January 2007 Edition
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| Angela and Dale Bates |
One road leads to another...
Angela and Dale Bates share how they found each other and fell in-love
Kristin Ries, Staff Reporter
It all started when Dale slipped on a potato peel at a truck stop's restaurant in 2003. He tried to catch his balance by grabbing on to a nearby counter, but ended up falling. At the time, Dale was hauling flatbed, and had a load to deliver from Phoenix, Arizona to Clearfield, Utah. Determined to deliver the load on time and thinking he was not seriously injured, Dale left the truck stop and headed to Utah.
"I stopped every hour to get out, walk the length of my truck, and lay down," Dale said. "I did the 13-hour run in two days, but I delivered the load on time." The day after he delivered, Dale went to the Emergency Room, where the doctor took x-rays, couldn't find anything wrong, and thought Dale had just pulled a muscle. So Dale began physical therapy. He went to therapy regularly, but wasn't benefiting from it. So the therapist talked to a doctor who discovered Dale's fall didn't pull a muscle at all – he had ruptured a disc in his neck.
Dale had surgery in April. While he was in the hospital, Dale's wife at the time left him and he lost his tractor and pick-up truck. As if that wasn't bad enough, there were complications during the surgery. "After the surgery I had a new outlook on life," Dale said.
After surgery, Dale went back to work. After a while, his friend who leased a tractor to Dart and operated out of the Dallas Operating Center kept calling him, encouraging him to move to Texas and contract with Dart. So Dale told himself, "If God wants me to get down to Texas, he'll give me the means." Well, after losing his own truck while he was in surgery, a friend gave him a pick-up truck. So Dale traded it for a 1989 Dodge diesel pick-up and made it to Texas.
Dale sent his work history to Dart on December 7, 2003. "Half an hour after sending it, I received a call from a recruiter in Dallas asking, ‘When can you be here?' Dale said. "And just like the Beverly HillBilly's song, we loaded up the truck and moved to Texas." Dale leased a Freightliner from Highway Sales, Inc., a truck and finance vendor. Six months later he received a call from Highway Sales saying he was qualified for a brand new truck. "They told me all I had to do was pick the color."
On June 11, 2004 Dale picked up his new 2004 midnight blue Freightliner in Sellersburg. A week later, Dale was driving Northbound on I-85 in his new truck, when he got stuck in a traffic jam. He saw a truck up ahead around the bend and could make out the company name, so he got on his CB to ask about the traffic. "Hey KLLM," he said. Then a female voice came over the radio saying, "Yeah she's got some nice legs doesn't she?"
Dale was confused. The woman, Angela, laughed and explained that earlier, a truck driver had mistaken her for a male and made a comment over the CB about a girl he was looking at.
"No, I just wanted to know what's ahead of you," Dale said. To which she replied, "Nothing but tail lights." For miles, the two shared the road and conversation. They exchanged phone numbers, and when Dale got off at a rest stop, Angela blew him a kiss. Later, Dale stopped at a truck stop in Kenly, North Carolina to shut down for the night. The next morning, he delivered his load and then asked Angela out to breakfast.
After that, the two used 13-25,000 minutes a month talking to each other on their cell phones. In October 2004, Angela took her aunt with her in the truck for a weeklong vacation. While they were together, Angela's aunt heard the tone of voice she had when she was talking to Dale and asked about him. "He makes me laugh," Angela said with a smile. To which her aunt replied, "Well, what are you waiting for?"
Now, Dale had been married before, and had told Angela, "The woman's going to put the ring on my finger this time." So she went ring shopping. She told Dale she was going home and that he should come there for his birthday. "I was planning on doing it somewhere romantic like a park," Angela said. "But I guess I was just too excited because I asked him to marry me right when he got there."
"And I said yes, of course," Dale said. "We went ring shopping for her the next day and were married two weeks later." After getting married, they parted ways to go back to work, each in their own truck. There were a lot of tears, and Dale thought, "I don't want to be away from her. I love her to death." So he brought Angela to Dart's office in December 2004 where she signed a contract and began driving team with Dale.
