This chapter is honestly difficult to title because it’s all about people. It’s summer of 1983, and on my city route, I met many wonderful individuals. I believe I have a likable personality because most of my customers seemed to like me. I quickly got on a first-name basis with nearly all my regular clients, and there were times I’d ask them to move skids around to save me time on my route—they happily obliged.
Of course, I always left the terminal each morning with a pallet jack and a two-wheel hand truck to make deliveries easier, knowing that sometimes customers didn’t have time to unload. If I saw they were busy, I’d unload the freight myself and place it on the dock. The receiver would then sign my bill, and I’d be on my way. But there were occasions when that didn’t work out so smoothly. Some customers refused to sign the bill unless they unloaded it themselves, broke down the skid, and did an accurate piece count. Fortunately, those moments were few and far between.
As I mentioned, I believe my personality must be pretty likable. Springs Industries at Stout Field was a regular stop for me, shipping linens and similar items to Kmart stores. I’d pick up there every day before 5 p.m. and got to know most of the shipping crew. One person in particular became a very close friend—Rob Pero, a shipping clerk at Springs Industries. We met during my daily pickups, and over time, we talked about everything going on in our lives. Our bond grew strong, like brothers. I cared about what was happening in his life, and he filled me in on his daily experiences, and I did the same with him.
This friendship made my days not only productive but also enjoyable. During the winter of 1983-1984, Rob began to tell me he was ready for a career change. He was searching for a new job but was having no luck finding what he truly wanted. In early 1984, he asked if I would put in a good word for him with Ken Singleton, our current terminal manager, and Tom Williams, who had recently been promoted to Operations Manager. I’d never recommended anyone for a job before, but I genuinely believed Rob was a good fit for the Overnite family.
I recommended Rob, and Tom told me to have him come in and apply. Rob submitted his application, and I advised him to hold onto his job at Springs Industries as long as possible because he would start part-time on the dock. Rob was called in, interviewed, and soon secured a dock position—early 1984.
Shortly after Rob was hired on the dock, he asked if he could start riding with me on my pickup and delivery route. We approached Tom, and he approved. I began explaining the basics of driving and handling customer situations. After some time, Rob expressed a desire to learn how to actually drive a semi-truck. We went back to Tom, who said that if that was truly what Rob wanted, he had no objections.
And so, I found myself as a driving instructor for the first time—who would have thought? Rob learned very quickly the dos and don’ts of commercial driving. He wanted more practice backing into docks, so whenever an opportunity arose, he was on it. When the chance came, Rob moved from the dock to a city driver position. He continued to grow with Overnite, eventually moving into management, starting as dock supervisor and then on into the office as a dispatcher. My hats off to Rob for sticking with the Overnite family—I sure wish I had.
In the next chapter, I’ll dive deep into my friendships with other drivers. I hope you’ll stay tuned and enjoy reading about it.
#OverniteTransportation #PeopleMatter #Friendships #TruckingFamily #TruckDriverLife #Mentorship #CareerDevelopment #WorkRelationships #Teamwork #DrivingCareer #TruckersOfInstagram #LongHaul #TruckingStories #WorkHard #Leadership #SuccessStories #TransportationIndustry #DriverTraining #CareerProgression #TruckDriverCommunity #RoadLife #WorkCulture #TruckingJourney #Motivation #JobSatisfaction #DrivingLessons #MentorshipMatters #TruckersUnite
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