IN THE GENES - Jeff Pollard
IN THE GENES
Legend Nominee: Jeff Pollard
With an influential background of experience as an independent contractor- turned dispatcher, later reverting back to the road as an owner operator and establishing his own business; J & L Pollard Transport, this Legend nominee is now settling into a more comfortable position running as a company driver. Accompanying his 35 years as a professional truck driver and well over 3-million safe miles, his seasoned career includes pulling roll-off trailers and end dumps to containers, tanker and refrigerated freight. He is currently pulling a 53’ dry van within the regional area of Indiana, consisting of neighboring states: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky. Occasionally, venturing out to Missouri and Wisconsin.
In 1989, Magnum Express was founded in Plainfield, Indiana by its president and CEO, Jim Sharp. For three decades, Magnum Express has partnered with their clients, offering regional truckload services with on-time and first-class customer service. Driver recruiter, Bob Kendall describes Legend driver, Jeff Pollard as dependable, professional and an All-Star. Stating,
“Jeff is one of those drivers we never have to worry about. As a trucking company, all we have to sell our customers is SERVICE. That’s how Magnum sets itself apart from the competition. Top-notch, dependable service. Every time. Jeff is the epitome of a Magnum driver. He lives by Magnum’s motto: “On time. On purpose.”
He is the guy everyone wants to work with. He’s the kind of guy you can really talk to and make jokes with. Magnum has an All-Star Team of drivers, and those relationships are highly valued in the Magnum family. It really is the people that make the company.”
Originally born and raised in the capital city of Indiana; Indianapolis, Jeff plans to retire with Magnum Express, officially naming the industry-leading company the last stop of his trucking journey.
The lifestyle of a professional truck driver should be designed to accommodate their needs as an individual first, then all services required of the profession are therefore carried out with good intention and quality serviceability. A trucker’s long-standing career is a reflection of the man or woman behind the wheel; the job may have taken them across the country or kept them closer to home. With the many opportunities within the trucking industry, it all depends on the direction that best fits into the driver’s personal way of life.
The incalculable dynamics that comprise one’s world vary from driver to driver. The stage of life in which the present offers, plays the biggest factor. Do they currently have an empty nest? If so, they may tend to favor long haul. Is there a full household with young children at home? Should that be the case, I’m sure home-time is imperative. Making a living as a truck driver is not as easy as most assume. People see these massive tractor trailers and respectfully so, earn the attention of those around. Though what goes without being said, are the many sacrifices every driver is faced with: missed holidays and birthdays, canceled or delayed celebrations, and so on.
For Jeff, his wife, Lori, their 4 kids and 4 grandchildren remain his priority, but like most jobs his work schedule has not always been as lenient. Weighing the pros and cons to the job, Jeff has found a nice balance between working as a truck driver and still remaining active with his family. Of the 35 years spent driving a truck, he never stayed out longer than a week at a time and every trucking company he ran with accepted his terms and obligation to his family. In return, he dedicated his life’s work to providing excellence.
Jeff knew that he wanted to drive a truck since the age of 5, when he presented his kindergarten teacher a drawing of himself in a semi. He says, “We were asked to draw a picture of what we wanted to do when we grow up, so it was easy -drive a truck! That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I remember seeing them when I was real young and just being so fascinated by them.”
He describes his parents as extremely hard-working people, very loving and the essence in which he embodies strength. As a young boy, his father, a military veteran worked as a supervisor at a printing company, while his mother was a receptionist. Juggling a full-time job, she managed to regularly prepare Jeff and his older sister homecooked meals and tend to the house, as well. Raised with core values of family first, Jeff took his parents’ ideal ethics and continued to breathe that same faith into his own growing family.
“The two of them helped shape me into the man I am as a father, husband and truck driver. My father always told me, give everything you have 110% …and I always have! He worked a lot of overtime when I was young, so he was gone a good bit, like a trucker would be. But my mother never missed a beat and us kids never went without. Most importantly, we always enjoyed our family time together. I’d go fishing with my grandfathers or to my aunt and uncle’s farm, I played sports growing up; they made sure we were active and stayed involved with us too. We’re a close-knit family, that’s why my home-time with my family is so important. I think with Magnum Express being a family-oriented company, they understand completely. My parents are alive and kicking, still happily married. I call them every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, just to check in and see how they are.”
At the age of 14, Jeff landed his first job at a nearby fuel service station pumping gas and checking oil. Until his junior year in high school, he walked the two-block distance to and from work. With his earnings, he purchased vinyl albums and invested the rest into buying and restoring classic cars. Thumbing through the local truck paper, he would select a car of choice (preferably a Chevy) and slowly make it new again. Adding, “My dad was a Chevy guy, so you could say he gave me the bug. We’d work on his together in the garage or out in the driveway. I started off helping wax and changing the oil. I remember, he kept them super clean.”
