John Christner trucker Pamela Hoydt’s second career sails on a strong wind of freedom
Pamela Hoydt, 47, says she’s the different one in her family – she is the only one who is a trucker, something she’s had an interest in since she was 20.
“I’m not sure why,” she says. “It always just looked fun.”
Five years ago, she got a “wild feather” after watching a commercial about trucking school. “I didn’t have a husband, and all of my children were grown,” she says. “It seemed perfect.”
Hoydt has been driving two years for John Christner Trucking in Sapulpa, Okla. She describes trucking as a breath of fresh air. “Out here on the road,” she says, “life is so much freer. You don’t have people breathing down your neck to get the job done.”
Helping stranded motorists along the highway is something Hoydt does regularly.
“I like to stop as often as I can to help those who need it most,” she says.
Her most recent aide was given to a woman whose car had overheated near Tulsa, Okla.
“I had a case of bottled water in my truck and gave it to her to refill her radiator,” she says. “Doing things like that makes me most proud about my job – knowing that I can help someone along the roadway when they need it.”
When I’m on the road … I miss my three grown children and my five grandchildren.
In my cab you can always find … a visor clip my mother gave me, which reminds me to drive safe, and my four-year-old Chihuahua Brandy.
I have a secret obsession with … the color green. Nearly 90 percent of everything I own is some shade of green. Even my semi, a 2009 Freightliner Cascadia, is green.
I’m most proud of … raising my three children by myself.
My advice to all truckers … Don’t give up – even when the fuel prices are high. You can get through it.