This year, the two celebrated their two-year wedding anniversary, and two very happy years together being contracted with Dart. "Now, we're together 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Dale said, smiling. "And we're making money and having fun."
"It's only a job if you make it a job," Angela said. "We always look at it as something fun to do together – like a paid vacation." The two of them, along with their cat, Blaze, enjoy their Wal-Mart dedicated run. "We get consistent miles and can go home and take breaks when we want," Dale said. "With pre-planned loads, we are able to run our business better." Angela and Dale get great fuel economy. They switched to singlewide tires, check their tire pressure regularly, use progressive shifting and perform routine maintenance.
One look at their radiant blue truck and striking graphics and you would know right away that it is carefully maintained. "You haven't seen anything, until you see my wife in the chrome shop," Dale says, laughing. "She's worse than I am. I think she married me for the truck."
Angela and Dale both take a lot of pride in their truck, entering it in Dart's Buff ‘n' Shine truck contest in Dallas and Eagan two years in a row, winning first place both years. Photos of their truck have also been chosen for Dart's calendar in 2005 and 2006 (see page 8 for how to enter Dart's calendar contest).
"I love this truck," Dale says. "This is where my heart's at. We have so much invested in it – all our hard work. I'm very thankful to Highway Sales and Dart. They were there for me and got me to the point I'm at. They helped me to succeed. Being profitable, looking good, and dressing up my truck is my way of thanking God and Dart."
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| Carey Bolyard |
Cookies and cake for Carey
Kristin Ries, Staff Reporter
When word got out that Dart contractor Carey Bolyard was battling cancer, employees at the Minnesota Corporate Office organized a bake sale to raise money for him and his family to help them through the tough time.
On November 13, they got together to share their favorite bars, cookies and cake. With everyone's baked and cash donations, $1,000 was raised and sent to Carey and his family.
One week later, Carey lost his battle with cancer on November 21. He was 51 years old.
Carey had contracted with Dart since 1996 and was very well liked and respected both inside Dart's office and on the road.
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| Trace Adkins and Edwin Grimwood |
Dart contractor wins trip
Edwin Grimwood goes to Vegas and meets Trace Adkins
In August, Edwin Grimwood entered his name into a drawing at the IdleAireSM booth at the Great American Trucking Show (GATS). The contest was for a weekend trip for two to Las Vegas to see country music singer Trace Adkins in concert.
Two months later, Edwin received a call - he had won the contest! He and his wife packed their bags and left November 16 for their trip.
My wife and I had a fantastic time in Las Vegas. We arrived at the airport in Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon, where a limo picked us up to take us to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where we were staying. There was a rose for my wife and champaign for us in the limo.
By Edwin Grimwood, Dart contractor
Friday afternoon, the limo picked us up in front of the hotel and took us for a two-hour tour around Las Vegas to show us the sights. After the ride, we met representatives from IdleAireSM at RM Seafood for a 4-course gourmet dinner. After dinner, we were treated to backstage passes and a Meet and Greet with Trace Adkins. I had the pleasure of talking with him and had my picture taken with him before the concert. The concert was incredible! We had a blast!
Edwin uses IdleAireSM services to reduce idling and save fuel. IdleAireSM offers heating, AC, and electricity to your cab. As a Dart contractor, you can use your EFS card to purchase services through IdleAireSM.
For more information or to see IdleAireSM locations, visit www.idleaire.com.
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| Greg Riffe |
From company driver to owner operator,
Dart contractor Greg Riffe describes why he made the switch.
Kristin Ries, Staff Writer
Greg grew up on a farm, operating tractors and farming equipment. "When I was a kid, I had the hankering for driving a truck – the thrill of climbing up in a rig and driving across the country," he said. "But I pictured myself as being a company driver. I didn't think I would ever own one."
