FIXTITLE Debra Dority Lewis.docx
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Legend Nominee:
Debra Dority Lewis (Lucky Star)
It was an early Wednesday morning, I sat at my desk with my paper, pen, and recorder all ready to go. On the opposite end of my phone line was the soft voice of Debra Dority Lewis. She prefers the name Debbie, but most know her by the CB handle, Lucky Star. Before she leaves to start her work day, Debbie rests long enough to conduct our interview and then she’s right back on the main road doing what she loves… driving a truck.
“There is nothing like getting out at a truck stop after a long drive and seeing trucks lined up, all parked next to each other and just listening to the sound of them humming to their drivers. Almost like they’re rocking their driver to sleep, one by one. Then you get a smell of that diesel. It still gives me chills, knowing that this is what I get to do for a living. Experiencing something that simple is such a good feeling. Only a certain few will understand. I know I have diesel in my veins, because I love every bit of this! If you can’t find the beauty in your job, something is very wrong,” Debbie says.
Her dream of traveling the country started in her early 20’s, but fate intervened nudging any plans of working in the transportation industry to the side. Being the oldest of three children, raised by extremely hard working parents, Debbie’s family lived by the example of putting their loved ones first. Everything they did was to provide for one another; for their family to have a good life. In their household, there were no limits or enough hours in a day to do what needed to be done. Debbie’s parents’ approach helped develop her character as an adult. By putting her kids’ needs before her own was the only way she knew how to love.
Debbie was born in Darlington, South Carolina on February 22, 1961. While her mother and father both worked full-time jobs, they also helped run her grandfather’s farm. Years before Debbie came along, the farm was primarily tobacco and cotton before switching to soy beans. She explains, “When my dad was at work, it was up to me and my brother to handle most of the labor. By 10, I was running a tractor plowing the fields. My youngest sister was the baby, so she stayed inside with our mom, doing the chores in the house. Us, being the oldest worked in the fields. I remember when my dad and granddaddy would be out putting fertilizer down. They placed large 50 pound bags of it on the back of my shoulders, one at a time. Then, I would walk out through the fields and sling the fertilizer down on each row. As we got older, they would drop 100 pound bags on us. I can’t count the times I repeated that in a single day’s work. My dad always told everybody that he had two boys, because I was a regular tomboy. Growing up I never wanted any doll babies. Only stuff like footballs and baseballs. That was back in the good old days.”
On top of her mother’s busy work schedule, she also baked cakes for additional income. Just like working with her father and grandfather outside on the farm, she pitched in when she could for her mother too. “When I wasn’t working in the field, my brother and I were in the kitchen baking cakes. So, when momma got home she could finish them. All of us pulled together during the week, so we could enjoy doing other stuff together on the weekends. Each one of us had responsibilities early on and working nonstop was just our everyday living. That was our normal and I’m so thankful that was the way I was brought up!”
Aside from the long days of hard earned sweat, Debbie learned many valuable lessons as a kid. A piece of advice her father once shared with her, she later passed down to her children. He encouraged Debbie to set goals and to place them high enough in which she had to work even harder to achieve them, but not to let anyone tell her they were unattainable. Today she expresses her gratitude for those words, as much as the work she endured for hours on end. That same work ethic is what allowed her to see things through, to reach her personal goal of becoming a professional truck driver many years later.
Working at a truck stop as a fuel clerk, Debbie met several truck drivers over her course of six years behind the register. Getting to know them, listening to their trucking stories and seeing their big, beautiful trucks pass in and out of the station every day kept her mesmerized. The lifestyle of trucking not only intrigued her, but it was the freedom of the ride that exuded from each driver she spoke with that held her spellbound. Plus, the self-sufficiency required to be a truck driver appealed to her individuality.
Debbie’s former husband was a truck driver. Occasionally, she traveled with him on the road. Over time he taught her how to drive the truck on her own. The arrangement worked out perfect for him. When he needed some rest, he would crawl in the sleeper and Debbie took over the wheel. “Getting to drive that truck made me want to pursue trucking even more,” she said. When Debbie found out she was expecting her second child, she pushed the idea completely out of mind and gladly settled for a more stationary job in order to be home with her kids. Five years later, she welcomed her third child to the family. Putting her dreams of seeing the country on hold was not a sacrifice to Debbie. It was simply the right thing to do. Knowing how her family always made each other their main priority, she needed her children to understand the importance of the role they stood for in her life. Being a good mother, a woman they knew loved them unconditionally could only be expressed through her actions. By placing our loved ones before oneself is the strongest love language a person can speak.
After we discussed her success as a company driver, I asked Debbie what she considered to be her biggest accomplishment to-date. As expected, her essential nature returned to her family. Although she is finally living out her dreams after so many years of waiting, her priority will always be those closest to her. She says, “The fact I was able to give my children the life they wanted is enough to know I did things the way they needed to be done. My parents never let us go without. They worked hard to provide a good life for us. So, that was my goal too for my babies, to be brought up like I was, never going without. There have been days I had to go without so my children didn’t have to, but what gave me comfort was knowing that my kids were good because of it.”
