Posts Tagged ‘stories from the road’

Stories From the Road…Steve Marchel

Monday, August 15th, 2011

It was his love to drive and the decent pay it resulted in that led Steve Marchel to become a truck driver.  As of next month, Steve will be driving for Road Scholar for 15 years.  In that time, nothing has changed…he stills loves his job.

When asked what he likes in particular about working for Road Scholar, Steve listed numerous things including the fact that it is a family-owned business whose management puts family first, explaining that they are very good people (as well as everyone else throughout the company) and that his job has given him the ability to be home daily with his family as well.

Steve also likes the pay.  In fact, he says that the extra money he earns unloading freight or with a safety bonus gives an incentive to work more and get compensated more for it.  Almost every day he encounters another one of the world’s worst drivers, which he claims makes the day interesting and keeps him on his toes.

But besides quality service, advanced technology, excellent pay and benefits, and a knowledgeable and family-oriented staff, perhaps what stands out the most about Road Scholar is its awareness program.

Steve feels that the awareness program, which sponsors organizations such as The American Breast Cancer Foundation and Autism Speaks, is great for charities/foundations as well as community awareness.  When he is pulling an awareness trailer, he loves the positive comments he gets when picking up or delivering freight.  Even passerbys smile, wave and even give a thumbs up.

He explains that Road Scholar does this only with the awareness campaign’s best interest in mind to begin with and that good things like that are sure to bring about good benefits.

awareness program

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Stories from the Road: Dave Johnson

Friday, June 17th, 2011

If you want to talk to a truck driver who is enthusiastic about his job, then Dave Johnson is your man.  He was full of energy and ready to tell me anything I wanted to know.

So Dave, what is the life of a trucker like?

DAVE:  Well I’ve been driving for 12 years.  I just got here actually about a month ago.  It’s very different from any other 9-5 job as you may know.  It can be stressful and you have to have a clear mind all the time.  I honestly have to say everybody can’t do it.  It’s not made for everybody, but I like the freedom.  I like all the different people you see and meet.

Where is your favorite place to go?

DAVE:  (Immediately responding)  Pittsburg!  (Pause)  No, that’s a lie (he laughs).  I think Virginia.  The air just seems so much fresher up there.

Have you ever seen anything interesting that stood out to you while on the road?

DAVE:  (His eyes perking up)  I saw a wolf the other day.  That’s hot right?  I’ve never seen a wolf before.  I saw the wolf up in Massachusetts.  I thought it was neat.  Again, different sights you get to see.

How is this company different from the other ones you used to work for?

To be honest with you, this company seems to care more about you.  A lot of dispatchers are known to be rude and discourteous.  But these ones seem to care about the drivers.  I remember at this one job I used to work for, I was sick.  I don’t know, I must have eaten something really, really bad.  But I was really, really sick and the only thing they could tell me was to wait it out and let it go away.  I found out that I had a virus in my stomach.  So I’m down in Texas and was ready to go to the hospital but they told me I couldn’t leave the trailer.  They were more concerned about the trailer than my health.

How do you feel about Road Scholar’s Awareness Campaign?IRSF

I’m all into that initiative.  I drive the RETT Syndrome truck and people comment on it all the time.  A lot of people ask about the little girl on the truck.  When I started working here, I heard a story that this little girl, who was 12-years-old, had passed away.  The guys were on there way to show her the truck and trailer but she had passed away when they were at the toll booth or something like that, so I went on to tell that story.  It’s kind of touching to see.  Such a cute little girl.  I got two daughters of my own.

This awareness campaign is very unique.  Even the pink (Dave is referring to Road Scholar’s Breast Cancer truck).  Especially when people shout out on the CB.  They want to know what the truck is all about.  I find myself getting to talk more about the little girl over the CB than anything else.

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Stories from the Road: Dale Porreca

Monday, April 11th, 2011

When you are a professional truck driver, you eventually see things on the road that you will never forget.  From bad experiences, such as accidents or natural disasters, to memorable instances, like meeting a famous person or witnessing a miracle on the road.

As was the case for one of Road Scholar Transport’s drivers, Dale Porreca, who had an unexpected experience many would dream of.

Dale was full of stories but only had time for a quick one before he had to get back on the road.

He told me about an instance where he stopped at a truck stop in Tennessee for a cup of coffee.  As he walked into the building, a large tour bus pulled up and several people got out.  One of the women from the bus walked into the truck stop and made her way over to the counter where Dale was making his coffee.  Looking at him she asked, “Can you pass me the sugar, Sugar?”

