Nussbaum’s Clark Reed lands TCA DOY honors by sticking to the fundamentals

In the two decades Clark Reed has been behind the wheel, he’s racked up approximately 2.5 million miles, touched all of the 48 contiguous states and graced the pages of multiple industry magazines. He even participated in a Fireside Chat with U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in 2021.

Most people would call that a pretty good career, but for the 60-year-old stalwart, who drives for Nussbaum Transportation, that list doesn’t even scratch the surface of his accomplishments.

He’s been recognized in FleetOwner magazine’s list of Top 10 Influencers in Trucking, and earlier this year he was named Truck Driver of the Year by the Illinois Trucking Association. A month after that, he added an even bigger trophy to his case: Reed was recognized as one of five TCA Professional Drivers of the Year for 2024.

“I still don’t know how to process all this,” Reed told Truckload Authority. “I’m honored, obviously, and flattered. It’s nice to know that people recognize the work I put into what I do. At the same time, though, I kind of joke that I don’t know what I did to deserve it. I just show up and do my job!”

While he’s been behind the wheel for 20 years, Reed has actually worked in the transportation industry for three decades. Those first 10 years, he says, he “drove” a desk doing third party logistics paperwork.

Then one day, he looked around … and decided he was tired of staring at cubicle walls and enduring interoffice politics. A career change was in order.

“The idea was to drive over the road for a couple of years and then get something more local. But of course, plans always tend to have their own way of working out,” Reed said. “I discovered I actually had a passion for the road, so I stayed out on the road.”

After earning his CDL, the native Ohioan drove for several carriers before finding a home at Illinois-based Nussbaum Transportation and the rest is history. Reed credits the expertise of a mentor trainer and a detail-oriented mind as fundamental to his success in the business.

“I had a really good trainer, who taught me to pay attention and to sweat the details,” he said. “When you’re driving, you have to pay attention all the time, to every little thing. I’ve always been a detail-oriented person — and I think worrying about the details and paying attention has paid off.”

At the same time, Reed is quick to admit that trying to keep a stranglehold on something that has as many moving parts and variables as an 18-wheeler is a recipe for cracking up. Because of this, he says, he discovered another trade secret to longevity: patience.

“When I talk to new drivers and they ask me what’s one thing I can share with them, I always tell them, ‘Practice patience,’” he said. “The kind of patience I’m talking about is recognizing everything that’s going on around you, focusing on what you can control and letting go of the rest of this stuff. If you worry about the stuff you can’t control, you’ll drive yourself nuts.”

One of the things Reed recognizes is beyond his control is the transformation of culture in the driving community over the past 20 years. The days of drivers gathering around a table at a truck stop and sharing experiences and wisdom with other drivers is rapidly disappearing, replaced by various smartphones, tablets and other entertainment gizmos.

“I think that the advent of all these electronics has a lot to do with it,” he said. “Drivers can FaceTime their families at home, or just grab a phone and talk. It’s much easier to stay connected to family and friends.

“Before, it was difficult to do, unless you wanted to plug a bunch of quarters into a pay phone or get one of those calling cards,” he continued. “As a result, I think the camaraderie has kind of gone away.”

That doesn’t mean there’s a lack of community among drivers, Reed says.

“But I will say this, and here’s where it counts,” he said “You may not see them hanging around the counter at the restaurant — but for the most part, if somebody is out there struggling, somebody’s going to jump in there and help them out, especially the older guys.

“If somebody’s struggling backing into a hole or getting to a dock or their truck’s broke down or something like that, guys still jump in and help each other out,” he added.

Reed finds other ways to connect with his fellow drivers as well, having served as a company training resource for a number of years. He said he enjoys the opportunity to help industry newcomers set out on the right foot, and that the biggest reward he gets is watching one of his students advance in skill and succeed in their career.

On that latter point, however, he may not know his own strength.

“What I enjoy the most about training is seeing them succeed,” he said. “I’ll tell you a story: At Nussbaum, we have a scorecard that determines what your bonus is going to be. I don’t mean this to sound like a braggadocio, but for the longest time, probably 13 months running, I was ranked No. 1.

“Well, I had a student named Mike Cline,” he continued. “I taught him like I teach everybody: Do the job the correct way every time — don’t take shortcuts on your pre-trip, don’t put off these little things you see wrong with your truck, do your planning. Well, Mike took all this to heart and then one day, he actually knocked me off the top of that scorecard! That’s something he reminds me of every time I see him.”

At this, Reed lets loose a peal of laughter, tickled at the memory of the student besting the sensei.

“I was so happy for him,” he said with a note of fatherly pride. “One, he’s going make more money and two, it shows his hard work and dedication to doing things the right way paid off. It also showed me I was doing my job the right way.”

And that’s what it’s all about: Showing up, doing a job and doing it well.

This story originally appeared in the September/October edition of Truckload Authority, the official magazine of the Truckload Carriers Association.

Dwain Hebda

Dwain Hebda is a freelance journalist, author, editor and storyteller in Little Rock, Arkansas. In addition to The Trucker, his work appears in more than 35 publications across multiple states each year. Hebda’s writing has been awarded by the Society of Professional Journalists and a Finalist in Best Of Arkansas rankings by AY Magazine. He is president of Ya!Mule Wordsmiths, which provides editorial services to publications and companies.