Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/978209
28 | Overdrive | May 2018 I t's not unusual for long-haul driv- ers to travel through all 48 lower states. It's another thing when an OTR driver is described as a "world traveler." That was one of the descriptors for 2017 Owner-Operator of the Year fi nalist Phil Keith during the Truckload Carriers Association's closing banquet at its recent annual meeting in Kissimmee, Florida. Addressing a few hundred fl eet executives, Keith, who's driven more than 5 million accident-free miles, cited similar safety achievements by owner-op- erator award fi nalists Kevin Kocmich and Bryan Smith. "There's only 24,000 miles around the equator," he said. "So keeping that in mind, we've been in orbit for a long time." The global orbit for Keith has been a zigzag one, beginning long before he learned to drive a truck. He beats most truckers in the range of places he's been as well as modes of trans- portation he routinely uses. He and his team-driver wife, Eva, enjoy sailing off the Gulf Coast, close to their home in Long Beach, Mississippi, and taking long motorcycle trips on Keith's beefy Harley-Davidson. Keith, who turns 60 this month, earned his "world traveler" cred long before he settled in Long Beach. Born in France, he later lived in Spain, then moved to the United States. He grew 'WORLD TRAVELER' Globetrotting and working diverse trucking jobs have shaped the 2017 Owner-Operator of the Year into a man of many experiences. But once a month, there's no place like home for Phil Keith. BY MAX HEINE Max Heine One of three fi nalists for the 2017 Owner-Operator of the Year award, Phil Keith received an expense-paid trip to the Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting at the Gaylord Palms Resort outside of Orlando, Florida. As winner, he received $25,000. Keith and his wife, Eva, are big Packers fans and consider Green Bay, Wisconsin, their second home. They are leased to WEL Companies, based in the Green Bay area.