On my very first night working the dock at Overnite Transportation Company, I was assigned to unload a 48-foot trailer full of Revlon cosmetics. It looked like a million cases stacked from floor to ceiling. Honestly, I felt like turning around, walking off the dock, and quitting right then and there.
But with God’s patience—and the grit He gave me—I stuck it out. I started separating and organizing the freight, doing my best to make sense of it all. About an hour in, Mr. Tom Williams came by to check on me. He asked how I was doing. I told him the truth: checking every shipping label was driving me nuts, and there was no way I was going to finish this trailer before morning.
That’s when he showed me something that changed everything.
He pointed out that each carton had a large computer-printed customer order number on it. All I had to do was match the numbers and separate the freight accordingly. The orders would basically sort themselves. And he was right—it made an impossible job surprisingly manageable.
I was surprised to learn that Mr. Williams had once worked the dock himself. Even more impressive, he had been an over-the-road driver out of Charleston, West Virginia, before moving into supervision. Knowing he had walked the same path made me feel a lot more confident. He wasn’t just giving orders—he truly understood what it was like to be in my shoes.
Revlon wasn’t the only customer that sent those massive, tightly packed loads. There were also shipments from American Greetings, Hallmark, and Russell Stover Candies, just to name a few. Over those first six months, I learned so much from Mr. Williams—lessons that would serve me well for years to come.
He taught me how to stage freight properly before loading it, how to balance trailer weight for safe travel, how to drive a forklift the right way, and how to always secure and chock trailers before entering them. Safety wasn’t just a rule—it was a mindset. And Tom Williams lived and breathed it.
I only had to spend one winter working the night shift on that dock, but let me tell you—one was enough. That bitter cold was a learning experience all by itself. You figure out real quick what to wear and what not to do if you want to keep from freezing to death.
Fortunately, change was coming. Overnite was preparing to move from that cramped, run-down 20-door terminal on Belmont Avenue to a much larger 50-door facility on Holt Road. That transition happened in April of 1983 and was driven in part by the deregulation of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which opened the door for trucking companies to expand.
I’ve had the privilege of working with some incredible people at Overnite. Tom Williams and Alan McBride were just the beginning. There are many more stories—and characters—still to come.
So stick with me. I think you’ll like where this journey goes.
My Trucker Life 