Debbie’s (then) husband landed a job for a milk company in town. Since his route was mostly local work, still pregnant with her youngest son, she could ride with him from time to time. She got her hands on a manual containing information on how to obtain a commercial driver’s license. “I read that book from front to back. The sewing factory I was working at offered a program that would pay for us to take any sort of course we wanted, given the options they provided. Of all the classes available, I jumped at the opportunity to get my CDL. The course took three weeks and I had my license in my pocket. I was on cloud nine! I was so happy that I got it on my own. Just knowing the possibilities of everything I had imagined doing once I got my CDL, I had dreamed of that moment for what seemed like forever. It took me twenty odd years to get it, but I treasure it every day.” During driving school, her instructor was impressed that she already knew how to drive a truck. Due to her patience and excellent display of technique, along with her genuine sense of compassion for trucking, once Debbie completed her course she was offered a position to stay on as an instructor. Recognizing her own talent as a quick study, she declined the proposal stating that she didn’t get her CDL for that reason. She simply wanted to drive a truck.
The first company Debbie drove for was based out of Conway, South Carolina. Her terminal was located closer to home, in Florence. She drove a tri-axle dump truck, hauling material to pave highways. After two years, her dispatcher asked if she would be interested in pulling a tanker. She replied, “Sure, I’ll try it. I’m not scared to try anything new.” And continued with, “I will honestly try anything at least once. Twice if I liked it.” Debbie went on to pull tanker for the same company another eight years, operating as a driver trainer seven of those eight.
After her separation, Debbie and her kids moved closer to her job in Florence. Years later, her friendship with another truck driver turned serious and the couple considered running as a team. Her kids were older and living on their own. The same guidance she carried forth from her father was now being returned in full circle from her children. She explains, “They told me that they knew my passion had always been to run over the road and reminded me that they were grown. They said that if I really wanted to go, then I should go. Well, my opportunity had finally presented itself, so I did.”
The gentleman was an owner operator. He sold his truck and together they decided on a trucking company located in Denver, Colorado. They ran as a team outfit for two years, until her partner was ready to come off the road. Debbie on the other hand was just getting a taste of her full potential. The two went their separate ways.
A friend of Debbie’s pointed her in the direction of a cargo and freight company out of Bishopville, South Carolina that was looking for qualified drivers. After speaking with the owner of Bay Park Trucking, Woody Beasley and the dispatcher, John Davis she immediately felt at home.
“I work with a great group of people. John is a former truck driver himself, so when I talk to him he speaks to me with respect and courtesy. He is very considerate and if he could give you the world on a platter, he would. He is that kind of person. Bay Park Trucking is a family-owned company and everyone here makes you feel like you’re part of the family. They all know you by name.
Woody, the owner is here every day. There is not a day he isn’t here, either in the office or out in the shop working right beside the mechanic. I remember when I first started here, he told me that he would never ask me to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. He would even jump in a truck and make a delivery if he had to. He has worked hard to get this company to where it is and I respect that. I also appreciate that he continues to work so hard to make sure we have nice equipment.”
Debbie recently celebrated her three-year anniversary at Bay Park Trucking. Throughout her 15 years of driving professionally she has earned close to 2 million safe miles, with experience in pulling tanker, rock buckets, and flatbed. She touches on the certainty that trucking is not for everyone. She says, “You can look at the job like it’s a permanent vacation, but don’t get into trucking if you really don’t love it. It gets lonely out here. You’ll miss your family, holidays, birthdays and everything in-between. The miles get lonesome. Those white lines on the highway can either break your heart or make your heart complete. It’s like, you’re either born to do this or not. For me and where I’m at right now in my life, I love every minute of it!”
Driving for Bay Park Trucking, Debbie’s home-time works to her advantage. On the nights she wants to be home, she can or if she chooses, she can stay out longer. She is currently in a 2011 389 Peterbilt with an extended studio sleeper. What she hopes people take away from her story is to never give up on your dreams and never let people underestimate you.
“I can get out there, roll up my sleeves, and handle any job a man can do, but do it with a loving heart. I can provide a strong shoulder to lean on. My hands may be calloused, but my heart is tender that’s for sure…
And remember, if you’re wanting to get out here and drive a truck that it’s hard work; mentally. You have to stay focused, but it’s a wonderful job to do for a living. If it weren’t for us truck drivers, people wouldn’t have the things they need to survive. Truckers move America! I’m proud to consider myself a truck driver and I thank God the opportunity came. That’s why I always preached, never give up on your dreams!
I look forward to going home to see my children and grandbabies, but this truck is my home. I sleep better in my truck than I do at home. This is my life and I love it! Life is short. Live it and love it while you can.”
As we wrapped up the interview an hour and a half later, I sat at my desk with a smile. Debbie may have started out with humble beginnings as a child with an ordinary life working as a young girl on a farm that grew up to become a genuine friend to many, a loving mother, and an honest truck driver, but it’s her value as an example that this world can use more of. It was those early days that made each one after even greater than the one before.