szewczyk wrestled with the emotional aftermath of the accident on his own, until a friend suggested he get a dog for companionship and support. At first, he wasn’t keen on the idea. “I said, ‘What, are you crazy? Deal with dog slobber and hair? No, thanks!’” he said with a laugh. Eventually, he warmed to the idea … only to find that adopting a dog wasn’t always easy. “I had a tough time, because of my lifestyle (as an over-the-road driver),” he said. Finally, he was able to adopt the first, and his furry family grew kept growing. “One became two, and two became three,” he said. Szewczyk says his canine companions have helped him through several difficult experiences, including another vehicle collision and a home fire. In addition to helping dogs, he’s quick to reach out to humans in need. “If somebody is dealing with a fatality accident or something and they want to reach out to me, please get in touch. If somebody wants to find me, it’s not hard,” he said. Szewczyk maintains three Facebook pages under the names Ron Szewczyk, Ronald Szewczyk and Ronco’s Rescue Ranch. He’s eager to listen to the experiences of others and to help connect them with a dog of their own — if they’re looking to provide a quality home for an animal in need. The grandson of Polish immigrants, Szewczyk grew up in Chicago, part of a hard-working family in the inner city. “They got on a boat not knowing where they were going. I mean, they heard rumors and stories, but there were no magazines or videos, they couldn’t FaceTime somebody to find out about the city they were going to,” he said of his grandparents. “I could see Cabrini Green (an infamous Chicago housing project) from the building I lived in,” he recalled of his early childhood. His father often worked seven days a week, a practice Ron credits for his strong work ethic. Occasionally, the family would take car rides to the suburbs to shop and visit the area’s forest preserves for some exposure to nature. “I would smell skunk,” he said. “Most people think that’s repugnant and disgusting, but as a kid I learned to identify that smell with getting out of the city. Even today, when I smell skunk out on the road, I just smile. That’s the sweetest smell.” There were other lessons Szewczyk absorbed during those suburban excursions. One is to get the most from each area he travels to. “I like to get a pastrami sandwich from a shop in New York,” he explained. “Or see a local three-piece band in a New Orleans club. There’s something to see anywhere you go.” Another lesson he learned was that relationships are an important part of both life and business. “I work with people that I know from previous jobs in other places,” he remarked. “You never know when you’ll run across someone from the past.” Like many drivers, Szewczyk worked in a different career before climbing into the cab of a truck. “I worked in the automobile business in Chicago as a service manager, body shop manager for 20 years,” he said, adding that the frustrations of daily dealings with the public took a toll. “I was fed up with the lifestyle. I decided to go see the country.” And off he went to become a driver. His trucking career began at North American Van Lines. “They had a program called the ‘Summer Fleet,’ where you would go out for a month and learn to drive,” he said. “It lasted a month long, 16 hours a day. You were eight hours in the classroom and then eight hours on the parking lot. The last week of it, you went on the road with a trainer.” It wasn’t long before Szewczyk was struck with the itch to buy his own truck, and he headed to Toledo to pick up his first, leasing on with a flatbed carrier out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He cut his flatbed teeth hauling 60-foot steel beams to the West Coast Today, Szewczyk hauls auto parts on a regular run using his own two-year-old Volvo VNL and 53-foot van trailer. He buys his own base plate and has his own IFTA (international fuel tax agreement) account. “I get better than 8 miles per gallon,” he said. “I don’t want to pay fuel taxes based on a fleet average mileage number, so I have my own.” When he isn’t working, Ron likes to load up the dogs in his toy-hauler RV trailer and go camping. “The back of it is like a garage,” he related. “There’s plenty of room for the dogs to lay out.” He’s also serious about his faith. “I pray all day, and I like to pray with people I encounter,” he said. “There are homeless people everywhere these days. They don’t ask me for anything — just how the dogs are doing or where I’ve been.” Szewczyk says he’s approaching retirement age and that he knows he’ll need to come off the road sooner or later. “I won’t retire, but I’ll slow down drastically,” he said, adding that he’s looking for rural property to enjoy. “Maybe I’ll take a couple of loads a month and then, on the other weeks, go fishing or traveling,” he said. One thing is certain: Whatever he’s doing, Ron Szewczyk plans to bring his faith and his dogs along for the ride.

When driving down the highway, there is no chance of missing truck driver Myrna Chartrand — and she wouldn’t have it any other way. With her signature bright pink hair and black and pink truck to match, Chartrand, 40, is known for bringing light and joy to everyone she meets along the way. “The hair has to go with the truck,” Chartrand said with a cheerful laugh. “That’s just how I am. It makes it easy for people to pick me out as the driver of the truck.” Chartrand, who grew up in Oak Point, Manitoba, Canada, with her parents, Dave and Carol, and brother, Corey, now makes her home in Winnipeg. Her family is familiar with the trucking industry: Her father drove construction trucks when she was young, and her brother later became the first on-road trucker in the family. Chartrand soon had her eyes set on making trucking her career as well. “I would have liked to become a truck driver right when I graduated,” Chartrand said. “Corey was already a truck driver, and he would tell stories of the road. They maybe were not the best stories; (they were) about people who would do harm or damage. My mom said that her little girl was not going to be a truck driver.” So, Chartrand looked for another career. “My mom gave me a college catalog and told me to pick something else that was not trucking,” Chartrand said. “I went to college at and got my diploma in chemical and land science technology.” After graduating from Red River College Polytechnic in Winnipeg, Chartrand joined Apotex, a pharmaceutical company. She first began working there while still in school as part of a work experience program. After graduating, the company asked her to stay on — and she did, for seven years. Although she enjoyed her work in pharmaceuticals, she said, trucking was still calling her name. “I was just like, ‘I think it’s time for me to try trucking now,’” Chartrand said. “In my mind, I had some street smarts by that point, and I was adult, and I thought I could handle it. I called my family and said, ‘I think I want to be a trucker.’” Shortly after following her call to the road, Apotex was sold, resulting in a number of layoffs. In Chartrand’s mind, this cemented the thought that she should follow her passion into trucking. “It’s one of those things where I thought, ‘I won’t know if I like it unless I try,’” she said, adding that once she started trucking school, she started having second thoughts. “I wasn’t sure if it was right for me. I wasn’t picking it up right away; I was not a natural. I’m one of those people where if I don’t get it right away, then I think maybe I shouldn’t be doing it,” she said. “My brother encouraged me, and kept telling me that I would get it. He said to just keep plugging away and encouraged me to keep going.” And that’s exactly what she did. “I am very glad that I did, because I absolutely love it now. I was lucky enough to have a good support group behind me,” she said. After finishing trucking school, Chartrand got her first job with Lee River Transport in 2008. “I literally went from the testing station, getting my Class 1 license, to Lee River, where they hired me on the spot,” she said. “I always joke that the paint wasn’t even dry on my license when I got my first job. I was very lucky. My brother worked there also, and we drove together for a while, with him teaching me the ropes.” Chartrand was only with Lee River for a short time before leaving to help take care of her mother, who was fighting cancer. She took an administrative job at a local trucking company so that she could be with her mother in her final days. Her brother also left the carrier, signing on with Portage Trucking. After the death of their mother, Chartrand says, her brother encouraged her to get back on the road. She jumped at the opportunity and joined Portage in 2009, where she remains today. “My brother has been very good to me,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve only had two trucking jobs, and my brother helped me get both of them.” That’s not to imply Chartrand doesn’t know what she’s doing — quite the opposite, in fact. In 2018, Chartrand was honored with the Manitoba Driver of the Year Award. Chartrand loves her work and the variety it provides. “Lots of people like structure — and structure is good at times — but I like seeing new things every day and meeting new people,” she said. “The friendships I’ve made along the way are really high on my list of good things about this job. A lot of my best friends are people I’ve met through trucking.” Since joining Portage 13 years ago, Chartrand has had three trucks. Her second and third trucks have featured her signature pink, including a pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness. Although her mother did not have breast cancer, Chartrand said the trucks honor her mother’s life — and they open doors for conversations during her travels. “I’ve had so many people come and tell me their stories of their experiences with breast cancer, and that is really important to me,” Chartrand said. “I don’t know them from Adam, but they share something very personal. I can relate to them when they tell me their stories, having lost a parent myself. I know what that feels like.” Her current truck, black teamed with her iconic pink, is a show stopper wherever she goes. Chartrand says she loves her career, especially the family atmosphere that trucking provides. “The biggest surprise in this career has been the camaraderie and family in trucking,” she said. “I thought it was going to kind of be this secluded job, but we actually are a family. Nobody leaves you hanging.”

