Forty Years Guiding National Carriers By O. Loren Bridge Vice President
40 years of trucking and National Carriers.
- Deregulation in the early 80’s opens the door to more customers and more competition.
- Weight and length changes allowed for longer trailers and heavier pay loads.
- Fuel prices.
- Three truck parades down Main Street in Liberal, Ks.
- Commercial Driver’s License, the days of multiple licenses and log books are behind us.
- New hours of service rules and regulations.
- Technology, satellite tracking and communication with the trucks.
- Recession.
- Electronic logs—the preverbal black box.
- Fuel prices.
- Technology, satellite tracking and temperature monitoring with our trailers.
- Cost of equipment.
- Wrinkles, fifteen to twenty additional pounds but not much gray hair—yet.
What made National Carriers great 40 years ago is what will continue to make National Carriers successful—the folks behind the wheel, without the drivers doing their thing those of us in the office wouldn’t be here.
Feather Foot, Horny Hornet, Blue Cat, Heavy Duty, Little Rascal, Big Rascal, Little Joe, Night Stalker, Piute, Shoe Shine Boy, Laughing Boy, Tom Cat, Corn Cob, Black Cat, Tadpole, Honky Tonk Man, Little Red, Grasshopper, Star, Shy Guy, Mule Skinner, Mud Flap, Catfish, Grease Monkey Blue Balls, Baby Bear, Coat Hanger, Little Mose, Spider Man, Short Man, Skip Along, KW and Mama Diesel, Pipefitter, and many many more, all lead by Butcher Boy, drivers were the back bone of National Carriers in my early years with the company as they are today. Drivers were required to check call every morning between 6am and 8am (urinate and communicate) and 3 pm to 5 pm in the afternoon so we could let the customers know if they would make delivery on time. Technology has changed the way we communicate with our drivers, information at our fingertips. Trucks get better fuel mileage today, they need to because diesel prices were around .40 per gallon in the early 80’s verses todays national average of 3.80 per gallon.
I have had the fortune of working with five presidents, many long time coworkers and of course a variety of drivers. National Carriers gave many people the opportunity to advance, it gives me great pleasure to have witnessed their journey and to see what they accomplished at National Carriers.
- East coast dispatcher became head of sales then president.
- A young lady started as a part time file clerk and worked her way up to running operations.
- Shoe store owner began a new career in trucking worked his way up to head of ops,
- Jason Greer a delinquent kid that finally grew up now runs our very successful livestock division.
- Dennis Baxter was a guard at the plant became an east coast dispatcher and now runs our very successful brokerage (logistics) division.
- Johnny Branstine a skinny little mouthy teenager started in the shop now runs our entire maintenance program.
- Mike Rinehart began his career at National Beef pushing a pencil for them and is now our VP of Finance.
- Today I am witnessing several individuals at the beginning of their National Carriers journey, it’s a marathon not a sprint, and it doesn’t happen overnight— patients and perseverance.
I know I have left out some, it’s not an oversight it’s a memory issue. There are so many successful stories on owner operators and drivers that I just can’t begin to mention them all.
Four or five months after joining National Carriers I was persuaded by the president and operations manager to go meet a newly hired young lady at National Beef, 10 months later we were married, so for 39 of my 40 years at National Carriers I have had someone to listen to the peaks and valleys that go with any profession—so I must thank my wife Chris for her support because without that support at home any job would be more difficult. I thank National Carriers for giving me the opportunity to be at one company for 40 years.
Now just like at the beginning of my career at National Carriers I must thank the folks that make their living driving up and down the highways at all hours of the day because without you out there doing your thing I wouldn’t have 40 years in the office. So, Frank, Ron, Allen, Sandy, Randy, Curtis, Jimmy, Luis, Steve, James, Doug, Roger, Ryan, Goldie, Don, Teberiu, Johnny, Chris, Richard, Charles, Michael, Kenneth, Paul, Gerry, Jeff, Brian, Damon, Mark, Elaine, Bruce Eric and all the other National Carriers drivers—THANK YOU.
