by wtfcanada2015@gmail.com | Mar 12, 2019 | BLOG
My name is Jordan, and I am a professional driver. I want to learn to drive truck. Currently, I drive school bus. I have maintained my B now for two years and love what I do. The precision movements, the attention to detail, the constant testing of my spacial awareness, and circle checks, please! To some this all sounds like a burden, but to me it is both gratifying and fulfilling. I take great pride in what I do and I believe that shows in my work.
Like most, I obtained my G1 as soon as I was able. That night, my mother took me out for my first “lesson”. I had of course, like any other delinquent teen, driven many times prior. Little laps around the block when I was just supposed to be switching the cars in the lane way, (sometimes a little further). But nothing like what I experienced that night. A couple of wrong turns left us on a road that emptied onto the 401. We should have stopped and switched, but under my mothers direction, I merged onto the highway. There were three of us in the car, a 1992 forest green Dodge Shadow. I remember the sound of the horn as a truck came up behind us and my Dad in the back seat shouting “Punch it! Punch it!” as he maintained a death grip on my head rest. I looked in the mirror and read ‘MACK’ spelled backwards and kept the pedal on the floor. I laughed as the adrenaline pumped through my body. I knew we were fine, I knew even then that I had full control over the vehicle and that I may have upset the driver with our poor choice, but we were safe. And I was hooked. I drove everywhere from then on. I was good. I am good. I wish that I had been exposed to racing at that time in my life. It is my dream to race. Although the two jobs are very different, they both require a immense amount of skill and a formidable grasp on the movements of the vehicle. That is why I want to drive truck.
I am a professional driver. I started my career as a driver about 5 years ago, a little later in life than most. So far my age has not stood in my way of being awesome and learning new things. My life had just changed rather unexpectedly and I found myself a job working as a car jockey at a local car and truck rental company. I did detailing, customer shuttles, shuttling rentals from city to city as well as small maintenance. What I learned from the experience was that driving the bigger vehicles was the highlight of each day. From there I moved from position to position getting the experience I needed to achieve the credentials I wanted. My goal is to climb my way through opportunities until I achieve my AZ License and am teaching driving to others.
Written and submitted by: Jordan Janse-French
Jordan asked us to share her story in hope of inspiring others to explore the trucking industry.
by wtfcanada2015@gmail.com | 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
by wtfcanada2015@gmail.com | Jun 16, 2018 | BLOG
Ester Rony
I joined the trucking industry in 2010, by that time I was pregnant, here when you get pregnant after high school you become a disgrace in society, I was 19 and naughty as any young teenage girl would be, I was told to get out of the house by my Dad who was so angry about me getting pregnant, I wasn’t annoyed at all because that’s how any parent would have reacted, I was strong yet I had nothing, but I don’t know where I got the courage to move out, the father to my pre born baby was a high school sweetheart so he couldn’t do much.
So I went in an abandoned house and started a life, let me get to trucking now.
Esther Rony
Female truck drivers face a lot of challenges in my society, its a job of single mothers, orphans, drug addicts and any bad behavior you may think of, so the public talks poorly about anybody in the trucking industry, I joined the trucking industry, at first I approached a female driver and asked to be her helper, I told her my story of being a single mom and she took me in, we started traveling together from Kampala heading to the east to the border in Malaba then crossing over to Kenya which is another country.
She didn’t know my intention was learning to drive, but I helped her whenever she needed my help, as time went on, I learnt routes, how l am supposed to behave on the road, she became my friend and she taught me slowly how to drive, how to identify problems and fault, how to handle simple mechanical problems , we got along well.
Esther Rony
I finally got in to business, started getting money and applied to a university where I pursued a degree in information systems, I got my father’s attention and other family members back, it was through a lot of hard work, toil and sleepless nights that I achieved my degree, I started talking to different female drivers whenever i met them on stop overs, they thought they are doomed, I started empowering them and I told them we also are needed in this society, if we cut off supplies of food the society will lack. I used my opportunity of being exposed and we formed a women’s committee in a big Association called Uganda National Lorry drivers and Transporters Association.
Written and submitted by :
Esther Rony
Uganda East Africa
Spokes person of Uganda National Lorry and Transporters Association
by wtfcanada2015@gmail.com | Apr 18, 2018 | #BeTheException, BLOG
Diezel oil running through her veins and a fiery passion only the Diezel Diva can explain! Born into a family of drivers, it is no surprise that Diezel Diva’s career in the trucking industry would lead her to where she is today.
