Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/204210
announced Aug. 24. "A person's soul is what dictates beauty, and what they do for other people," Stone said. "It's an honor to be chosen to represent so many beautiful women in such a great industry." Having a desire to serve is what made Stone worthy of the title, said contest judge Mike Ryan, who's better known for racing Class 8 trucks. "Maggie's got a tough job already, but her work and fund-raising efforts with down-and-out trucking families put her at the top," Ryan said of Stone's work with Trucker Charity Inc. Although Stone's family has roots in trucking, her father, Jerry Anderson, initially was not supportive of her love for the open road. "He'd say it's not for ladies," she laughed. "It was kind of inevitable, though." Stone's grandfather, father and several other family members all have found careers in the trucking industry, but she is the first female to drive. "He didn't discourage it, either," Stone said of Anderson. "I've got this great photo of us standing by the front wheel of his rig when I was just a kid." Stone spent her childhood working with animals on the family farm. During her senior year of high school, Future Farmers of America named her "Barn Warming Queen." Stone joined the Army right out of high school and was stationed in San Antonio at Fort Sam Houston. After serving in the military, she worked on the family farm and several odd jobs before getting into trucking. Her father was one of the first 50 owner-operators who started TransAm Trucking. In 1992, when Anderson hurt his back and wasn't able to drive anymore, Stone took on his work with TransAm. From then on, she kept driving. In 1995 she bought her first truck, a 1993 Peterbilt with a 475-hp Caterpillar and 18-speed transmission. Stone hauled coal for 15 years, then switched to livestock HEART FOR HELPING OUT Maggie Stone tries to help other truckers through a group she co-founded, Trucker Charity Inc. Its purpose is to facilitate truckers helping truckers who are stranded away from home. For example, when Arrow Trucking Co. suddenly filed for bankruptcy in 2010, Stone and volunteers worked hard to bring truckers home safely who were still on the road. Stone also serves Trucker Charity by mentoring new drivers. Stone enjoys hunting with her daughter, Hannah. In this 2011 trip, Stone shot a 145pound doe. when some friends told her another driver was needed. "I started out hauling baby wheat pigs, and I loved it!" Stone said. She moved up to hauling full-grown hogs, which she calls "my little squealies." That's all she hauls now except for occasional loads of cows. "Hogs may smell and they may be temperamental, but they keep it interesting," Stone said. "It's nice to pull open the trailer door and see tons of little faces staring back at you instead of boxes." With the move to market hogs, she bought a 1999 Peterbilt 379 with a 550hp Cat and 13-speed transmission. She's added "shiny stuff " and a custom paint job: black with pink barbed wire striping. "I've got to show off my girly side," Stone said. Paid by the load, last year she earned about $60,000. Stone hauls an average of 173 hogs a load and 10 loads per Stone has raced her son's Micro Sprint gokart in powder-puff races. Her son, Lane, usually races a 410 Sprint go-kart. "I love anything with a lot of horsepower," Stone said. "I've got a need for speed." STONE'S BIG THREE Maggie Stone shared her top three tips for owner-operator success: 1 2 3 Know your numbers. Track how much it costs to run your truck, down to the last detail. Be professional, no matter the situation. This one's for the girls: "I like what Confucius said: 'Love your job, and you'll never have to work a day in your life,' " Stone says. "Just because it's a man's world doesn't mean women drivers can't make a place of their own." November 2013 | Overdrive | 39 Maggie_Stone.indd 39 10/29/13 11:31 PM