The fact that he joined Averitt in 1996 affords Bradley Martin a unique distinction. “I’m the oldest Truckload guy,” he says. “Mr. Sasser’s told me that two separate times.” And before ’96? “I worked for a small company pulling dump trailers and the U.S. mail. When wintertime would come around, the rock hauling would slow down, and the mail would pick up. Especially at Christmas.” But when they shut down the rock hauling division, he knew he needed to find something with a future. “I’d noticed Averitt trucks up and down the highway forever. So I figured, ‘Well, let me give them a shot.’” After submitting his application, he called back a week later to make sure it had been received. “They basically said, ‘We’ll call you if we need you.’ So I went on vacation that next week and came home to a letter in the mail that said, ‘You need to call Averitt.’” After an interview and road test, he found himself in orientation. Fast forward to today, and Bradley has 27 years of proudly wearing Averitt red under his belt. Ask him what’s kept him at Averitt all that time and you’d better make yourself comfortable. “First off, you can’t build any kind of retirement or future when you start hopping around. You’ve got to go for longevity,” he says. “But there are so many other things as well. Like fueling at our own service centers. That saves so much time. You ever try to fuel at a truck stop? It’s aggravating. We also shower at our own places. You’ve got a place to wash your truck. You’ve got a place to wash your clothes. You’ve got a place to park. We’ve got our own shops. It’s not like you’re out on the road by yourself. It’s like we have miniature homes everywhere we go. You’re not just thrown out there in the jungle to fend for yourself.”
BRADLEY MARTIN Truckload Driver
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