The life story of Rodney Crouch, owner and operator of Indiana-based Dangerfield Trucking, is a biography you don’t realize you need in your life until you hear it. His is a life full of highs and lows, happiness and sadness — but ultimately, one of triumph and peace. Rather than being on the “Highway to Hell,” you could say he’s on the highway to heaven. One of 11 children, Crouch was born in Munson, Indiana. While he currently lives in Indianapolis, he counts his truck as true home, which houses both him and his faithful travel partner, a lively pup named Sammi. “I’m basically married to my truck,” Crouch said with a laugh that immediately makes you feel like you’re talking with an old friend. Crouch didn’t start out in the trucking industry. It was a ride-along with his cousin Angela, a trucker, that sparked his interest in setting his sights on a career as a driver. “After that trip I went back home, where I was working two restaurant jobs and working 80 hours a week and still not being able to make ends meet,” he said. “I knew I had to make a change. I applied to trucking school and that was it.” Crouch said he most enjoys the people he gets to meet along the way, as well as the places he gets to see while driving. He started out driving for other companies, but says he wasn’t making the money he needed to support himself and his children. Eventually, he made the dive into his own business. The story of Dangerfield Trucking itself and how it got its name is the stuff of legend. Named after legendary comedian Rodney “I get no respect” Dangerfield, Crouch says the moniker was inspired by a very dear friend, Herman, who has since passed away. “He was a man who went to our church, and I remember watching him throughout the years. He was an inspiration. I saw him go from only having a pick-up truck to owning his own business,” Crouch said. “He was really close to our family and every time he saw me, he would shout out, ‘Dangerfield!’” he continued. “It became my nickname, and when he passed away … well, I had always wanted to start my own business, and when I was thinking of names, it just came to me. It was just meant to be.” The name isn’t the only part of Crouch’s business that has deep personal meaning. His truck, a 2016 Western Star, is a moving work of art that pays homage to some of his favorite musicians. He had saved money make a down payment on a different truck, but when his son had an accident falling off a cliff, those plans were quickly scrapped. Crouch said the seller understood his circumstances and even refunded the money he had paid. Then, just 30 days later, he received a call from the same seller, telling him they had found the perfect truck that required a smaller down payment — the Western Star he drives today. “When I went to pick up the truck, there were vinyl graphics already on the side from the previous owner,” Crouch said, adding that the truck had belonged to a Vietnam veteran. “It was mostly POW stuff, which I thought was so cool. Now it includes all my favorites bands. I probably have 40 bands on each side.” The graphics feature a veritable “who’s who” of musical icons, including Eddie Van Halen, Johnny Cash, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimmy Page and Pantera. A particular hero of Crouch’s is the late former guitarist of Pantera, Darrell Abbott, better known as Dimebag Darrell. In 2004, Abbott was killed onstage in Ohio while performing with the band Damageplan. During Crouch’s travels, he says he was fortunate enough to meet Abbott’s brother, Vinnie Paul, at a truck stop. He had a picture made with Paul and Chad Grey, another musician Paul played with at the time. That picture also adorns Crouch’s truck. Paul isn’t the only musical hero Crouch has gotten to know. “I went to visit Dimebag’s gravesite in Arlington, Texas” Crouch said. “I took some flowers and said hello to him.” Crouch had always wanted a tattoo of Pantera’s first album, “Cowboys From Hell,” and he says he “just got a feeling” while in Arlington that he should go to a certain tattoo parlor. The business accepted walk-ins, so Crouch showed up and told the staff what he wanted and why. “The whole place got silent, just dead silent. Everyone just turned around and looked at me. I thought I had said something wrong,” Crouch said, adding that they agreed to do the design for him. After he got his tattoo, the artist asked Crouch to step outside for a chat. He asked Crouch if he recognized another artist who was working in the Parlor. Crouch said he thought the guy looked familiar but couldn’t place him. It turns out that the artist in question was Bob Zilla, the bass player for Damageplan — who had been playing onstage with Abbott the night he was murdered. Crouch and Zilla quickly developed a friendship, one that continues to this day. In addition to several tattoos by Zilla, Crouch has some of his artwork on his truck. Of course, Crouch counts his dog, Sammi, as one of his best friends in life. She was found running around a truck stop in Indianapolis by a friend of Crouch’s. She wasn’t microchipped, and when no one claimed her, Crouch jumped at the chance to claim Sammi as his trucking buddy. “She’s been with me ever since,” he said. “I don’t know her breed, but she’s a “Nosy Nellie” and a “Dora the Explorer” to me. She has longer legs, but kind of a dachshund face. She’s crazy, and under two years old.” In addition to providing companionship, Sammi has proven to be a lifeline of sorts for Crouch. Following a near-death experience — before Sammi came into his life — Crouch realized he needed to make some big changes in his life. While grieving the loss of his beloved grandmother, Crouch had made several decisions that were not healthy either physically or mentally. When he made the choice to fight literally for his life, his world began to change for the better. Those changes are still going on to this day, he says, adding that Sammi helps him remain grounded while on the road. “She helps me learn how to play again,” Crouch said. “She helps me get out and explore. Sometimes I am so focused on work, work, work, and Sammi reminds me to be a kid. Work is something we have to do, but she teaches me to be a kid again, to have fun and be free.” In addition, Crouch says his faith in Christ and his spirituality are a core part of who he is today. After nearly losing his life, Crouch rededicated himself and was baptized. “God has definitely changed me,” Crouch said. “I’ve had wonderful God experiences where he has done things for me that I couldn’t do for myself. [That near-death experience] is what it took to wake me up.” Crouch is also considering the possibility of one day creating a church that caters to the trucking community. With most church parking lots banning truck parking, he says, there are not a lot of places those in the industry can go to worship if they wish to do so. “God is good, and he is taking care of me. I hope that I can help somebody else when I’m on the road who is struggling,” Crouch said. “That’s what I look for with connections with people on the road. How can I be of service, and how can I be a help to other drivers?” he explained. “Some days it’s all about me, and I’ve got to get out of myself, so every day I try to do something for another driver.”

