Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

by | Dec 21, 2018 | BLOG

‘Twas The Run Before Christmas By Ted Light
‘Twas the run before Christmas, in the cab of my truck, A hundred miles from home, I’m in need of some luck.
The kids hung their stockings, but are feeling quite sad, They must go to bed now, and they wonder, “Where’s Dad?”
With a kiss and a hug, all will be right, But alone in the kitchen, Mom grows more uptight.
Earlier that day, the children were grinning, As they speckled the tree, with bright balls and trimming.
Then sipping hot chocolate, and playing Christmas songs, And talking about Daddy, who’s been gone too long.
And now I can see her, her brow creased with fret, As the children start dreaming, there’s no presents yet.
Curled on the couch, running a hand through her hair, In the glow of the tree lights, hoping I’ll be there.
Then I imagine the morning, with my love at my side, In tumbling our children. I must finish this ride.
Howling winds, blowing snow, and ahead all is white, Doubts creeping in. Will I make it tonight?
Beside me in the cab, with the wind unforgiving, Pretty packages sit waiting, for sweet Christmas giving.
I’ve a truckload of wishes, and I must deliver, But the storm keeps on roaring, as my old engine shivers.
It’s hardy and stubborn, and it’s taken me miles, And I’ll need it tonight, to see my kids’ smiles.
Rolling over the drifts, rubber gripping the snow, My big rig keeps moving, but ever so slow.
I’m gripping the wheel, and grinding her gears, And that fierce wind’s just whistling, and I can’t hardly steer.
And great gusts are blowing me, to the side of the road, And I’m fighting my fear, as I steady my load.
What was that I noticed, with a glance to the sky, Could the weather be clearing, did a star catch my eye?
And then, in a heartbeat, not a moment too soon, The night sky emerges, twinkling stars and bright moon.
With clear road ahead, I quickly arrive, The children peek from the window, as I pull in the drive.
I pat the door of my rig, as my feet touch the ground, For on this special night, it brought me home safe and sound.
With a heart full of joy, and a smile on my face, I open our door, to a loving embrace.
The gifts round the tree, make a beautiful sight, Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

From all of us at WTFC we wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Shelley, Sylvie, Joanne , Margaret, Carol , Caroline, Jennifer, Samantha, Sud, Johanne, Kimberly

We hope you enjoy this new song by our friends The Danny Thompson Band

It’s a Small Town Christmas

Living with PTSD

Living with PTSD

by | Oct 17, 2018 | BLOG

I wanted to share with you about my PTSD. I am not going to go into details of my past trauma but I wanted to show what living with my brain has been like all these years.  When people hear I have PTSD most do not understand which is normal actually, its hard to describe and subject to individuality.

 To start I am going to describe what I remember when I realized the full scope of what I had to deal with.  Imagine living in fear with a flight or fight response continually. That’s what I remember as well the panic attacks, the anxiety and feeling bad that I felt this way.  I tried so many ways to cope and nothing would or could relieve me. When something traumatic happens it actually causes your brain to change, neurons are made and your brain changes to cope.  It is individual because there isn’t just way one for things to change.

 In 1997 I had a boyfriend who transferred vehicles, trucks for a living and I used to go with him.  The garbage trucks were stinky but for the most part I enjoyed hanging out. I got in my first Peterbuilt, it was an old one and I was agog over the dash and gauges.  I decided right there I was going to do everything I had to drive one. I was 27 and never even had a driver’s license when I went to get my first permit. I was terrified as usual but determined and I made a firm plan of 5 yrs and how I was going to accomplish my goals.  My boyfriend enjoyed torturing me for 2 yrs teaching me to drive, he never let me drive during the day and always during the worst weather mother nature could throw at me. I panicked all the time, would stop and center myself and begin again. Over and over this cycle continued until I could cope and not panic, then he let me drive on a sunny day.  I am always grateful to Bill Coates for taking on me with my issues and making sure I knew how to drive and to be able to do so without panicking. I did accomplish my goals and end result being my AZ and it was a difficult journey but not my last. I made myself work at a job driving through every license, GZ, D, A. I stepped up as I was capable and felt comfortable.  I planned and executed this despite my PTSD.

