FINAL THOUGHT
Never give up the fight….
Even if you were not a golfer, the news of Phil Mickelson, the oldest golfer to win a major PGA Championships on Sunday, May 23, was one of those “feel good” moments that do not happen often enough. The previous record was held by Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA Championship at 48 years old. As Mickelson drained the final putt to win the tournament, fans erupted with wild cheers at the Ocean Course, and it was truly a positive and historic moment. However, the real story was in a tweet that Mickelson had sent out on May 11 (12 days earlier) saying; “I’ve failed many times in my life and career and because of this I’ve learned a lot. Instead of feeling defeated countless times, I’ve used it as fuel to drive me to work harder. So today, join me in accepting our failures. Let us use them to motivate us to work even harder.” We can all relate to those words, right? But those of us in the trucking industry may have an easier time relating to those words
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IOWA TRUCKING LIFELINER
because more often than not, the trucking industry gets knocked down. Often, the trucking industry is taken for granted and is underappreciated. But despite feeling defeated truck drivers, mechanics, dispatchers, safety directors and many other trucking employees get up and go to work every day with the motivation and dedication that is needed to deliver the products that everyone depends on. These committed employees are never deterred by the lack of appreciation, negative press and misconceptions that prevail. Instead, they use it as fuel to work harder, work smarter, and do a job that serves everyone. During the pandemic, the industry finally got the recognition it deserved. Seeing the big trucks on the road offered comfort and a sense of certainty that food, toilet paper, and other important items would still show up on the shelves. As we moved past the pandemic and looked towards recovery, once again it was trucks that were the heroes as they delivered vaccines to every corner of the United States. We all enjoyed the praise, recognition, attention, and mostly the respect that was long overdue. But we also know that those “warm fuzzies” can be short lived and now more than ever, we must keep up the fight
to maintain that positive image. Trucking is a hard and demanding business. Professional truck drivers must endure a variety of obstacles and challenges as they share the road with millions of people. Mechanics, dispatchers, safety directors, company CEOs, risk managers, and every other job in a trucking company faces continual challenges while playing an important part in every load that is delivered. Trucking is essential and important. Those of us in the industry never lose sight of the importance of this industry. We know how rewarding it is to work in the trucking industry but a whole lot of other people do not know this important fact. Now more than ever, we need to remind people of how important the industry is and the many opportunities that exist in the industry. We need people to get into the trucking industry, to fill all the different jobs that are needed to deliver the products that we all depend on. Be an advocate, be a recruiter and most importantly, be a fighter – always defend this industry and in doing so we can continue to create those “feel good” moments that happen every day when a truck delivers a load safely.
