I wanted to send out a big note of thanks to everyone in the audience who's nominated an owner-operator -- whether themselves, a business partner, family member or friend -- for Overdrive's 2023 Trucker of the Year award.
If you've been following along throughout the year thus far, I'd wager you well know the diversity of stories that have emerged in our Trucker of the Month profiles and podcasts covering team flatbed work in a big-bunk Pete, local/regional multi-truck tanking, and one-truck van operations, both dedicated and more irregular route. Through April, here are those monthly honorees:
- Minnesota-headquartered independent Kelvin Schmidt's one-truck operation, hauling van trailers dedicated with T Bros. Logistics' brokerage side
- Owner-operators Ruth and Chris Smith of Crossville, Tennessee, running team leased to Southern Pride Trucking and pulling jet engines and other aviation-related platform freight
- Shelley and Tim Pulli's three-truck, food-grade liquid tank business Pulli Express, headquartered near Chicago
- And owner-operator Jay Hosty, of Mississippi, whose Landstar-leased van freight business was featured in recent weeks.
We've of course received a bevy of other great entries, and you'll hear more in the coming weeks and months for sure. Point is, there are numerous ways to make trucking as owner-operator work, even in times as difficult as the past year has been for so many.
Such that you might need it, here's a word of encouragement: We'd love to tell your story as part of the program. If you've persevered through the ups and downs of the past several years trucking, you can throw your or another owner's name in the hat through just past mid-year at this link. We'll be taking entries for the 2023 program through July. From there, we'll move toward opening up entries for the 2024 program.
Thanks again to all who've entered. Find podcast features with all four Truckers of the Month for the year so far in the playlist below.
[Related: Calling the best of the best among owner-operators: Enter Overdrive's Trucker of the Year competition]