Keeping a Good Attitude

Continuing a long career of safe driving, Gordon Johnson also serves as a Greatwide adviser to rookies.

Growing up in eastern Kentucky, Gordon Johnson learned about work at an early age. He was raised by his grandparents, who taught him how to apply himself while keeping a good attitude.

“I grew up not knowing what rich or poor was,” says Johnson, a Fredericktown, Ohio, resident. “I just knew what hard work was.”

Johnson bought his 1997 Freightliner Century Class new and has put more than 960,000 miles on it at an average 6.37 mpg. A Turbo Wing on top of the tractor enhances aerodynamics.

His fascination with trucks began when he started driving a fire truck as a volunteer firefighter, and continued to grow after he took a side job driving a school bus. After a layoff at the factory where Johnson worked, he said he saw a newspaper ad seeking an owner-operator.

“I saw the opportunity and took it,” says Johnson, who was 28 then. “I figured if I could drive a fire truck and a bus, I could drive a truck.”

Now 68, with more than 3 million miles of accident-free driving in his 39-year driving career, Johnson is leased to Greatwide Logistics Services. He drives a 1997 Freightliner and mainly hauls groceries for Kroger and Wal-Mart.