It’s been three years since my journey began in trucking, and with Prime. I’ve been everywhere our trucks go and have experienced just about everything a trucker can. It’s been good, bad, exciting, boring, frustrating and fulfilling beyond anything I could hope and dream.
Since I am fiercely independent, I would love to look back and conclude that I’m the one who got me this far but that could not be farther from the truth. I stand in the place I’ve come to only by standing on the shoulders of an amazing team. On my own, I have the ability to haul sand in a little red wagon being pulled by a tricycle.
I stood in pitch black darkness in the middle of nowhere the other night with a reefer unit that just stopped running. I was a hundred miles from the nearest mechanic and I had to deliver before they would even roll out of bed. My goose would be cooked if I could not get the unit running again and the chicken in the back began to thaw.
At midnight, a Road Assist associate talked me through steps to override several functions and got the reefer started again. As I drove into the customer to deliver my still frozen load on time, it would be easy to think I was the hero, but I was not. The Road Assist guy was. He saved MY load.
As the first quarter of the year ticked by and I passed parked trucks from other companies while on my way to pick up each new load, I realized how connected Prime is in the industry and how hard the Sales team had worked to keep me rolling and making money even when freight was low. The only time I sat was when I told my fleet manager I needed to stop and catch my breath. That’s heroic.
When I got called into the Wyoming Port of Entry with a command to produce my permits book, I made the walk into the building with confidence knowing the individuals in the permits department had made sure my book contained every item DOT could possibly want. And at the end of our “visit” when the DOT officer uttered the words, “Have a nice day,” I could not take credit for passing DOT scrutiny. Someone I don’t even know ensured my book was put together properly.
I get compliments from folks all the time. They tell me I’m a good driver or I’m courteous and professional. It makes me chuckle every time and I tell them it’s easy to appear that way when I have an entire arsenal of dedicated folks working around the clock behind the scenes to make me look good, perform at my best and get the job done.
It’s not about me. It’s about the recruiters, the orientation specialists, the trainers, the support staff, the mechanics, the cooks, the shower cleaners who keep me placing my best foot forward. It’s about my fleet manager who puts up with me, and my Road Assist guy who is patient when I tell him the Thingamabob lost its doololly and caused the widget to fall into the whatchamacallit.
Every single person at Prime is responsible for my success. By doing their jobs so well, I look good as I roll on down America’s roads delivering the goods. Without them, my truck wouldn’t budge. I salute every person who does their part to ensure my success. Without you, I would be nothing.
Written by Reba J. Hoffman
Reba J. Hoffman joined Prime in 2014 after spending a year riding her bicycle alone around the country helping women victims of violent assault. A therapist by trade, Reba uses her understanding of people and how they tick to help them live their dream of being a trucker by serving as a CDL Instructor. When out of her truck, you’ll find her somewhere in the wilds of nature.
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