"I worked for numerous major companies. But the companies would tell me things that wouldn't materialize. I felt, literally, like I was just a truck driver – like a machine. You just do whatever they tell you. I wanted to be home every week, but they put my truck before my family."
So after 22 years of being a company driver, Greg contracted with Dart in April, 2006 and leased his first truck through Highway Sales, Inc., a truck and finance vendor available to Dart contractors. "As a driver coming into an owner operator position, I was nervous from the start," he said. "But everyone at Dart really comforted me."
Greg's first truck was a 2003 Freightliner Columbia. Since then he upgraded to a 2006 Freightliner. "My wife is just tickled to death. She was there for me through everything, and helped me get to where I am today. She encouraged me, saying, ‘You can do it.' It means a lot to me to make my family proud."
Greg operates in Dart's Northern Region, and makes it home on the weekends. He takes his wife, Ann, out to eat and goes to the park or camping with his three daughters, Morgan, Karli and Kayla.
"I act like a big kid when I'm home, and do things they want to do," Greg said. "The benefit of the Northern Region is I'm never more than 10 hours from home, in case of an emergency. My main objective is to take care of my family. They keep me going."
Greg said even though he now has the choice, he's never refused a load. "As an owner operator, I have an option instead of an order. I have the ability to pick and choose. I feel spoiled. I enjoy every mile of it."
Greg believes he will get better at running his own business, and keeps his fuel economy in mind every time he gets behind the wheel. He averages 6.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by maintaining a cruising speed between 63 and 65 miles per hour (mph). It's a small change that will save him about $3,000 per year (operating 100,000 miles a year and diesel fuel costing $2.60 a gallon).
"When I ran 70 mph, my fuel economy dropped to about 6 mpg," he said. "By driving a little slower, I'm not in people's way and I save fuel."
He also starts and stops slowly: "It saves fuel and horrible amounts of wear and tear. Stopping quickly is hard on linings, tires, shocks."
"To be an owner operator, you have to be prepared to go out and put your heart into your business. I'm just a farm boy from Indiana. But, now when people see me they say, ‘there's Greg – he owns his own business.'"
New trailer shop in Kansas City
And 90-day tractor inspections now available in Buford
In early December, Pro Stop Truck Service, Inc. opened a full service trailer shop in Kansas City, Missouri.
Right now, the shop is open for full service trailer repair. In the near future, the shop will perform 90-day inspections and may eventually do tractor repairs.
The trailer shop that opened in Buford, Georgia in October is now doing 90-day truck inspections.
If you need your trailer serviced and you are in the area, you can bring it to either of the two new locations.
Dart named Tier 1 Core Carrier
Alcoa has awarded Dart Transit Company its 2006 "Van Tier 1 Core Carrier Award" for outstanding commitment and service.
The award recognizes Dart for its competitive costs, meeting Alcoa business performance expectations for pickup, delivery and safety. Dart looks forward to growing its business with Alcoa in 2007.
Alcoa is a leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina facilities. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.
2007 Calendar Winners
Congratulations to the following Dart contractors whose photos are featured in Dart's 2007 Contractor Calendar: Bob Towey, Post Witt, James Knuuttila, Gordon Rotenberger, Dale Bates, Ray Heiden, Vern Stenberg, Roland Velazquez-Cruz, Don Brown, Harvey and Karen Zander, Larry Greene, Charles Thornton, and Chris Magers. Thanks to everyone who entered!
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Dart contractor Bob Towey's shining red truck and
Dart's No-Zone trailer captured the cover of Dart's
2007 Calendar. Don't miss the chance to enter in
the 2008 Calendar Contest. |
"Trucks and Toys"
Throughout the month of November, Dart collected toys for the annual Minnesota Trucking Association's (MTA) "Trucks and Toys" campaign. The effort gets trucking companies involved in collecting toys and other gifts for less-fortunate families. The MTA then distributes the collected gifts to area shelters. Visit the MTA's web site for more information or to make a monetary donation.
