Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/805422
April 2017 | Overdrive | 31 I mage is as im- portant as it's ever been in trucking, and the 10 finalists for Overdrive's Most Beautiful do their part to enhance it. The award recognizes female drivers who stand out for profes- sionalism and a pos- itive representation of a career choice typically dominated by men. The finalists were se- lected from more than 90 entrants. A panel of judges will select the winner, who will be announced online this month. The winner receives a trip to The Great American Trucking Show, Aug. 24-26, in Dallas. There she will be crowned Overdrive's Most Beautiful and make special appear- ances, including a photograph session with a Pride & Polish truck. She also will be featured this fall in Overdrive. MOST BEAUTIFUL Where image meets the road Overdrive's THE TOP 10 (in alphabetical order) Charlotte Brown Hometown: Riverside, California Occupation: Company driver, DSV RoadTransport Years trucking: Six Hauls: General freight "I believe beauty has a big de- scription, and feeling confident is one of the ways to look beautiful. Other definitions include art, nature and people. Getting to see this beautiful country is amazing." Charlotte Brown came to trucking after working in a hospital lab for 13 years. When she decided to become a trucker, it was for the financial indepen- dence and the chance to see the country. She's chosen to look at her career journey and her love of trucking like an athlete who plays hard for the love of a sport. Her family is amazed she made it happen and still can't believe she's out on the road every day. She loves how young girls point to her driving a truck. "I get excited to see how thrilled they are," she says. Having grown up with family members who worked with their hands, Brown enjoys carpentry, fixing things and taking motors apart and putting them back together. For fun, she watches YouTube videos on how to repair and build things. Mandy Cole Hometown: Towanda, Pennsylvania Occupation: Company driver, Hoover and Sons Inc. Years trucking: Eight Hauls: Water (tanker) and sand, metals boxes (flatbed) "I was raised on a dairy farm, and my role model has been my father. He maintained the farm, worked full time at GE Railcar, then retired from there and now is employed full time as a crane operator. He taught us all the meaning of hard work." A degenerative joint disease hasn't stopped this tough single mother from hauling tanker or flatbed freight. The company Mandy Cole drives for is contract- ed to an oil and gas company. "Wherever they start a new frac, that's where we go," she says. This can lead her into extreme winter and mountain driving across the Northeast. Her joint disease was diagnosed a few years ago; she's had a full reverse shoulder replacement. But even with those physical challenges, she can't imagine quitting trucking. Manual labor is "all I've ever known," she says. "That's how I was raised, and I'm going to make it work." Cole says that if her typical 16- hour workdays allowed time for a hobby, it would be spending more time on her parents' farm.