Years ago, Shelle Lichti ran for her safety — and found support in the trucking industry. Dubbed the “Rainbow Rider,” Lichti, who now drives for Hirschbach Motor Lines, has been trucking since the early 1990s. She says the freedom she found on the road proved to be her saving grace from both a turbulent past and the stigma of hiding her own sexuality. Lichti grew up in an orphanage, where she says she faced many challenges, living through assault, harassment, bullying and homophobia. She escaped by finding refuge in the trucking industry. “I thrived, and found that this was something that came relatively easy for me,” Lichti said. “I found that I had an affinity for it, and loved the power, the freedom. I loved that I was in control, especially when I was younger, because so much was beyond my control and having some semblance of that was so important,” she said. “It’s helped create who I am today, and I am very grateful to the industry as a whole. I believe that without it, I would have died, either by my own hand or someone else’s.” Looking back, Lichti says, the paths she took in the past didn’t hold time for encouragement or comfort. Behind the wheel, however, she realized she had a choice: She could use her past as a crutch, or she could move forward. She chose to move forward. As a mentor to other truck drivers, Lichti seeks to help women as much as possible, advocating for their rights as drivers and human beings through her 501c3 nonprofit, LGBT Truckers. When a friend belonging to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community “unalived themselves,” as Lichti describes it, she decided to take action by creating a safe, supportive community for truck drivers. The group now has amassed more than 6,000 followers on Facebook. The group’s followers include both those who belonging to the LGBT community and allies who are employed as drivers, mechanics, office staff and many others. Lichti herself says she delayed coming out as a lesbian for fear of the possible aftermath of bullying and depression. “I wanted people to accept me on my work and not who I slept with, because we are more than our sexuality. It’s such a small part of us, but some people want to make it so big and that’s so sad,” she said. “Why would you be threatened by somebody who is born to be attracted to someone else?” The LGBT Trucker group, which started in 2008 as an 800-conference line that anyone could call, at any time and talk to someone, branched out into other areas as the needs of the group grew. One of those “branches” is the “Highway Hangout,” a series of web-based karaoke sessions during which drivers took turns singing and embracing each other’s voices. In addition, the group offers resources such as help finding LGBT-friendly trucking schools, along with housing and food security. The positive response to the group’s efforts inspired Lichti to ask Hirschbach for support with a colorful Pride-theme truck wrap to show support for her group on the road. The truck was quickly dubbed the “Rainbow Rider.” The most recent wrap, which adorns a Freightliner and features a “Love Is Love” design, was completed and re-debuted in November of 2020. The truck’s interior is something Lichti likes to update regularly. Pink was a staple in her truck’s interior for a while, but she is now updating the decor with different colors, new bedding and an organized kitchenette. She says she has an agreement with Hirschbach to eventually buy the Rainbow Rider; she plans to then donate the truck to the LGBT Truckers organization. “Hirschbach supports every hard-working driver regardless of race, creed, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation,” said Jillaynne Pinchuk, Hirschbach’s chief culture officer. “We support positive messages that foster understanding and acceptance. When Shelle approached us with her idea of the Rainbow Rider to support LGBTQ drivers, we were all for it!” The travel-sized decor inside the truck is what Lichti is used to because she spends most of her days on the road. She says the independence offered by her chosen career in trucking addicted her to the lifestyle of roaming and exploring where she wished with an RV. When she’s not on the road, she resides at campsites all over the U.S. She loves being out in the sun, listening to birds or relaxing with music, books or her crafts, free from worry and moving on with confidence. Acceptance and empathy are strong traits Lichti possesses. Ever since she started driving nearly 30 years ago, she has worked to transform her truck into a home, not only for herself but also for the precious four-legged creatures she’s rescued over the road. During the surge of COVID-19 in March 2020, she recognized an opportunity for fellow truckers to communicate worldwide by sharing photos of their furbabies and posting available dogs or cats. The Facebook group Trucking Furbabies was born out of that desire. “We wanted to create a positive, happy environment where drivers could share photos of their furbabies,” she said. “You can’t stay in a ticked-off mood when you see critters.” Currently, she has two cats and one Chihuahua, Zulu, who had been abandoned at a truck stop in Laredo, Texas. She says she can tell Zulu was previously owned by a truck driver because when the brakes pop, Zulu wags his tail, eager to hop up the steps and into the cab. However, the rabbit-furred Japanese bobtail cats, Neela and Wobbles, were borderline feral when she rescued them. Now they’re properly trained and sweetly nuzzle up to her. The animals she rescues stay with her until they find their “furever” homes — and in some cases like the bobtails, they require more tenderness, love and care. “There are so many animals that are just waiting and wanting their forever home and they get turned away, or put down, for so many stupid reasons, like high (separation) anxiety animals,” she said. “Place them with a trucker. We’re with our animals 24/7.” Neela, nicknamed “Neela-Beela,” has 13 toes on her front paws. Gaining her trust and getting her used to the truck was a challenge, especially because she flinched from sudden movements. Lichti’s sister helped Neela recover — and, in some ways, helped Lichti to recover as well. “Animals are so helpful to drivers, because we need somebody to talk to and something to take care of,” she said. “It’s less lonely. We all know that animals have the health benefits of lowering blood pressure by getting out and exercising and the psychological effects that can help with depression in trucking … I wouldn’t know what to do without one.” For now, Lichti says she isn’t looking to add any new critters to her truck, and she’s working to find “furever” homes for the two cats. She says she’ll likely rescue more animals in need afterward. She estimates she’s rescued 300 animals over the years, and the perfect life she imagines — besides driving — is having an animal by her side.

