A very dear friend and colleague of ours posted this saying on ExeditersOnline.com years ago and I asked him if I could use it. This has been our motto ever since.
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
Our 40' straight truck is governed by the same rules as T/T except that drivers at a minimum need a class B license with an airbrake endorsement. Bob and I both have our class A licenses with HAZMAT and Tanker Endorsements. Lifestyle; we are usually away from home and on the road for two - three months at a time, living in the truck becomes a lifestyle by choice. We learned long ago that if we go home too often for short stays we did not get a chance to relax. Running team as expediters we have learned we need the stamina to run hard, and then be able to sit for extended periods of time. The saying in expediting it is hard to plan an emergency and we have found this to be
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| Our daughter cooker Easter Dinner |
true. Knowing this information we planned our living arraignments and picked our truck to accommodate both situations. We are just as comfortable crisscrossing the United States in our Cascadia as we are sitting for a long weekend. This is our home away from home for almost 300 days a year.
Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;
Where to begin on the adventure.... Who would have ever guessed that two very reserved shy people from the remote corner of southwest Kansas would be doing what we are today. We have learned to say yes to opportunities as they are presented. We have visited the Don Garlits Museum in Ocala, FL, acrobatic airplane ride over the deserts of Nevada, to taking a water taxi around Vancouver, British Columbia. We have been able to participate in many things that only trucking would have allowed us to see or experience. Our business has also been an adventure, we haul things we have only read about our seen on TV, we have been in manufacturing plants that build things we only dreamed about, and we have met people that have awed us with their accomplishments. Each day is a new day, in a new area, meeting new people and that is craziness that keeps us wanting to see and experience more.
Ace Combat Acrobatic Airplane Ride - Las Vegas
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Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;
The job is what pays the bills, affords us the truck, the lifestyle and our adventures. We are reminded that this is a job when we are struggling to get through a snowstorm, trying to find a customer, running through the night when most people are asleep, or when we are running continuously and need a day off. Our job is not 9 - 5 nor does it recognize holidays or weekends. We no longer say TGIF or do we say we hate Mondays, as all days are another day to make money. While we are away from home the job comes first and we usually find ourselves working seven days a week unless.... a chance for an adventure fits into the job schedule.
Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business
This is the most important line in the saying. The business comes first and sometimes we have to put our lives on hold for the business. Many of our loads have an ASAP pickup and we can be seen shoving our just arrived meal into a to go box, throwing our wet laundry into a plastic bag to be dried or rewashed later and rushing out to our truck. We can be in the middle of anything and the Qualcomm beeps, our personal life goes on hold, as the information of the load is discussed and off we go. Our business is something we are very proud of and something we constantly strive to improve and move the bar higher to achieve more.