 In 2007 the auto industry went to Mexico and drivers were laid off.  I was one of them and I decided to attend college and study accounting.  School was exhausting really because dealing with people for so long in a day stressed me out considerably.  Determination and hope I would get used to it kept me going and I finished with a decent average. So now I had my AZ and a college diploma and was quite happy because I started with just a damaged brain really and no education, no hope for the future.  I got a job just out of school covering a maternity leave as a CSR with a trucking company. I have to say I hated the job but I needed to make money so I went and did my job. It was then that I found out about a brain retraining program for PTSD. I was excited and attend the orientations and was interviewed and accepted into the program only to have my boss say it’s the program or the job and since I needed the money I stayed with the job.  I decided to research and try to change my brain myself. I discovered my limitations but slowly with self analysis I figured out what kind of triggers, what happens during a trigger and how to catch myself before my brain does what it does to shut off a lot of the panic. I learned how to ignore my impulses to react that used to frustrate me to no end.

 

So now I have my new challenge which is owning and I have slowly through the years become quite balanced.  I still have a brain that has impulses to panic and fear but I have learned how to do what I want anyways. I still am struggling with relationships and until I figure out a way to get through that limit I am just loving, accepting myself with all my flaws, there’s really no use beating myself up over something I cannot change.  

 

Carol and Sassy

 

 

Carol Pritchard is an owner operator at Pride Group  Logistics. Carol is also a director of the Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada .

You can reach Carol at carolp@wtfc.ca

 

My Wish For My Daughter

My Wish For My Daughter

by | Jul 28, 2018 | BLOG

 

My name is Nick MacKenzie and I am based out of Cape Breton, NS.  I have 20+ years involvement with the transportation and construction industries.  My fascination with this industry actually began when I was 15 years old working part time with a fuel company and hasn’t left me yet.  I began working part time with a local fuel company as a summer student, keeping up the connection while studying Business Administration at St FX. After graduating University, I had various jobs with financial and accounting companies, but my love of the transportation industry was always in the back of my mind. 

 

 

A few years later, I was fortunate to meet up with a partner and became involved with a family business having existing start-ups in the construction and transportation industries in and around Cape Breton Island – which I helped them grow and found few additional lines of business, allowing the company to expand over to construction services, waste removal,  hauling dry aggregate,  liquid bulk, dangerous goods – all servicing an area throughout the Maritimes.  During this time I worked with so many insightful contractors, suppliers, employees, subcontractors and owner operators.

 

Fast forward 15 years later and a lot of changes – children, moving to a new home, a new school, and I now have an amazing partner to remind me of how important care and support is, positively kept me focused, encourage me through all of these ups and downs and reminded me I shouldn’t give up on what I love and want to do –  who I must share in turn, also has an amazing career driving truck.  So its from there, I decided to found my own company Catou Consulting because I became aware there is such a need for so many diverse drivers, owner operators and individuals with so much potential that just needed that little bit of extra help/advice how to get things rolling in order to make their dreams become a reality.  So I currently work on incorporation assistance, book keeping, financing proposals, Business number registrations, safety paperwork, carrier set up … top to bottom –  anything you would need to get the ball rolling to accomplish a start up in the industry and if I can’t do it, I have many contacts that are glad to assist the type of projects!

M & M Truck

 

I am an advocate in supporting SME start-ups and support to family, small and medium businesses .  I understand the challenges of running a small business as well as the availability required to supply support out of hours of regular operations as when you own your own business, it is your livelihood, and no one should be bogged down with phone calls and red tape therefore, I understand flexibility and availability are crucial and integral to the succession and growth of business.