Most drivers of tank equipment will tell you it’s different from other forms of trucking. In addition to unique driving characteristics — like top-heavy loads and dealing with surging and sloshing cargo — there various cargos have unique characteristics. Often, loads require special handling and paperwork, as well as trailer washouts between loads. It can be a daunting task just to keep up with it all. That’s one reason winning the National Tank Truck Carriers’ (NTTC) William J. Usher Professional Tank Truck Driver of the Year Grand Champion award for 2021-2022 means so much to Thomas “Tom” Frain, even if the initial announcement was a surprise. “I just stood there, thinking, ‘Why did he call my name?’” Frain recalled. “I had met the eight finalists and I thought there was no way. The fellas that I met, their years of service, how they carried themselves.” Frain drives for Knoxville, Tennessee-based Highway Transport, running out of the Knoxville terminal about 10 miles from the company’s headquarters. He and Carol, his wife of 26 years and partner of 35, moved to Knoxville from their home in Upstate New York. Frain says the couple discovered the area because of his in-laws, who lived in Florida but frequently vacationed near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Frains enjoyed traveling to meet them and spend time together. “I remember sitting on the front porch for Thanksgiving in shorts and a T-shirt, thinking, ‘If we’re gonna move, we need to do it now while the children are young,’” Frain said. He has driven with Highway Transport for seven years, joining the company after a long career of hauling for the food service industry. “Even as a child, I was always fascinated by equipment,” he said. “My mother would joke, ‘All anyone has to do to babysit Tom is sit him in front of a tractor.’” The late ’80s, however, weren’t the best of economic times in Upstate New York as industries shut down or moved away. One of Frain’s friends had an uncle who owned a small trucking company — and that quickly drew his interest. “I tried college; that didn’t work,” said Frain said, adding that he was too young at the time to get his CDL. “I worked full-time during the day, and I’d go up there [the trucking company] and fuel the trucks from around the yard for free.” After a year — and when Frain had turned 21 — the company provided a truck for him to test in and gave him a ride to the CDL testing center. With new CDL in hand, Frain hired on at Maines Paper and Food Service. “They were team runs with two drivers,” he said. “Due to my lack of experience, that’s the only opportunity I had there. They put me with a mentor and I rode with him for two years.” Frain stayed with the food service industry for years, until a friend went to work for Highway Transport and called him. “We spoke over the years about how the job was just breaking my body down, and he said I needed to check this out,” Frain said. “I interviewed and fell in love with the company, the people there. It was just a different environment for me.” Frain spoke about the process of learning to drive with tank trailers. “There was a level of arrogance, because I was looking at (other drivers with) 23, 24 years of experience,” he recalled. “So, one day I got with my trainer, Greg, hooked up a trailer and gave it a tug test. “That thing slapped us!” he continued, describing the first time he felt the effects of a liquid cargo surge. The memory of those early days pulling tanks inspired Frain to help new drivers at Highway Transport. He now trains new drivers at the company, helping them to improve their driving skills and teaching them the details of tank trailers and liquid cargos. He also works with the company’s safety department to film instructional videos for other drivers. He has accumulated more than 2 million safe miles of driving and was selected as a Road Team Captain for the Tennessee Trucking Foundation, an arm of the Tennessee Trucking Association. Frain was nominated for the NTTC award by Highway Transport Director of Safety and Quality, Rick Lusby. “It started with basically a paper application,” Frain said. “They wanted years of experience, safe driving miles, community service and leadership roles that you may have taken. It was, if you will, a driving resume.” Frain has plenty of experience in community service, working with the Boy Scouts, the American Youth Soccer Organization, Little League USA Softball and other organizations. Finalists for the award were flown to Washington, D.C., where they appeared before a panel for questioning and were evaluated in front of a camera to assess their communications skills. The panel consisted of five members, including Road Team Captains from the American Trucking Associations, a representative from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Great West Insurance and the NTTC. The winner of the award was announced April 25 at the NTTC’s Annual Conference and Exhibits in San Diego. As the grand champion, Frain will serve as a spokesperson for the NTTC and Highway Transport at industry events. When he’s not driving, mentoring other drivers or working in the community, Frain enjoys camping, kayaking, fishing and hiking. He and Carol have two children who live nearby. “My daughter just graduated from Maryville College with a degree in elementary education. She’ll be working as a fourth-grade teacher. We’re super excited for her,” he said. “My son Thomas just graduated from high school and he’ll be attending the University of Tennessee School of Architecture. “Carol and I, we started with nothing — and we still have most of it left,” he continued with a chuckle. For Frain, the mission is clear. “I want to represent myself and my industry with pride,” he said with a smile. Frain will be driving a brand new, specially decaled Mack Anthem tractor, presented by Highway Transport, and the company gets to show off the spectacular trophy won by Frain for the next year. Whether he’s in uniform behind the wheel, in a classroom or in a suit and tie at a speaking engagement, Tom Frain represents the best of the trucking industry.

For NFI driver Benjamin Rodriguez, trucking is in the bloodline. He comes from a long line of heavy equipment operators in his family, and he says driving a truck was the perfect fit him from the very beginning. “I was actually born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and my family members used to drive mostly machinery and trucks,” he said. “I began driving trucks in 1995. I drove for a waste management company; that’s when I started trucking. It was something that I always loved. I had a passion for it.” Rodriguez’s over-the-road driving career began shortly after earning his CDL at Roadmaster Truck Driving School in Florida in 2008. In the 14 years since then, he says, he’s hauled nearly everything there is. “I have driven a reefer, I have done dry van, I have hauled anything moving out there — except hazmat. I’ve never done hazmat,” he said. “Even recycled material, recycled plastic, just about anything that’s moving around out there. There was no one specific thing I hauled.” Rodriguez can boast of touching all of the lower 48 states in his career, in part because in the early days he was on long-haul routes that took him from coast to coast. It was a tough assignment for a family man. “When I first started in the U.S. I had to do all that kind of work,” he said. “When I started in ’08, at the beginning, it was a little tough because you leave your family behind. You have a responsibility to be home every day and have the time with the family, and then you go out here for four or five weeks out. “But even though that was a little hard, you know, at the same time I had the support of my spouse, which is good,” he continued. “That really helped a lot in overcoming all these different things through the years.” An additional challenge was Rodriguez’s natural desire to keep moving and not sit still for long periods. It was something he had to train his body and system to adapt to on long hauls. “The first two hours of driving, it made me sleepy. I wanted to fall asleep, just in the first two hours,” he said. “The first two hours of driving are always the hardest, but after that your body adapts to what you are doing.” After making a move to NFI about a year ago, Rodriguez is now on a dedicated run, delivering freight to Big Lots! stores along the East Coast. He said he welcomes the new role because it keeps him closer to his home in Pennsylvania. “The advantages of doing that is I come to the same place all the time,” he said. “The trailer is always loaded, so that’s a benefit versus when you are an over-the-road driver, where there is a lot of waiting. Here I don’t have to wait. I pick up, I go to the store and make my deliveries. One day there might be some difficulties, but overall, everything runs pretty good. I really like that. “I deliver to a maximum of four stores a day. The farthest I’ve gone is up to Massachusetts and New York, and as far down as Virginia and a little bit of West Virginia,” he added. Throughout his career, Rodriguez has prided himself on being a safe driver even when navigating the heavier urban traffic along his current route. As such, he’s happy to have seen trucks evolve technologically over the years. “The safety features they have are what’s changed the most,” he said. “They are looking for ways to make trucks safer, even with the new system with ELDs. And companies are getting stronger with the safety and making sure that drivers are doing better out there, so that helps out too.” On the downside, Rodriguez said, safety has become much more difficult to maintain these days, and he sees more challenging situations than ever. “The stuff with people on their phone, it’s amazing,” he said. “I always try keep on the lookout all the time. Even with the new technology going on in the truck, you have to look out. When you are going to get on the interstate and you are ahead of them, you still have to go on to the shoulder trying to get on. That happens a lot. “The other thing is, if you are stopped in one place and you make a turn and there’s a turn to the left or the right, as soon as that light changes they just cut in front of you,” he said. “So, all these things make me more and more aware of these crazy things that people are doing because they just show up in the blink of an eye.” In fact, Rodriguez said, even with all its challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic was actually a much less stressful time to be on the road because so many people were either quarantined or working from home. “With COVID, I tell you something, (driving) was awesome,” he said. “Traffic was good; you could run smoothly. You didn’t have to worry about people doing all this craziness during that year that people were enclosed at home. Now, it’s back to going crazy.” Rodriguez says he believes educating the public about sharing the road with big rigs can help improve overall safety on the road. “(Drivers need to) see what happens when you slow down in front of a truck,” he said. “These rigs do not stop on a dime.” In June, The Trucker Media Group’s CEO Bobby Ralston had a chance to experience a day on the road with Rodriguez — complete with rush-hour traffic. “I was reminded anew of the massive responsibilities these drivers are tasked with, and how our economy relies on the trucking,” Ralston said, adding that drivers are truly the backbone of the industry. “I was really impressed with Ben’s skill in safely making his way through heavy traffic, as well as the rapport he’s built when interacting with NFI’s customers,” he said.

