Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/455137
February 2015 | Overdrive | 33 BRYAN SMITH M ost over-the-road drivers do well to maintain even one community involvement. Yet Bryan Smith has more home-based activities than many people who rarely leave town. Smith "has established balance in his life most truck drivers would envy," says Loras Pape, president of Art Pape Transfer, where Smith is leased. When he's at home near Dubuque, Iowa, Smith spends his time with his wife and three daughters, active- ly participating at their elementary school every chance he gets. He has a red belt in tae kwon do and teaches self-defense classes in the community. A Marine Corps veteran, he's an active member of the American Legion. Add to that the many hats Smith wears in his church as a volunteer coordinator, playwright and worship leader. Smith is "the type of driver who should be recognized if our industry hopes to change its image," Pape says. Not only is Smith being recognized through the TCA honor this year, he also was a finalist for Owner-Operator of the Year a year ago. Smith has driven for Pape since 1994, driving more than 2.4 million safe miles. After two years as a company driver with Pape, Smith purchased his first truck. Today, with his 2009 Peterbilt 386, he hauls open-deck loads from Iowa to the eastern United States. Smith's outgoing nature has helped him win over the hearts of many inside and outside the company. He says he jokes with dispatchers to help lighten their load and shares securement tips with new drivers "to make it safer for all of us out on the road." He takes time to develop strong relationships with local truck service shops. Smith credits his faith for his commit- ment to the industry, his family and the community. He says, "The Bryan Smith rule to life is found in Colossians 3:23 – 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.' I take that to mean it's my job to serve God with my life, whether in my truck, in my home or in my town." Naming the best Owner-Operator of the Year to be awarded at industry meeting BY ELISA REED S ix special drivers will gather next month near Orlando, Fla., at the annual meeting of the Truckload Carriers Asso- ciation. Three are finalists for Own- er-Operator of the Year, a competition organized by TCA and Overdrive. The other three are finalists for Company Driver of the Year, organized by TCA and Truckers News, a sister brand of Overdrive. The winner of each contest will be announced during a banquet attended by hundreds of fleet executives. The company driver finalists are being featured on TruckersNews.com: • Danny Smith of Shelbyville, Tenn., who drives for Big G Express Inc., also of Shelbyville. • Johnny Chestnut of Lakeland, Fla., who drives for Saddle Creek Transportation, also of Lakeland. • Gary Teel of Whiting, Iowa, who drives for Weinrich Truck Line of Hinton, Iowa. The finalists' selection was based on their safety records, efforts to improve trucking's image and contributions to their communities. To be eligible, ap- plicants must have driven one million consecutive accident-free miles. The owner-operator finalists are featured below. Smith is leased to Art Pape Transfer. Wearing many hats in his hometown