WHAT SUCCESSES AND FAILURES HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED WITH YOUR COMPANY? Our greatest success is that we are still here thriving through many booms and busts in Oklahoma. A failure would be early in my career I did not place the value I should have on developing my leadership skills. I concentrated heavily on the technical side of the business because that is what I loved about it. I loved putting the puzzle pieces together through dispatch, the financial side of trucking, trucks, engines, and equipment specifications. I was the kid in Middle School carrying around Truck Market News, Southern Motor Cargo, and Overdrive. I read those cover to cover like Hot Rod magazines. I believe I could have been a more effective leader if I had concentrated on that more. My son is an Air Force officer and I see the leadership training he has and appreciate how he is benefiting from that training. HOW DO YOU MAKE AN IMPACT ON/IN YOUR COMMUNITY? Growing up in a small town I know how important it is for businesses to support the community. Many companies grow to a certain size and move to a larger city or closer to an Interstate highway. We at Fitzgerald Trucking are proud to be in Minco and support the schools and faith-based organizations. Our favorites are the Minco Education Foundation, East Gate Foundation, and Athletic Booster Clubs. I like to brag on Minco’s history. Minco was once a very large town in Indian Territory founded by the Johnson family. I enjoy promoting our history as a town of business and merchants on the Chisolm Trail, Rock Island Railroad, then later US 81. Minco has our trucking, trans-loading, and our truck sales businesses. Along with us another trucking company, an excavation and boring company and a large scale fabrication company are headquartered in Minco. They are all assets to Minco.
We started a truck sales company, Class 8 Truck & Trailer Sales, and I have really enjoyed the buying and selling of equipment. That plays to my interest in equipment specifications when I was young. WHAT DO YOU ENVISION TRUCKING TO LOOK LIKE IN THE NEXT 5-10 YEARS? I along with everyone believe we will see a level of automation taking place in our industry. I do not know what that looks like and how close we will be to fully automation. I believe there will always be a place for drivers, but it could look much different than it does today. Possibly most drivers will be regional. I work very closely with the local chapter of the American Concrete Paving Association. One of the most promising technologies I see is through Oklahoma State College of Engineering. They are studying a proposal for the FHWA to have truck only lanes along the major interstate highways for autonomous electric trucks hooked into the power grid. We would have trucks heavily loaded operating a few feet apart autonomously in concrete divided lanes from coast to coast. There would be pull off areas at intervals for a driver to pick the truck up, make a delivery and reload for return on battery power. I heard this presentation a year ago and I realized it could solve many problems. Drivers would be all regional improving working conditions and driver shortage. It would offer cleaner emissions and efficiency. It removes cars and trucks from operating in close proximity and reducing accidents. This in turn would lower risk for insurance companies. By removing most trucks from our current roads it would reduce highway maintenance and traffic congestion.
IF YOU DIDN’T GET INVOLVED IN THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE DOING? When I was in college, I thought possibly elevator management or grain merchandising but after a short time working in a grain elevator and visiting facilities in Kansas City I changed my mind. I believe it would be something with trucks or our industry. I have loved trucks and driving trucks since I was a very little boy. I did not play as much team sports as I should have growing up because they wanted you to practice and that interfered with going out on a truck. I imagine I might be in a truck sales capacity.
Oklahoma Motor Carrier Magazine | 1Q
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