Mary Peterson Norton has many passions in life — trucking, her beloved four-legged friends and the Green Bay Packers, just to name a few — and she has found the perfect way to blend them all as a professional driver. She and her canine companions, Karhma and Casey Aaron, travel the highways in a 2014 Kenworth T660 teamed with a refrigerated trailer — both decked out to proudly represent the Green Bay Packers football team, In addition to her Packer-proud truck, Norton also makes sure that her faithful traveling pals, Casey Aaron and Karhma, often sport their favorite Packer gear. In fact, the pups won first and second place in last year’s Walcott Truckers Jamboree Best Dressed Pet competition, dressed in their Packer finery. “Karhma is a rescue, and she is 14,” Norton said. “The vet thinks she is a Shih Tzu and Yorkie mix, but I don’t know. I call her a Heinz 57. Casey is a Shih Tzu and he’s a little shy. He will be 6 in September.” Originally just named Casey, Casey Aaron is of course, named after Packer’s quarterback Aaron Rodgers … but that wasn’t always the case. He was originally just plain Casey. “The people I bought him from were from Minnesota,” Norton said. “They said, ‘You named that puppy Casey, and not Aaron Rodgers?’” Norton was so tickled by the comment that she told them that Casey should have a middle name and from then on he was dubbed Casey Aaron. “They go every trip with me,” Norton said. “They are my babies.” Both dogs provide companionship and entertainment for Norton on the road. “They like to aggravate each other,” she said. “They have this thing — well, I should say, Karhma has this thing. Karhma is getting older, and she has this thing where she likes to touch something. Casey gets warm because he’s a hot-blooded dog. He’ll sit in the chair and Karhma will be in the bed in the floor by the doggie door on the passenger side. So, she will get up in the chair and sit on him. Then he gets down in the floor and this goes on and on all day. They don’t get in the sleeper because it’s not as entertaining.” Norton, who grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, says she developed a love for trucking at an early age. “We had Jersey cows, the black and white ones. We showed them at the county fairs, state fairs and national shows,” she said. Her first experience in trucking was helping haul cattle to fairs. At a young age, she was a master at loading cattle into stock trailers taking them on the road. “I had my CB radio, and I was listening to all the truckers because we lived next to the interstate,” Norton said. “(Trucking) was always in my blood.” After graduating from high school in 1977, Norton’s first step in her career was helping her father with his milk routes. She started her official trucking career in the late 1970s, and by the time the 1980s rolled around she was driving her own truck, a used Peterbilt. In 1985, she bought her first brand-new truck, an International Eagle. In the early days, she mainly ran west coast routes from Wisconsin to California for ATX, a division of Snyder National. Those runs are still her favorites to this day. Today, as an owner-operator leased to Bob Erickson Trucking, Norton hauls refrigerated poultry products from Minnesota and Wisconsin to Los Angeles, usually returning with a load of fresh produce. “Even though I basically run the same route all of the time, I always try to find something new,” she said. “(In springtime) I always like to see the baby animals being born and the leaves coming back on the trees. I love the flowers and the different scenery, especially the cactus when they are blooming in the desert. Norton relishes the freedom she feels on the road. “After 40-something years, I’ve made a lot of friends on the road, and I’ve met a lot of interesting people,” she said. Norton also shared the feeling of family that has grown over her years in the trucking industry. The people she has met over the years were there for her during one of the most heartbreaking times in her life — the death of her husband Jack in 2015. The couple had driven as a team for three decades. “We did a celebration of life for him. We didn’t really have a lot of friends in the neighborhood, but so many of our trucking friends made it up here for the celebration of his life,” Norton said. “It was unbelievable. Even the local people commented on how we had friends there from all over the country. We had people fly in from as far away as Arkansas and Texas,” she said. We had grown into such a big family. It was such a nice feeling.” Norton is doing her part to inspire the next generation of truck drivers, partnering with local schools to visit third- and fourth-grade students a few times a year. Norton, Karhma and Casey Aaron, along with their eye-catching rig, are always popular with both the youngsters and faculty. “I give all the kids a treat and they get to tour the truck,” Norton said. “It’s funny, because as shy as Casey Aaron is, he always picks one person there and that’s his person. Karhma will just run from person to person, but Casey Aaron will pick just one. This last time, it was the teacher. He wanted the teacher. He fell in love with her, and the kids were so jealous.” Norton collects different trinkets throughout the year to make sure she has something to give each student at the school. The treats range from pencils and pens to coloring books to hand-crafted items created by Norton. Each student receives a goodie bag. “I always try to make something that they can keep for a long time,” Norton said. “This year I made blankets. Last year I did beach towels.” Because she enjoys embroidery, she often stitches her name, along with Karhma and Casey Aaron’s, onto the items she shares with the kids. “I also make the kids ornaments at Christmas time — just something they can keep if they want to,” she said. “I see these kids grow up. Whenever they see me later, they always come up and give me a hug and tell me about the time I visited their class when they were little.” Although she only brings the truck at the end of the school year as a special treat for the students, Norton and her four-legged friends stop by a few times a year to visit the kids and answer questions about both her dogs and her travels. She also sends pictures and postcards from her travels throughout the year. “Sometimes this is the only way some of these kids will get a chance to see faraway places,” Norton said. One thing is for sure, this Packer proud family loves their time together on the road — and they are always ready for the next adventure.