It all started when she was just a little girl, her dad would bring his bobtail rig home and you would often find Crystal having sleepovers with friends, listening to music and pretending to be a trucker and every time the little Diva made sure to clean the truck for her dad before he would leave to head out on his next trip.
Always a bit of a dreamer and unlike a lot of other little girls Crystal knew from a very early age that she was destined to be a trucker.
At 16, Crystal went to an information session for a career planning program and as they went around the room asking what the participants wanted to do, when it came to the little Diva she stood up proud and shocked the room when she said she was going to be a truck driver and that is when Crystal started paving the road to becoming the Diezel Diva she is today.
Crystal was determined to make a name for herself in the trucking industry and although there were many curves in the road she travelled to get here, that little girl always stayed true to her vison. She was the youngest participant in the career planning program that she attended and was the only one out of the entire class who actually ended up doing what she set out to do.
In that career planning program she learned how to prospect potential employers by carefully selecting employers that she wanted to work for and doing her research before approaching them for work experience opportunities as part of the course she was attending and from that point, Crystal started work experience in truck shops and went on to work in wash bays, truck stops and other odd jobs before finally putting herself through Reimer Express Driver Training in 2001.
Obtaining her commercial license didn’t come easy for her though, Crystal failed her written tests 10 times each, as here in Manitoba, the tests for the professional driver’s license and air brake endorsement are separate tests on the written and practical exams but failing didn’t stop her from doing what she set out to do because when everyone was telling her to give up or that it wasn’t for her, she went on to prove them all wrong and it was the belief that she had in herself that kept that little girls dream alive. She thought to herself, “If I give up on myself, who else is going to believe in me” and it was that determination and drive that kept her wheels in motion.
At the age of 19 Crystal worked a full time job at one of the big shopping malls in Winnipeg as an exterior maintenance technician, she would wake in the early hours of the morning to go clear snow and clean the exterior grounds of the mall for 8 hours before going to class at the driving school for the rest of the day so, she was already no stranger to long days and hard work even before she started driving.
Crystal was the only female in her class at the driving school and was the youngest in the group yet again lol but that didn’t bother her as Crystal has a way of standing out no matter where she is or the circumstance, whether good or bad it is just who she is and she wears that with pride. Crystal passed her provincial road test December 10th 2001 with only 5 marks docked and finished the program with 98 percent, She told the boys “ Not bad for a girl hey”
Being 19 when she got her license it was hard to find employment as everyone wanted experience and required the driver to be 21 and able to cross the border Crystal had No experience and was nowhere near 21, another road block right? WRONG! That wasn’t going to stop her though. It lit a fire inside her and made her work twice as hard to get what she wanted.
Crystal got her first big break when she met a man named Darryl Westbrook; he owned three trucks at that time and hired Crystal to haul rail containers to and from CN Intermodal yard in Winnipeg on weekends for Vitran. Although this was a part time position, it helped her to gain some valuable experience as a driver and set the Diva up to pursue some bigger goals. Being in the industry you meet a lot of people and fellow drivers and sometimes opportunities come out of these meetings much like her next big break! When she turned 21 Crystal met a driver who was working for a small driver service company out of Gravenhurst Ontario and he prompted her to apply to his boss and that’s when she got another break in her career and the opportunity to experience what the open road was all about.
Crystal remembers packing for her orientation in Toronto like it was yesterday, her boss picked her up in Winnipeg and to his surprise it seemed as though the young Diva was moving her whole house for that trip lol upon her arrival in the big city she was full of excitement but when she got to her hotel she felt a little nervous and scared and just wanted to turn around and go home because she had never been that far from home and all alone L but that changed the very next day when she met a classroom full of fellow drivers attending the orientation and because Crystal is an outgoing burst of energy she has no problem making new friends wherever she goes. After the week long orientation she ran team for a couple years hauling all over Canada and the United states with Quik X transport, she got to see and experience so much as a young driver and even remembers stalling the truck out on some of Canada’s big grades lol her excuse was that she learned to drive in the flat lands where the steepest grade she learned to shift on was an overpass bridge, and we all know that’s no comparison to the Montreal River Hill on Highway 17 through Ontario or the steep hills in beautiful British Columbia. Oh, How the memories come rushing back like they were yesterday.