“So I passed it to her thinking nothing of it,” Dale said.

But what Dale didn’t realize was who he had just spoken to.

When the woman left the building, another woman came up to Dale and asked, “Do you know who that was?”  Of course, Dale did not.

Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn

“That was Loretta Lynn, the country singer!”

Dale was surprised to find out that Loretta lived down the road from the truck stop and went there all the time.

“I didn’t even recognize her!” he said astonished.

You can be assured that the next time Dale visits that TN truck stop, he’ll think twice about who’s asking him to pass the sugar.

Have a story to tell?  Let us know!

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Stories from the Road…Rob Pollock

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Rob Pollock has been a truck driver at Road Scholar for 21 years now, during which time he has been called a hero, not once, but twice.

Rob reflected back to the time he was delivering to a company in Berlington, Massachusetts.  As he waited at the dock, he noticed a man in a tractor trailer next to him hunched over the steering wheel.  Rob went over and tapped on the window.  Noticing that the man’s eyes were rolled back, he opened the door and pulled him out, which was a task given how high up the man was.  Once out, Rob laid the man on the ground and assessed the situation.

American Red Cross

Trained in CPR, Rob checked to make sure that the man’s heart was still beating…it was.  He then checked to make sure that he wasn’t choking…he wasn’t.  The man was still unresponsive.
As Rob was checking the man, a woman came out of the company.  Noticing what was happening, she immediately called an ambulance.  The man had been one of their drivers.

Rob continued to tend to the man as they waited for the ambulance, during which time the man started to come back.  Rob stood with him and kept him awake.

It turned out that the man had low blood sugar and went into a seizure.

“This happened at 5 in the morning so who knows how long it would have taken someone to find him,” Rob said.

Thankful, that Rob had helped, maybe even saved one of their drivers, the company sent him various thank yous, which included a basket of bountiful things.

And this wasn’t the first time Rob had put his emergency training into use.  There was also another incident where he tended to and kept a woman from going into shock after a horrible accident which occurred at another place he was on the job for.

Talk about going above and beyond your job, something that Road Scholar employees do every day.

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Stories from the Road…Charlie Boshinski

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

I’ve been with Road Scholar for 16 years. During this time, several things stand out that I can remember…things I think about from time to time.

My first week here I stopped at a phone booth, in which I found a wallet. It was full of money and several credit cards. I contacted the owner but he was not at home. He finally contacted me about a week later and recalled leaving it there but didn’t realize it until the next evening when he tried to check into a motel. He was very grateful that I found it and told me that he mentioned to his wife that he knew he probably wouldn’t get it back. He was so grateful in fact, that he told me to keep the money in the wallet as a reward.

There was another time I can remember where I left Fitchburg, MA going to Bennington, NH to pick up a load of paper. winter roadIt was raining that day and I knew that on the way back it would probably be icy. Well the last hill before I got back was about a mile long and at the bottom you had to turn left or right. When I approached the hill it was all ice and when I started down the hill, my truck started to jackknife. All the way down I was turning the wheel hard to the left and right trying to straighten out. Finally when I got to the bottom, the truck and the trailer straightened out and I was able to stop. I got out of the truck and fell because the road was still all ice. All the way down the hill I was praying and I believe that the Lord stopped that truck for me.

One other event happened when I was coming south on 95 in Connecticut into New York. As I approached the cross expressway, the road split. I-95 goes to the right and I-278 goes to the left. I stayed to the right onto I-95 but when I did, the traffic was stopped and so I hit my brakes. The road was all ice and my truck and trailer went around in a circle one and a half times.

When my vehicle came to a stop, I was in the southbound lanes facing the wrong direction. I looked to my rear and there was a car in the right lane totaled from an accident and so I called 911. They were there in less than a minute and the officer told me that she was there to investigate the wrecked car. Soon after, the fire department arrived with a truck and an ambulance.

I started to turn my truck around when a car came around the corner and didn’t see me. All I could do was sit there and watch the car hit me head on. The car was totaled. The girl driving it

got out and asked me if I was all right. From the looks of her car I thought she was badly injured but she didn’t have a scratch on her.

Overall, I enjoy working at Road Scholar. I especially enjoy working with my fellow employees. No company is perfect but I’m glad to have been employed here and enjoy most of the work that I do.

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