AROUND THE WORLD

BY JULIANA GOODWIN

Fari Abghari has crested sand dunes in Dubai. He’s straddled a camel wobbling through desert sand, and he’s watched the sunset in Thailand.

“I’ve always loved to travel,” he says. “I strongly believe it is the biggest investment you can give yourself.” When he’s not off on an overseas adventure, Abghari is a lease operator at Prime. But this is his second career. Abghari was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States at a young age. He grew up in Spokane, Washington, and graduated from Eastern Washington University with a master’s degree. For the next 35 years, Abghari owned Domino’s pizza franchises.

Then in 2015, he retired from Domino’s and took his three sons on a trip around the world. They visited Thailand, Vietnam, The United Arab Emirates, Germany and more. Within nine months, Abghari had a revelation: “I realized it was way too early for me to retire,” he says. A friend of his worked at Prime and recruited Abghari.

He decided to give it a try, and it did not take long for Prime to win him over.

In 2016, he became a lease operator, and he says he still loves the company. There are so many things he loves about Prime, ut first and foremost it’s the people. love the people work with,” he says. “They are like family. Especially the people at the Salt Lake City terminal. love every single one work with. Brian Singleton’s extreme motivation and caring attitude toward the staff in Salt Lake City resonates with me and everyone here. have been fortunate to have Lance Brightshue and John reenlee as my eet managers and they have been great in helping me reach my personal goals.”

Speaking of goals, Abghari became a trainer so he could help new operators succeed. “I love training and enjoy mentoring people into a rewarding career,” he says. “I usually talk to my students about travel being one of the hidden enefits of truc driv ing. There are unlimited gorgeous sunsets and sunrises.”

As a man who loves to travel, that is an amazing perk of the job. “I have never seen beautiful America like have seen driving for Prime,” Abghari says. His favorite part of the world is southeast Asia including Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. “I love the people, the culture and the food,” he says. “People are really nice in that part of the world. In other parts of the world, keep my guard up, but there, they are always nice.”

Abghari is known around Prime for the souvenirs he brings back from his journeys to share with fellow Prime team members. From postcards to keychains and other trinkets, he always remembers his Prime family. “I love doing it because people appreciate it so much,” he says. Abghari is usually on the road for three months, then takes two weeks off for an overseas adventure. This allows him about four trips abroad a year, which he says is another perk of working for Prime. It’s hard for him to imagine another company with that kind of e i le schedule.

FAVORITE TRAVEL MEMORIES:

Taking a desert safari in Dubai. You take four-wheelers through the desert, riding over sand dunes, and it’s a little like riding a roller coaster. Then you end up in tents in the middle of the desert and have dinner.

Food markets and floating markets in Vietnam. Vietnam is home to many floating markets on different parts of the Mekong Delta. From canoes, people sell fresh fruits, vegetables and many other products.

The most impressive thing I have seen is The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. It is 2,722 feet. There is a shopping mall inside. People parachute off the top. The atmosphere is awesome.

Photography. I love photography and take photos of my trips.

Having tea and Turkish pastries and playing backgammon in alleyways of Istanbul.

Skiing indoors when it’s 100 degrees outside in Dubai.

Sharing local food in East Asia with family.

“We were not allowed to fire artillery on the island of Okinawa, so every time we were trained, we deployed elsewhere in Asia. It was pretty cool. We went to the Philippines, Thailand and mainland Japan,” —Frank Wentz