After a couple years of the long haul team driving Crystal was ready to spread her wings and fly and took on some regional loads with Quik X, switches to Dryden, loads to Saskatoon and other regional short haul trips were something she thoroughly enjoyed as she got to spend time at home and still was able to do what she absolutely loved! Crystal kept her position at Quik X and was offered another position with Darryl Westbrook where she would work locally on a 4 day on 4 day off schedule and on her days off you would find her hauling loads for Quik X. The Diva kept at this schedule for a couple years gaining more experience hauling all types of freight and different trailer combinations before she decided to spread her wings and fly again when she took another chance and loaded up her car and headed west to the oil patch in Alberta.
Crystal’s first job in the oilfield landed her in the Medicine Hat / Red Cliff area where she was being trained on pneumatic tankers hauling bulk cement, that experience was short lived because on her last night of on the job training, Crystal and her trainer were finishing up on a job when their product hose got jammed on the pumper they were pumping cement into and they couldn’t get the hose off due to pressure built up in the line. Her trainer failed to advise her that he was going to hammer the line off their trailer and to Crystal’s surprise, being 5’4 the connection to the pumper was 1.5 feet higher than what she could reach and when the pressure was released the product hose came flying at her so fast and ended up smashing her front teeth out prompting her to run around the site spitting her teeth out crying because her smile was broken L her trainer did not realise the impact or the damage and thought she was running in fear until she pointed her teeth out to him at which point they headed back to Medicine Hat for some much needed medical attention. While she was off on modified duties getting her smile put back together Crystal thought long and hard and came to the conclusion that accidents happen all the time but the fact that she was out there all alone dealing with this and having her family back in Winnipeg all worried, that just maybe it was a sign that she needed to move on down the line and possibly get closer to some extended family a little further West and that is exactly what she did.
Crystal lived and worked in Alberta for a couple years and learned to drive truck and pup combinations hauling all sorts of gravel and excavation materials and even had the opportunity to haul bulk liquid (raw chicken blood and guts) ohhhh that smell gets in your clothes and is horrid but she was proud of the experience lol Hauling bulk liquid comes with a whole new set of risks as well, something that leaves her scarred to this day. Six months after having her teeth smashed out, Crystal took on the bulk liquid job hauling to a processing plant in Edmonton every day and a few weeks in Crystal learned the hard way of what hauling liquid was all about. One April morning in 2006, She was on her way to Edmonton and as she was approaching a curve she over corrected her steering and lost control of the truck sending it onto its side and closing the highway for the better part of that day and resulted in a scar that is now covered with a tattoo and a ticket for failure to stay in her lane L
In the fall of 2007 she decided to move back home to Manitoba to be closer to her family again after learning of her dad’s heart two attacks and his need for a triple heart bypass in October of that year. It was at that time that she started driving for a long distance moving company doing odd trips and trailer switches before being hired on full time in the summer of 2008 and roughly a month after being hired full time Crystal stepped off her catwalk dislocating her left elbow and blowing out her radial head which required surgery and has left her with a pin in her elbow to this day.
This injury changed a lot for the young 26 year old who still had so much drive and so much more to see, learn and accomplish in the industry. Due to the nature of the injury and the fact that her employer was sick and hired a CEO to take care of things this also changed a lot and Crystal was in for the fight of her life in dealing with a very toxic in experienced CEO that took over and tried very hard to get her cut off of WCB by lying about her employment, wages and just about anything else he could think of to try and make a name for himself but being the warrior she is Crystal fought to the bitter end and WCB finally realized that as long as that man was going to be CEO of that company, it was a toxic work environment and that’s when WCB decided that they needed to retrain Crystal and that in itself caused a lot of mental and emotional trauma for her as she thought her dream was dying but in reality, it was only the beginning. Through the planning for her new direction Crystal ended up going back to school to obtain her grade 12 being that when she was young she dropped out of school in grade 7 after some very difficult traumatic events distracted her from completing her early education and once she got her diploma Crystal went on to pursue some other goals by going through the Transportation Distribution Management course offered at Red River Community College because she had already had a good history within the industry she did not want to throw that away and start something new. After completing these courses Crystal took a term position with a local drayage company coordinating imports, exports, dispatching drivers and scheduling. Although she enjoyed that job, it was only a term position but it also led her to an offer to run a local container company from her home, she did marketing, advertising and sales for this company before being hit with another blow of life that prompted her for yet another change.