A self-taught mechanic with years spent shadowing his father, Jeff took his studies and over time developed his trade. His first car of at least 250 over the course of 40 years, was a 1963 SS Chevrolet Impala with a 327 Powerglide transmission. “What I would give to have a few of those cars back,” he says. One thing is for sure, his experience with tools and repair work on motors came in handy years down the road when his budget expanded to buying semi-trucks.
Jeff finished out high school working part-time as an electrician assistant and did residential landscaping during the summers. At 18, he obtained his chauffeur license and landed a job manning the fuel isle of a truck leasing company. Jeff maintained his position for 4 years working in the full-service department; checking washer fluids, filling the trucks with fuel, and then parking the big rigs after servicing. The lease company also offered truck rental and logistics, allowing Jeff the opportunity to jump in the seat of a semi whenever one needed moved or delivered.
His transition from servicing trucks to a full-time driver with the company was smooth, as he switched roles and began driving five days a week. A year later, Jeff secured a driving position with a family-owned company based out of Cincinnati, Ohio pulling step deck and dry van trailers delivering fresh and frozen baked products. Home every night with select days off, Jeff stayed on with the company for 10 years, often running as a driver trainer. He explains, “My biggest thing was safety. If a student driver took anything away from their time training with me, I needed it to be safety. Being a safe driver saves lives. I referred to my teaching tools as the ‘Jeff System’ and by applying my techniques is what has ultimately kept me safe with a 35-year career, accident-free.” Attention to detail, awareness and always remain alert. Stating, when looking ahead, don’t just focus on what is directly in front of you, but be aware of what is on the side of the roads, as well. And stay alert as to what may lie ahead.
The company closed their doors and Jeff made his way to another bakery outfit headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana. As one of the nation’s largest baking companies, their distribution included Canada -becoming Jeff’s first over the road trucking position. Pulling a reefer in an International 9670 cabover, he ran a store door route delivering directly to grocery stores throughout Pennsylvania, picked a load up in Canada, then back to Indiana by the weekend. He says, “I stayed with them for 6 years. They were a great company! Paid you right off the odometer. That was also when the trucks rode like a log wagon.” The structure of the company shifted, and they began to broker their freight, pushing the company drivers out of work.
Jeff tried his hand hauling hazardous wastes. He got on with an environmental service firm pulling end dumps, roll off trailers and tankers. After receiving his 10 Year Safe Driving Award, he stayed on another 2 years before the economy took a nose dive in 2008. Over time, the waste company lost a large number of accounts, nudging Jeff to take his business to the next level.
In 2010, Jeff founded J & L Pollard Transport, purchased his first truck; a 1998 Freightliner Classic XL and leased on with a trucking company based out of his hometown, Indianapolis. He hauled shipping containers from their Indy terminal over to Chicago during the day and was home in the evenings with his family. Two years pass, he’s reached the 28-year mark in his driving career and everything comes to a halt.
Eager for something different, Jeff comes completely off the road and hangs up his truck keys. He sells his truck and lands a job with a transport service company as a dispatcher.
“I wanted to jump on the logistics side and learn more about what goes on behind the scenes. I realized having the experience as a driver helped in so many ways. It was like a fire was lit and I had found a new ambition, something else I can push to succeed at. As a previous driver, I fit the role in dispatching so well because I knew the truck driver’s side of business. I knew how to communicate properly. The whole experience helped me become more business oriented. Being on both sides of the fence has opened my eyes. Freight has to move, and deadlines need to be met. It’s all a part of the trade.”
After 3 years, Jeff was ready to return to driving. He bought a 1995 White-GMC conventional and went back to hauling containers. Later, he traded his truck for a 2009 Freightliner Columbia. Each mechanical issue led to one main discussion for Jeff and Lori. The debate was whether to continue with their business, despite spending much of their time handling maintenance on the truck or sell their truck and switch to running as a company driver. The obvious choice of the two allowed more free-time to spend together and relieved a few of their stresses as business owners.
While waiting at a truck repair center, in conversation with another driver he was told about Magnum Express. A week later, he sold his truck and joined the driving team of company drivers at Magnum. Settling into the final leg of his career before retirement, Jeff’s focus is his family and driving for Magnum Express enables him to be with his loved ones more than any other company throughout his experience as a driver. Stating, “They provide a family atmosphere, you don’t get the overwhelming, big company feel. We have an open-door policy and they truly care about their drivers and they show it!”
Jeff’s career as a professional truck driver proves that it is possible to live out your dream and balance a healthy family life too. Known to many as a gentle giant, due to his 6’4 stature, he describes himself as a very honest, caring family man that has simply wanted to drive a truck as far back as he can remember.