Bubba Branch was just knee-high to a grasshopper, as they say in the south, when he first climbed aboard his granddaddy’s big rig in Florida. His earliest memories include rowing through the parked semi’s gears, turning the wheel and pumping all the leftover air out of the brakes. “I drove a million miles and never left the yard,” he said with a laugh. Branch says he’s proud to still live in Florida as “one of the few who are originally from here.” Most of all, though, he’s proud to be a trucker — like his dad and granddad before him. “I have been around trucking all my life,” he said in a husky southern drawl. “Grandad and Dad were in it for 40 or more years. I like to say I was born in a truck. I was one of seven kids, but I was the only one that took to trucks. I would ride with dad anytime I could.” Branch said he also has special memories of riding along in his grandad’s truck. “You could do no wrong with Granddaddy,” Branch said. “He was the cat’s meow with me.” At age 18, Branch earned his CDL. His first job was driving an old, run-down 1970s-model GMC Brigadier General for Miller and Sons in Central Florida. He had to work hard to land that job, he said, adding that he “pestered” the company for a long while before they finally gave him a shot. “They said all they had for me to drive was an old truck that had a lot of issues,” Branch said. “There were holes in the floorboard, and the fumes were so bad my eyes would turn red. I took it home, washed it, and Dad and I patched up the holes. I drove it for a while before I got caught by the DOT.” After the truck was red-tagged and ordered out of service by the DOT, Branch didn’t have to worry about it anymore, and in the ensuing two and a half decades he moved up the ladder of success in the trucking industry. Now, at 44, he and his wife, Krystal, operate Atlas Heavy Haul out of Lakeland, Florida, his hometown. The company primarily hauls heavy equipment. “I wanted to haul equipment all my life, so I got some good experience and started on my own,” he said, adding that his heaviest haul so far was a massive electrical box that he delivered to Heinz Field, home of the NFL Steelers football team, in Pittsburgh. The load weighed 200,000 pounds, and it took Branch nearly 15 days to make the run from Miami. These days, Branch enjoys spending time working on his show truck, a 1996 Kenworth W900 dubbed “Just a Phase.” When he picked it up the truck was white, but he knew he wanted to paint it red so it would stand out. The entire interior had been stripped, down to the bare metal, so a new hush mat was put in the cab and sleeper, then new floors, seats, an SH Tube twisted shifter and new door, roof and sleeper panels. Bubba’s son, Kolt, painted the dash, and all the accent pieces were painted by his wife. Once the interior was complete, SH Tube crafted all the stainless-steel accent pieces on the rig, along with the speaker boxes in the cab. Other custom pieces include the mirror brackets, exhaust pipe holders, the dipstick and gear shifter, and more. The Kenworth is powered by a CAT 3406E engine with an 18-speed transmission. The entire truck has taken Branch about a year and a half to build, but he said it still isn’t 100% complete. In June, at the annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs event held in Branson, Missouri, Branch’s rig won the categories for best chrome and best engine, and he placed second in the working truck with limited mileage category. “I have wanted to be at Shell Rotella for so long, and this was my first time,” Branch said. “I am so grateful to have the opportunity.” As for the future, Branch said Kolt is the one of his three kids who is most likely to follow in his footsteps. Kolt rides with Branch in the big rig any chance he can get, just as Branch did with his dad and granddad. “Kolt is hooked on it,” Branch said. “He said he wants my rig one day, and he said he is going to paint it blue. I told him to make sure I’m gone before he goes and does that.” In talking about the industry he loves, Branch said he sees a lot of room for improvement and hopes some changes will be made before Kolt gets his CDL and hits the road. “Lack of parking is critical,” Branch said. “There is nowhere to go. Now you are told by a computer when you are tired, even if you are not, so you have to get off the road when it says so. You have to have a place to stop that’s safe, and there just aren’t that many.” Like many drivers, Branch has had to park illegally to meet hours-of-service requirements. “I was in Jackson, Georgia, on an on-ramp one night. The two nearby truck stops were packed — like they always are — and the ramp was the only place I could park. I got woken up by the Georgia Highway Patrol to a Level 1 inspection. He told me I couldn’t park there, but he let me stay for the night because I didn’t have anywhere else to go.” Most of all, though, before his son becomes a professional driver, Branch said he hopes the profession will be seen as one of honor. He wants those who aren’t in the industry to respect truck drivers and the jobs they do. “Do you realize what this country would be without people choosing to be truck drivers?” Branch said. “Do I think they owe us something? No. But we should get a little more respect.” Looking back on his career thus far, Branch says he feels blessed. “I am doing what I love, and I am so beyond grateful for it,” Branch said. “I am thankful to be a truck driver, and I just want to say thanks to all my fellow drivers. You have my respect.”

