FIXTITLE Fisher.docx
GO FOR BROKE
The Story
Of
Kenneth and Barbara Fisher
Most people who succeed do so by never giving up until receiving the satisfaction of reaching their goal. Success is not given, or easy. Nor does it come to you. You have to seek it. Not the other way around. It is earned. The good thing that we often forget is that as long as you continue, it is impossible to fail. The bigger the goal, usually there is more at stake. A person with big dreams, backed by ambition is more powerful than any individual with all the facts. Achieving any objective cannot be had at a standstill. You must keep pushing forward, one day at a time. Some days may seem a bit more discouraging than others, but continuing to do what you love while moving past the day before has proven to be the best fix. Find a way to make things work. Make a way.
As they say, dedication is the highest form of commitment. By dedicating yourself to a spouse, your children or family, even a job you are therefore choosing to exert oneself with the utmost effort. You are basically risking everything in the hope of having great success.
‘People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be.’ -Harvey Mackay
Wisconsin couple, Kenneth and Barbara Fisher work together, truck side by side, and have pledged the majority of their entire lives to a profession that they say is rewarding, yet demanding, but still the two can’t imagine existing without it. They are a completely committed team with no desire for a back-up plan. Pursuing a professional career as truck drivers traveling days, sometimes weeks in their show truck, together they lay everything on the line. They are invested in a win-lose situation in an industry that is constantly evolving with strict rules, limits, and regulations. However, going for broke is their only preference. It’s as if they have nothing to lose, but everything. With one maintenance issue, their only means of income comes to a halt. For the Fishers’ it is all or nothing. The two don’t know how to quit.
Kenneth is originally from Maryland, while Barbara was born in Illinois. Both have three siblings each. Kenneth is the oldest of his bunch and Barbara is the baby. Her life is a straight shot. She was raised in trucking by a trucker and is now married to a trucker while trucking. About as simple as you’re going to get. Kenneth had the pleasure of having two sets of parents. In some cases kids benefit from split households simply because of the extra attention, love and positive influence. Kenneth was one of those special exceptions. He and his stepfather shared a special bond and he is primarily responsible for Kenneth choosing trucking as a career, which ultimately led him to Barbara.
As a young child, Kenneth’s mother cleaned houses and his father traveled with a carnival. Being an old Vietnam veteran, his dad was a little more complex than his stepfather. When his second father-figure came into the picture, he proposed a much simpler relationship. His biological father had been involved within the carnival business for many years. He had already went through a couple of generations of owners. The families passed on tricks and secrets, fun and long hours to their next in line. Kenneth’s dad handled all the electrical work as the carnival operated through the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
At 12 years old, Kenneth would ride with both men, his dad and stepfather in their trucks. He was easily fascinated by the equipment and hooked for life. When his stepfather drove over the road for work he would beg his mother to let him go too. During the summers his dad allowed him to drive the carnival trucks. Every time he could see the excitement beaming from his son’s face as he slid in behind the wheel. When he was 16, he received an unexpected phone call stating his stepfather had passed away at a truck stop of a massive heart attack. He was only 27 years old at the time.
As she was growing up, Barbara’s father owned a trucking company based out of Illinois. From an early age she washed trucks, stacked pallets, and helped around the shop. Her father initially began his business in the 60’s running refrigerated freight throughout the Maryland region. Her brother ran trucks too and eventually took over that division in the early 90’s. Her dad and other brother relocated to Maryland and began hauling General Electric appliances. Barbara went with her father. Her mother along with three other employees managed the office, paperwork and payroll. In all, the company grew to 45 trucks.
It was in 1999, Kenneth was 22 when he started working for Barbara’s family business. A year later the two were married. In 2003, her father closed the doors to the trucking company and shut everything down. She and Kenneth went into business with her other brother running regional pulling dump buckets. Four years later, Barbara’s father passed away. That same year the company they were pulling for began having issues with their freight, so the couple decided it was time to take a different course. There are many advantages of being your own boss, supervising 20 to 40 trucks. However, the freedom of only running one truck equals out due to less stress. Whichever angle you look at it requires a ton of hard work and obedience.
The truck they are currently in has been a work in progress. Kenneth started trucking in a Freightliner when he first joined Barbara’s dad. After one year, he became an owner operator and he purchased a 1993 FLD. Nine months later he bought another truck; a 1997 Freightliner Classic. They ran both trucks and then picked up a third; a 1997 Peterbilt. By 2003, the couple opted to downsize and sold the 93 and 97 Classic. He kept their Peterbilt for his own personal reasons. “We bought it in April of 2001. I had been on the hunt for a decent looking Pete. One to build on,” he said. Since losing his stepfather at such a young age and sharing the same passion for trucks, he didn’t want to wait too long to invest in a show truck, but didn’t want to jump into things too quick either. The interior of the 1997 Peterbilt is forest green. A color that he was sure Barbara was going to regret as soon as he saw it. Surprisingly, it grew on her and now she loves it. Over a span of 15 years, both Kenneth and Barbara have lavished their truck, modifying it every year. It has an 18-speed transmission with 355 rears and pulls a 2007 48ft. all aluminum East trailer.
In October 2007, Kenneth joined the driving force at Mercer Transportation Company. With Barbara’s CDL also in pocket, they travel all 48 states hauling any and everything. Their home-time varies between one to two days, before leaving out for a week or more. Being able to roam the country and seeing different areas, while meeting new people is what allows them to enjoy trucking so much. Kenneth has been awarded multiple safety awards at Mercer. His record of lifetime miles exceeds well over 2 million. Kenneth explains that working with Mercer there are a ton of benefits to gain. He particularly favors the fact he gets paid as soon as each delivery is made. The staff are family oriented and easy to work for. The minute he returns to the truck yard, they are greeted with friendly faces. By other truckers and office personnel. There are many positives about the Mercer Company as a whole that cater specifically to their drivers.
The work in general as a professional trucker tends to be adventurous in many ways, but as with any line of work some days can be frustrating. Barbara agrees with Kenneth as he states that the trucking industry has its ups and downs. There was a pivotal time frame in their lives when the economy took a nose dive back in 2008 through 2009. It was as if their feet were knocked out from under them; they had fallen pretty low. Refusing to give up, they stayed the course and rode it out. Literally.
They say opposites attract. With Kenneth and Barbara that statement couldn’t be any truer. Barbara describes her husband as the social butterfly type, as she would rather stay behind the scenes and is a bit shy. Both are extremely helpful to others, easy-going and loyal. Kenneth was in a cadet program training to be a fireman at the age of 12. By 16, he was fighting house fires. He remained on as a volunteer fireman at the Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department until he was 30 years old. Now his only focus is maintaining a successful trucking career and keeping his wife happy. As long as those two priorities are in sync, everything else will work out.
On their time off they enjoy golfing together and attending truck show events. For the last five years they have been very active in presenting their show truck and have won numerous trophies. Kenneth credits much of their success as drivers to their strong relationship. He says, “We work well together. When we are traveling, we both have an appreciation of the many different things out there to see. Plus, neither one of us are scared of a little, strenuous work. After all, Barb has been around trucking all of her life. When you have done something for so long, you get good at it. That’s where we are at… we are great at what we do. Being able to truck together is just a bonus.” Also on the road with them is their four-legged companion, Sasha. They rescued Sasha from a humane society when she was a year old. Nine years later, she continues to ride in the truck too everywhere they go.