“My Granddaddy was known as Big Daddy by everyone. He was my mother’s father and he stood 6’5” and weighed over 300 lbs. He was a truck driver and I grew up knowing I wanted to be a truck driver also. Over the last 21 years that he worked, he drove a school bus. He’d pick me up at 6 am each morning and I’d ride his bus route with him. I idolized Big Daddy and enjoyed spending time with him. He even entrusted me to open the bus door at each stop,” shared October 2012 Driver of the Month, James “Randy” Barnett.
Growing up in a trucking family, Randy knew driving is what he wanted to do for a living. For generations, his mother’s family had been in the trucking business. When Randy was younger, he spent 10 years as a welder for the railroad. Working all day in as a fabricator was suffocating for someone with trucking in his blood. Finally, he switched occupations and got behind the wheel of a big rig. He has never regretted the change.
“I have driven for National for the past twelve years. I began driving for fleet owner Tom Magness. And after he passed away, I drove for Scott and Lois Castille. The past five years I have driven a company truck,” he stated. This is the fourth time Randy has been recognized as NCI Driver of the Month, once in each of the fleet owner trucks and twice as a company driver.
Randy feels his wife Wanda is the one responsible for his success as he drives for NCI. “Wanda and I have been married for 26 years. She understands that I will be out 4-6 weeks at a time. She is the one who allows me to do this job,” he confided.
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Randy is my Step Father. He has been my step father for 26 years….When him and my mother married, I was 18 and he made sure that we became friends instead of coming into my life being BOSS..ha…. He has been a big influence in my life and always stood by me and the decisions I made. Now at my age of 43 , he still remains a constant in my life and when he is out on the road he calls to check on me and my family…to make sure we are OK…If he hears one of us are sick or something big going on, he knows and he calls. If its urgent, he finds a way to get home. I can say many things about this man, Randy Barnett, they are all good….but the one thing I will say is that he is a family man and most of all, he gives the best hugs !!