Those who say beauty is only in the eye of the beholder never met Carmen Anderson. For Anderson, beauty is all around. It’s everywhere in this world, she says; you just have to look a little harder for it sometimes. For example, take a look at her canine traveling companions, Rodney and Otis. The two pups are both Chinese crested dogs, and are hairless except for a wispy smattering about their faces. Put delicately, they don’t fit the standard definition of “cute” — which is exactly what Anderson loves about them. “I’ve always thought they were just the neatest dogs,” she said. “I had my first one, Homer; his name was Homer because he was so homely.” Her two almost-furless companions have basically been raised as truck dogs. Rodney has touched 48 states and Otis, the newer addition, has seen 30. Anderson, who drives for Wisconsin-based America’s Service Line, wouldn’t have it any other way. “I’ve always been a big dog lover. When I first started driving in the 1980s I had a dog,” she said. “Then I took some time off and had a son and raised him. Ever since I came back (to trucking), I’ve always had a dog with me. “That first one was an Australian shepherd, Abby, and she was very protective. The only reason she let me in the truck is because I had to drive it for her,” she shared. “But with these two, it’s about companionship. These are smaller, and they’re hairless, so they’re hypoallergenic and you don’t have to worry about the hair. And they’re just neat, friendly little dogs. They love everybody.” Anderson applies the same beauty filter to her job, too. While some drivers might grow jaded with the long treks and inconveniences of life on the road, Anderson who’s racked up 2 million accident-free miles and counting, still exhibits exuberance for what she does. “Growing up, we didn’t do a whole lot of traveling, and I always wanted to see the United States. What better way to see it and to get paid for it, besides?” she said with a laugh. “I go someplace different every week, and I get to meet all these great people, and I find out what is made around the country. It’s fascinating.” Perhaps the most poignant way Anderson has applied her innate “beauty detector” is in the causes she’s been involved with. A longtime fundraiser for the Special Olympics, she champions those who are different. “I’ve been involved in the Special Olympics for probably like 12 years now, for the truck convoy,” she said. “I just love that organization.” Anderson has been involved with Special Olympics in both the South Dakota and Wisconsin state chapters, where she’s distinguished herself in organizing fundraising events. “All the money we raise stays in each state for the athletes. I think we’ve raised over a half a million dollars over my eight years in South Dakota,” she said. “I’ve only been involved in the Wisconsin Special Olympics for about four years now, but one of my specialties is that I’m very good at asking for donations. I’m not shy about that. So, they put me to work in that aspect.” Her advocacy work also includes Truckers Against Trafficking, through which she stands up for society’s forgotten victims who are often powerless to escape their circumstances. “Truckers Against Trafficking, I’m nationally certified through that,” she said. “Back years ago, I was sitting in a truck stop in Phoenix and I was watching this motor coach. There were a bunch of young girls that kept walking in and out of it with an older gentleman. I didn’t think that was right, so I ended up calling the police just to find out what was going on. I just really feel bad for all the poor kids who are trafficked, and adults.” Anderson talks about her charitable work casually, dismissive of any suggestion that she’s doing anything other than simply what’s right. But her commitment and leadership have caused others to sit up and take notice. In 2019, the Wisconsin Motor Carriers named Anderson Truck Driver of the Year. She was the first woman to win the award, not only in Wisconsin, but in any state. She followed that up in 2021 with inclusion in Women in Trucking’s list of Top Women to Watch in Transportation. And earlier this year, she received an even bigger surprise from her employer, ASL, a private fleet with 200 heavy-duty trucks and 350 refrigerated trailers. In May, company leadership handed her the keys to a new Volvo VNL760 70-inch high-roof sleeper, specially wrapped to help raise awareness of Special Olympics. ASL obtained the truck in partnership with Milwaukee-based Kriete Truck Centers. “As a long-time supporter of Special Olympics and all the professional truck drivers (who are) out there every day delivering life’s essentials, we at Kriete Truck Centers are thrilled to be part of this effort,” said David Kriete, president and CEO of Kriete Truck Centers and a board member with Special Olympics Wisconsin. “Carmen is a shining example of what can be accomplished through hard work and a commitment to serving others, values that are at the core of our culture at Kriete as well as Special Olympics.” For her part, Carmen was equal parts thrilled and tickled by the presentation. She said the first mention of the possibility of getting such a rig was more or less said in jest. “We were at a [Milwaukee] Brewers game, and the one gal with the Wisconsin Motor Carriers was telling this group from Volvo about all the stuff I had done,” she said. “One of the guys there said, ‘We should get you a wrapped truck.’ “We all just kind of chuckled, but lo and behold, here we are with the wrapped truck!” she said. “It was kind of cool when they decided to do that. I actually got to design the truck and pick the colors.” Anderson hopes the new ride — which she says drives beautifully — will greatly increase awareness of Special Olympics. She also plans to inspire as many donations as she can while she does the job she was born to do. At age 62, she says she has no intention of parking her rig any time soon. “I’ve been given a lot of opportunities and I have the time to be able to give back to an industry that I love,” she said. “I just wanted to give back.”

The phrase “man’s best friend” is frequently used to express the special relationship between a human and his or her dog. The relationship between trucker Shane Lloyd and his Great Dane, Moby, exemplifies that distinction. However, Moby is more than just a best friend — he is also Lloyd’s lifeline and protection. Lloyd, an Army veteran, is an amputee. Lloyd was born in Utah but moved to Alaska where he was raised. He eventually moved back to Utah and then to Nevada; the Lloyd family now make their home in Las Vegas. Truck driving was never really something Lloyd considered as a career until an inspiration from his daughter, Gabby, sparked a dream. At the time, Lloyd and his wife, Nikole, owned an RV business but were in the process of shutting it down. “My daughter graduated from (the University of Nevada, Las Vegas) and was working at the college of Southern Nevada while also running my RV business. She already had experience driving bigger tucks,” he shared, recalling the day Gabby told him she had decided to become a truck driver. Lloyd said he knew she was up for the challenge, and he supported her decision. That decision spurred him to do a bit of research about trucking life. As he read about the industry, particularly the increase in husband-and-wife team drivers, he realized trucking could be a career for him and his wife. The couple applied for their authority, went to school and bought a truck. “We got everything done, and my wife and I started together,” Lloyd said. “We liked to travel, and the RV business had given us a way to travel. This is another option to get to do this.” Family is important to Lloyd. In addition to Gabby, Lloyd and Nikole have three other children, Chancey, Shiloh and Alexis. In that spirit, Lloyd and Nikole formed Shanik Logistics. The unusual company name comes from the first three letters in their first names, Shane and Nikole. “My favorite thing about being a business owner in this industry is the freedom,” Lloyd said. “When you are stuck in an office setting and going into the office on all days, there are not times to get away. With this, my wife and I just jump in the truck and go.” The couple enjoys the variety of scenery as they travel, plus the chance to eat at new restaurants. Shortly after leaving the Army, Lloyd said, a tragedy occurred: He was the victim of a violent attack and was shot 15 times. He was hit in the femoral artery twice, and lost his leg below the knee. That’s when Moby entered the picture. “I raised my service dog since he was eight weeks old,” Lloyd said. “He is a massive dog, and I’ve trained him to be a mobility dog. So, wherever I go, he goes. He has done everything.” Moby is essential to Lloyd’s career in trucking, and he also makes an excellent companion. It’s not all hugs and belly rubs, however. When it comes time for Moby to do his duty, Lloyd says the Great Dane is all business. “If we have a long walk to do, like at a trade show, when I am walking it’s pretty hard to swing the leg,” he explained. “I hold on to him, and he will provide me with some forward momentum, and he will heel right next to my side. I give him commands too. It’s almost like he’s driving the truck in those situations, and I’m steering him.” In addition to being a vital part of Lloyd’s career, Moby plays an important role in Lloyd’s leisure time. Lloyd says he loves to hike, and his faithful companion allows him to get out and explore. Moby is not the only canine in the Lloyd family. They also have a lab, Sitka, who was intended to be a service his service dog but was too small. Sitka weighs in at nearly 100 pounds, but with Lloyd standing at 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighing 240 pounds, he requires a bigger dog for assistance. “He helps in ways that most people don’t know that service dogs do,” Lloyd said. “He does a great job. When I’m in the shower — I mean, standing up on one leg in the shower is difficult. He will sit right there and hold me right up.” As for Moby, Lloyd says the dog seems to love traveling with the trucking couple. “He really enjoys the different scenery,” Lloyd said. “Every time we get somewhere or go somewhere, he is always out sniffing around. He likes to just roll with us. He is like a giant kid. “In the truck, he tells me when he is thirsty, and he has a little water jug of his own. When he is thirsty, he will tap the water jug and then look at me. When he is hungry, he will tap the food bag and look at me,” he continued. “When he needs a potty break, he will come nibble on my ear or pinch me on my shoulder. We will pull over and he will jump and do his business, then jump back into the truck.” Moby is dedicated to his human companion. “He likes just going around and seeing new places — as long as he is with me. His job is to be with me at all times,” Lloyd explained. “When are at a five-star restaurant or the theater or wherever, I have to tell him to stay if I have to go to the bathroom. Once I get up, his face will not leave that general direction until I return. He always knows where I am at. The second I am not in his line of sight, he feels like he does not have a job.” Lloyd and Moby have a long history together, including many visits to the Six Flags amusement parks, where Moby was trained to ignore all the loud sounds. The busy settings were also helpful as Moby learned to interpret the difference between happy laughter and “scary” laughter and between tears of joy versus someone who may need help. “It is all part of good training,” Lloyd said. “When I go to the airport, he is all happy and playful, but once we enter the doors, he immediately snaps into work mode. You can see that change.” One of Lloyd’s favorite Moby stories is when they were preparing to board a train in New York City while visiting some of Lloyd’s Army buddies. “This really — I mean really — creepy looking guy that caught our eye in the vestibule,” Lloyd said. “He just looked at us and Moby, and (he) whined about liking cats. Moby, out of his natural instinct to protect not only me, but my group of friends, corralled us to the back of the vestibule. He then walked toward the front and stood right between us and this guy. He looked at him and let out a low growl. He just stood there with a look to the man like he was saying, ‘Stay away from my people.’” Man’s best friend indeed!