In 2013 Crystal went for a visit to Alberta and while there her cousin (single father of 5 kids) had a family emergency where his oldest boy had a horrible seizure that would change their life as they knew it and required help so without hesitation Crystal came back to Winnipeg and loaded up her life and went to the rescue to help where she could and once things were settled there she moved on. Crystal worked some local driving jobs before meeting a man from Fort McMurray and making the move out there, she got hired on with Diversified Transportation to drive a coach bus transporting the oil sands employees to and from site on a split shift which she enjoyed because it was something new and different.
After only 9 months she was put into a position to make a choice of staying in Fort Mc Murray or following who she thought was the love of her life, so she made the decision to follow her man which ended up leaving her in an isolated location for the better part of a year which caused her a lot of depression and in the spring of 2015 the warrior bounced back and took control of her life making some huge decisions because deep down she knew things needed to change with her and so, she decided the first thing she was doing was getting off of the weight loss roller coaster she had been on for years and with that decision some other major life changes followed landing her back in Manitoba after her husband moved her all the way to Newfoundland only for the couple to lose everything they had. It was the last selfish decision he would make that would affect her life and so she woke up one December morning and decided she was loading her car up and heading home where she belonged.
Once she was settled back in Manitoba in early 2016 she landed a job with a local Landscape supply company and worked her ass off which she absolutely enjoyed and the truck she drove was an absolute BEAST that she took so much pride in and you would see her posting about washing that truck every week! It was that job and her love of being silly that had Crystal posting random silly pictures which eventually put her in touch with some truly amazing people and when she was presented with the opportunity to take part in a lady driver calendar she thought to herself…… Ummm Hell yeah!!
Crystal had always struggled with self-image, so the idea of the calendar had her wanting to back out so many times because she didn’t know what to wear or how to present herself specially after losing 130 lbs. Today Crystal believes that being in that calendar empowered her to step out of the comfort zone and mental block she lived behind for so many years and really go after the big picture she had of running her own business for so long and that my friends is where the Diezel Diva was born.
Crystal has never been a stranger to working long and hard to get what she wants in life or to follow her dreams wherever they may lead her and this is where her vision comes back into play, as a child she would sit in her dads truck rocking out to music, having sleep overs in the bunk and would clean that rig for her dad before he had to hit the highway J Back in the early part of her career in the industry she often had a lot of great business ideas but decided to follow through and work her way through everything this industry had to throw at her and prove all the non-believers wrong. After 20 years in the industry Diezel Diva is emerging and building a product and brand for herself as a mobile detail specialist / driver service as she says “you can take the girl outta the truck but you will never take the Diezel outta this girl” Crystal knows that building a business isn’t easy nor will it happen overnight but she is definitely prepared for the road that lies ahead and has plans to make the best of it by offering not only mobile detailing services for heavy trucks and equipment but also making her professional driving services available to select companies.
Who knows you may just see a pink, black and white Diezel Diva beast rolling down the road yet because the Diezel Diva is not stopping here!
Diezel Diva does not have select hours as she works when there is work to be done so if you have a fleet of heavy trucks, equipment or other fleet vehicles no matter where you are. Diezel Diva is willing to travel far and wide for the right opportunity to do business with you. (Yes she loves road trips and can load her equipment up and will travel so all over Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta too, Diezel Diva will come to you!)
Diezel Diva encourages other women to follow their dreams and break the molds that society has because nothing good ever comes easy! If you dream it you can do it and if it doesn’t work the first time change your approach. Never stop believing in yourself!!
Follow the Diezel Diva on her Facebook page
by wtfcanada2015@gmail.com | Jan 1, 2018 | BLOG
It’s a New Year. It’s about getting another chance. A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more and to stop worrying about what if ….
A time to stop doubting yourself, negative thinking, fear of failure, criticizing yourself and the fear of success.
It’s a time to start embracing what will be, to set a new goal, to live a new adventure or start a new dream . To believe in yourself !!
It’s a time to work hard but stay humble, take time for family, friends and the people that matter the most, and to be kind to everyone you meet.
Their is always someone who believes in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself !!! Isn’t it time you believed in you too !!
Let’s #BeTheException
