Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/36447
Building on a Proud Legacy Pennsylvania truckers earn Great American Trucking Family recognition RANDY GRIDER hile trucking can be an isolating lifestyle, Steve Bixler is no wallflower in any social setting. He is just as comfortable in front of a group of people as he is behind the wheel of his 1989 Freightliner cabover. Growing up in the foothills of Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Moun- tains, he honed his speaking skills as a youngster active in Future Farmers of America. While he has served as a motivational speaker over the years, his favorite topic may be his own extended family of truckers. This includes his late 20 TRUCKERS NEWS AUGUST 2011 grandfather, Allen Mace; mother, Alverta (Bixler) Peters; brothers, Don Bixler and George Bixler; two uncles; several cousins; and many of his in-laws. And even though he is the de facto family spokesperson, Steve is humble about his own achieve- ments and quick to give credit where he feels it is due. “My father- in-law, Robert Updegrave Sr., drove a truck for more than 50 years,” Bixler says. “He taught me a lot about being an owner-operator. He taught me a lot about being a truck driver.” With more than 60 drivers and roots in trucking that go back more than a century, the Bixler-Updegrave family is Truckers News’ 2011 Great American Trucking Family. The fam- ily will be presented with the award prior to the Mobil Delvac-spon- sored Jamey Johnson concert on Fri- day, Aug. 26, at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas. “My father-in-law was very fam- ily-oriented,” Steve says. “Even when he was an owner-operator and was on the road from Sunday to Saturday, he would come home and spend all his time with his wife