 

I believe small business is the backbone of our economy and the spinoffs are directly incurred from supporting each other.  My passion and bulk of my experience comes from the trucking and construction industry as well as family businesses.  I help set up/support/grow many owner operators, family businesses and understand the requirements, dedication, long hours and circumstances it takes to contribute to your family, economy and trade’s well being.   I have extensive work history in working with budgeting, financial reporting, staffing, human resources, compliance with all levels of government, equipment analytics, variety of specter of customer relations and operations management to a widespread operational jurisdiction on an on call basis.

 

I have witnessed start-ups start, fail, rebrand, grow and also restart.  I have experienced families start, grow but the one thing I have witnessed is that every driver, owner operator, supplier, vendor, office administrator, employee all have one common goal – to better themselves and the well being of their families in the attempt to succeed and do what they love the most – the love of the trucks, open road, and supply a customer all at the same time. 

 

Nick & Danielle

 

I myself do not hold a class 1 license but I have been there, dispatching and trying to coordinate the customer’s crazy idea of loads so everyone is happy, on the side of the road with the driver waiting for a repair in the middle of the night running out parts during a break down, that contractor from out of area that blindsides a bidding process and takes away local work, the phone call that your main contractor has decided to buy his own equipment and try it on his own, as well as that dreaded incident call in the middle of the night and every kind of audit/paperwork request you can imagine all while raising children. 

 

But on the flip side,  I have also had the opportunity to be a part of  spin offs, the look of pure love the look in someone’s eye when they pick up the keys to a unit of their own, the excitement of being the main hauler to that one particular customer that everyone’s been talking about, the joy in a driver’s eyes when a customer feeds back they only want that particular operator on their job site because they’re so good, the feeling when you leave a customer site after a pickup/delivery knowing that because you arrived with their goods, they can ensure a happy customer,  a finance deal for a truck that ended up happening because the unit you dreamed about fell through.  The positives always outweigh the negatives if you are patient, even though you don’t always understand why you are going through the hardships.

 

So, here’s why I do this every single day, I have an 11-year-old daughter, Danielle and my main goal in doing what I do, not only because I love the industry but because it’s important to me that maybe one day, one of the businesses that I work with will hire someone like her and provide them with the opportunity to better themselves while doing something she loves. My only wish for her is that she has all available options open to her and she be accepted in the industry for the career choice of her choosing – whether it be in a traditional trade or a non-traditional role.

 

 When I started as a “newbie” back in 2003, I was ready to conquer the industry head on, but quickly learned it was a male dominated industry and not every problem you encounter has a text book solution on all levels which was an eye opener for me, as this is not what we were taught in school.  I do not regret having the opportunity to attend University and I did learn a lot with regards to the management aspect in school, but the bulk of my experience is hands on and direct interaction with the employees, business owners, vendors and customers – all things school does not prepare you for – real life interaction, issues and resolutions.   

 

I feel as though my involvement and continuous persistence in wanting to work with this industry has not only helped myself grow personally and professionally but has brought awareness to much of my network that the ability of that particular individual working with should be measured and determined by their skill and ability in whole, not a gender.

 

Times are changing, and I have had the pleasure of dealing with so many inspirational and determined women, men and gender-neutral individuals taking on a more non-traditional roles and that is something not only to be proud of, but in my opinion to celebrate the recognition of the changing of times.  Positivity can only help it to make it better and therefore, therefore I’m sharing my story – if I can inspire just one person to pursue a career in the transportation industry that they’ve always dreamt about, I will be grateful, it is an amazing industry. 

 

You are not alone, you don’t have to do this by yourself, this is to encourage awareness that there are so many support systems, companies, groups, associations including myself that are out there wanting to assist someone in reaching their goal. 

 

 

…And if you have children, you’re not alone, this industry career path in whatever aspect you are thinking about – is doable if that is what’s holding you back!  Think of this – would you rather see your children watch you work at a job every single day doing something that you don’t love to do and not come home with that spark of positivity in your eye …..or would you rather inspire independent little people showing them that hard work, determination and courage pays off?  Because in my opinion, those are the skills they will need to acquire to have later in life to purse and succeed in accomplishing their dreams and aspirations.