Not long ago, Peggy Arnold had the pleasure of watching her granddaughter, Aubrey O’Kelley, walk across a stage to accept her college diploma. Arnold was not the only beaming grandmother in the crowd, just as the young graduate wasn’t the only person in the room who made sacrifices to make it to this milestone. But as she watched the graduation ceremony, Arnold couldn’t help but marvel at the road that had been traveled to bring her family to this point. It was both a literal journey, behind the wheel of a big rig, and a spiritual one, in the firm belief that raw determination would someday pay off in celebrations like this one. “(Driving a truck) put me solidly in the middle class, and that was important,” Arnold shared. “It was important to me, it was important to my family, my children and even my extended family. I was the first person in my entire family that ever made any kind of money. I helped all of my family — my mother and my sibling — everybody. “It is a success story and it helped me to be able to do the things that I wanted to do for my family and even continues to do that now, as I’ve helped my granddaughter get through college. I’m rewarded every day,” she continued. The family has had a lot to celebrate these days. In addition to her granddaughter’s long-awaited college graduation, Arnold recently attended another ceremony — this one for herself. During the Mid-America Trucking Show, held in Louisville, Kentucky, in March, Arnold was named the 2022 Driver of the Year by the Women In Trucking Association (WIT). Arnold accepted the award with her granddaughter looking on. “She said to me when I won, ‘I’m so proud of you, Nanny, and I love you,’” said a beaming Arnold. She says that talking about the award, for which she competed against two other finalists, still takes the breath out of her body. While Arnold has been driving for more than three decades, the vast majority of those years for Yellow Corp., she says it still doesn’t seem that long ago that the thought of having a good-paying, professional career — not unlike her granddaughter’s goal of earning a college degree — was as far-fetched as flapping her arms and flying around the moon. “I grew up with a single mother. My father had passed early on,” Arnold said. “My mother did the best she could, God love her, but she didn’t know to tell me the things that I didn’t know. I went to school, but I never heard a lot about college or anything like that. It was a struggle growing up, a very difficult childhood.” Arnold stayed in school until the 10th grade before dropping out to go to work, where she accepted menial, low-paying jobs that, at the time, she thought were her only option. The work was hard and the pay was lousy, but what she lacked in formal schooling she more than made up for in bone-deep grit. “I grew up on work,” she said. “Early on, I worked primarily in the service industry, either doing waitress work or cleaning rooms of hotels or working as a cashier at a small truck stop. I can remember working for $2.65 an hour a long, long time ago. And I can remember working for $4.50 an hour. It was the poverty level is what it was.” Arnold had no direct exposure to truckers until her husband became a driver, and she remembers well stretching her already meager paycheck to help him get through driving school. In return, he taught her how to drive, a skill that wouldn’t add anything to the family coffers until she got her commercial driver’s license (CDL). So off to truck driving school she went, in Lebanon, Tennessee. “It was about a six-week course, and I couldn’t afford to take a hotel,” Arnold said. “I remember they had old (truck) cabs out there sitting on the ground, and there was a truck stop across the street. There was an old red Peterbilt cab. I slept and studied in the sleeper bunk of that thing and went across the street for a shower and to get food at the truck stop.” Once she earned her credentials, Arnold got a job driving, but she says she underestimated how difficult it would be to leave her two small children for weeks at a time. She put in two torturous years before coming off the road and going to work at a truck stop. “You go through this terrible time where you feel guilty for leaving your children,” she said. “You go through all of that, thinking, ‘I’m not there for them enough.’ You go through missing them. It was a terrible, terrible roller coaster time. And I did leave trucking and went back to the service industry because of my children and needing to spend time with them. “But it just so happened that I was in the cashier business and there was a trucker that came by, and he made that his normal stop,” she continued. “We became friends, and one day he said to me, ‘Hey, you do know you can get into trucking and not be gone for weeks at a time.’ Of course, I did not know that. So, I was like, ‘Tell me more!’” In 1992, she joined Consolidated Freight, only to switch shortly thereafter to Roadway Express, which was later bought by Yellow Corp. And while the runs were shorter and allowed her to spend time with her family, they added up over three decades to now total 1.9 million accident-free miles. Arnold’s accomplishments piled up along with her mileage. She has been honored with Yellow’s Million Mile Safe Driving Award, has been noted on the list of 2022 Top Women to Watch in Transportation by WIT, was a finalist for American Trucking Associations’ America’s Road Team Captains for 2022, and received Yellow’s Road to Excellence Award for 2021 and Certified Safety Trainer for 2021. She also serves on her company’s Women’s Inclusion Network Employee Resource Group, where she has the opportunity to offer new women drivers the kind of mentorship she never had. “It’s right straight to the ground, right straight to my heart to help as many women as I can,” she said. “Especially when I see these women that maybe came from a job at McDonald’s or Subway, that came from a minimum wage-paying job, and they have children. I see myself in them. I so desire for them to be successful and to make it.” Arnold has a passion for helping other women succeed, both in the trucking industry and in life. “I tell them never give up, because you can’t give up in this industry. You may have a bad day, but you just pull up those bootstraps and you keep struggling right on,” she said. “I give them my phone number and they can call my phone number 24/7 because I want them to have someone to call if they have an issue,” she continued. “And I always tell them, ‘You can go and do anything you want to do in this world. You just have to have the grit to go after it.’”