As the trainee followed his driver trainer through the rain, both were concerned. The whiteout conditions caused by the hammering rain made visibility near zero. The cattle had been
loaded heavy on the bottom of the livestock trailers, preparing for the expected high winds across the Texas Panhandle. Suddenly, the whiteout turned pitch black and, just as suddenly, the drivers could feel their trucks and loaded trailers being lifted upwards by a tornado.
Adolfo Terrazas had worked at National Beef Products in Liberal, KS, five years before deciding he’d like to drive truck. Using his savings, he attended the local vocational technical school’s CDL Driver Training Program. In 2001, National Carriers had just begun a new driving training program. Trainee drivers would follow an experienced driver for six months, learning the ins and outs of hauling livestock for NCI. Adolfo was hired into this program and during his second month as a trainee, he was struck by a tornado.
The tornado had lifted both trucks into the air and laid them on their sides. No glass was broken on either truck and all but two cattle lived. “The tornado really scared me,” he confided. “I took a local oilfield job driving a water truck for the next four years,” he shared. In 2005 Adolfo rejoined NCI, leasing a 2004 Peterbilt truck through NCI Leasing. Unlike his first experience with NCI, he flourished. He completed his truck lease, and then he exercised his purchase option on his truck. Along the way he volunteered to haul refrigerated loads, boxes, and tallow loads when the livestock division was slow.
National Beef customer service representative, Shawn Ware, explains, “Adolfo is the one guy I can call on if I am in a bind because I know he’ll be ready to go. He’s always on time, never complains, is always willing to work. NCI could not pick a better driver for Driver of the Month.”
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