 

  So, in conclusion, if a career of any kind in the transportation industry is what you’re thinking about and you’re on the fence – don’t wait! If it’s in your blood, don’t fight it, you can try to stay away from it, but you’ll always come back to it one way or another.  It might be overwhelming to think about making that change but step up to make yourself happy and just know you’re not alone.  There is much support available in so many aspects – Trucking is not only an industry, it’s a family of support in so many ways you can’t imagine.  So, if you’re ever down in Cape Breton, don’t be shy to message anytime for a coffee & a chat if there’s anything I can help with or if even just want to swap a “you wouldn’t believe what happened to me on the road today” story! ????

 

 

 

Nick MacKenzie

Email: catouconsulting@gmail.com

Phone: 902-295-0369

I Love Trucking

I Love Trucking

by | Jun 29, 2018 | BLOG

Trucking was part of my entire life. I never thought much about it. My dad, grandpa, and most of my uncles were truck drivers. They wore cowboy boots and nice plaid, snap-button shirts. When I was young I wanted to be a policewoman or a teacher. Since then, I have had people tell me I should go into one of those professions.

I loved summer vacation because each of my siblings and I got to take a turn in the truck with my Dad. I remember one trip, going over the 1000 Island Bridge, (thinking how neat it was, but that you couldn’t live on most of the islands; but that it would be cool to go on a boat through them). We picked up scrap cars in the Bronx, New York and delivered them to Oshawa Ontario. We had to be out of the truck during the loading (which makes sense now; as it was dangerous). There was a huge fence around the place, (obviously to keep people from stealing parts or breaking in and getting hurt) and Dad said it was because the city was such a scary place that “even the junk yard dogs are scared’! We must’ve been listening to ‘Bad, Bad Leroy Brown’ at the time! We had to make sure that the doors were locked when we were driving down the city streets.

Someone once said to me a number of years ago, that I “must have had a terrible childhood”. And I thought how mean, condescending and ignorant it was to assume that my life had sucked as a kid. They had no idea what ‘Driving a Truck’ was all about. To me, having a parent who drove long haul and wasn’t home a lot is no different than someone who has a parent working shift work. Sure they are home every day, but they are asleep when the kids get up, and when they get home, the parent is at work. Do those kids see their parent any more than I saw my dad?

My dad was mostly an Owner/Operator, and stopped by the house a lot on his way to/from the yard. He usually made it just in time for supper! He could also make his own schedule. So he was able to go with me on class trips. Who else had a dad go on class trips with them?

I went to college for Horticulture because it sounded fun. I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a living; let alone a career. After 2 years of college and 2 years of minimum wage, living at home with a school debt, I started to look at going back to school. After talking to and researching some schools, my dad suggested looking into trucking. He set up an appointment with Kim R. at KRTS (being a long-time friend). The next day we sat in his office, and then I went out on a road test where I was taken down the road and thrown into the driver’s seat! KRTS helped me with funding and soon I was sitting in the classroom and learning how to back a tractor trailer out in the yard.

The first job I applied for would’ve offered me a job, but the company’s insurance carriers didn’t want a younger, newly licenced driver. So I went over to Zavcor, who were willing to take a chance on me, and started driving for them the following week. They didn’t have any female trainers, let alone female drivers, (They had one O/O husband/wife team), and so the dispatcher went out with me daily for a while to Toronto. For my first year I was in Toronto and surrounding area daily. I would load/unload; drop/hook either at the main yard or at the Mississauga drop yard. I don’t think I need to say that I learned how to back up quite well! My dad was always there for me whenever I had a question (or problem). He is the best driver, boss, salesman and father I know! I knew I could count on him to help me out with any trucking situations/problems or even just to discuss trucking issues.

Then I started going across the border. My first trip out was only to Rotterdam NY (which is near Albany), but as with many drivers, it is too far to go in a single run! (I remember having new drivers tag along with me a few years later and how I would have to stop for them to take a break.) It’s amazing how exhausting it can be paying attention to the signs, traffic, and weather! At the end of the day you are as tired as if you moved a load of bricks from one pile to another by hand! So I drove highway for about 3 ½ years. I thought about leaving to try something else but I had just bought myself a house and was asked to move into the Safety Office. I had a great trainer in the Safety/Compliance office and learned things like what questions to ask applicants, how to judge people, and all about Drug and Alcohol testing, dealing with Insurance Companies and keeping up to date on employee and truck and trailer files. I took a course at the OTA (Ontario Trucking Association) called “Take the risk out of Hiring and Firing”. (FYI I would never fire anyone without someone else being in the building.) I took ‘The Exceptional Assistant” through Fred Pryor and a course on Occupational Health and Safety (OHSA) through the Transportation Health and Safety Association of Ontario (THSAO (now IHSA)).

I would fill in for dispatch occasionally and was in charge of compliance issues, drug and alcohol testing, safety training, file maintenance, log books, annual reviews and accidents.

I left Zavcor in 2006 to work for a small 5-truck operation and would complete local deliveries and pickups with a flatbed when I wasn’t working in the office. I ended up running the entire office by myself, which included billing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, dispatch, payroll, safety, compliance, etc.

With the 2008 economy drop, we all had to walk away from the company. So I tried a completely different job – filling in for a 1 year maternity leave position as potted salesperson at a large greenhouse. I got married that year to a guy I went to high school with and asked out at our 10 year reunion. The next summer I worked in my husband’s family owned greenhouse (so my Horticulture diploma sort of paid off!).

I then went to work at a sod company delivering bags of soil and mulch along with skids of sod on a tri-axle flatbed with a piggyback tow motor. In the winter I took a job delivering scrap metal around Burlington and up to 5 hours across the border. I spent a lot of time at the recycling plants off of Burlington Street in Hamilton (so again, lots of backing up). I drove scow and dump trailers, but it was a little too dangerous for me. Standing on top of a load of scrap metal in the snow is not my idea of fun.

In the spring I went back to driving the flatbed with the piggy back tow motor; and in the summer I drove the live-bottom trailer for pick-up and delivery of various soils, peat moss, gravel and sand. I got to see a few quarries and drive into the middle of fields! At the end of the summer, I decided to stay home for a while. We were trying to start a family without much luck. I went back to the sod company the next 2 springs as a sales rep on weekends.

I was then called by a small company who had been referred to me, to handle compliance. So I also did that part-time for a couple years. I was approached by a local farmer to work 1 day/week delivering grain to his barns. It turned into hauling pigs from Norwich to Dunnville on a triaxle every Friday, and going down the escarpment to deliver to the grain mills or to haul back pig feed.

During all this time, my husband and I were still trying to get pregnant. With lots of help, in the spring of 2013 I was pregnant with twins; and was unable to work at all. My son and daughter were born early January 2014. (But that’s a whole other story!)

In 2015 I was approached by my first trucking boss to drive 1 day a week hauling dry vans to/from Wainfleet, Brantford, London and a little bit of Toronto, for another of his companies. It was mostly drop/hook, except that you usually had to place the new trailer in the same door – which means extra drop/hooks! (Eye roll)! Actually, I loved it. It was a reprieve of days with just me and 2 babies. (I struggled greatly with PPD (post-partum depression) and thought this would help; but it only helped me to avoid it.) I had a sitter show up in the morning, and she stayed until my husband came home, so I was free to get home at whatever time I was finished. If there was no run that day, I would help with filing and vehicle maintenance records.

In 2017 I started working full-time back at Zavcor in the new role of Director of Zavcor Training Academy. With my experience in so many previous roles, this was a great fit for me. I’m back in the industry I love, working with great people and assisting those wishing to learn more about our industry and become a Licenced Driver. I wouldn’t say that I’m a role-model, but I think that I am doing my part to make this industry better and safer; and to show/prove that it can be, and is, a viable career; regardless of age, sex or race! I love trucking ☺

Sarrah Dekker – Director Zavcor Training Academy

Email: sarahd@zavcor.com

Zavcor Training Academy