Driver of the First Quarter – Garth Thompson

Safe, responsible, business savvy and good guy, are all words used to describe TMC's most recent Driver of the Quarter Garth Thompson. The Linden, Pa., native came to TMC as a company driver in 1995 and bought his own truck in 1997. He keeps a low profile and a squeaky clean safety record.

Thompson is no stranger to business and over the last 34 years has owned one business or another, including building log homes. So, when Thompson decided being a professional driver might be a good business he decided to test the waters as a company driver first. "Since I wasn’t familiar with trucking, I wanted to be a company driver and learn the business before I made the big leap," explains Thompson.

When Thompson made the big leap into becoming an owner-operator he purchased a Kenworth T600 from TMC, a truck that he still drives today. That truck now has more than one million safe miles on it. While many parts of the truck have been rebuilt the exterior is the same. "I bought that truck brand new with zero miles on it," he says. "Sometimes drivers recognize me on the road and tease me about driving this old truck," he laughs. "Hey, I like nice things too, but this is a business decision. I know that I spend less on maintenance then I would on truck payments. The way I look at it, if I don’t have a truck payment then I don’t have to work if I don’t want to."

But work he does and he works hard. Over the last two years during the tough economy Thompson has stayed out on the road for longer stretches at a time then in years past. "To make money I had to stay out weekends and make up for the weeks with less loads," he explains. "Last year was a lesser quality year, but my gross revenue was still in the acceptable range because I knew I had to change what I was doing to make money. Sure I would have liked to be home, but you do what you have to do."

At home is Thompson’s wife of 34 years, Kathy. The couple has two grown children, Julie and Johnathon. "My wife works as hard at home as I do on the road," he says. She keeps things going at home, so that he can do what he needs to out on the road and when he gets home they always have a long list of projects to work on.

In addition to giving much of the credit for his success to his wife, Kathy, Thompson says he owes a lot to his fleet manager Jake Jury. "Jake is the best dispatcher I have had since I have been here. He goes above and beyond to get me loaded and keep my revenue where I need it."

While he may give much of the credit away, there is a lot of hard work and dedication that goes into reaching the level of success he has attained.

"Garth is a very hard worker. He is very experienced and flexible with loads and home time to earn a solid income," says fleet manager Jake Jury. "Garth is always safety oriented with close to two million safe driving miles. He will assist the inexperienced driver out in any situation they are in as well as keeping the customers satisfied."

"In the years he has been with TMC the conversations with the safety department have been rare," comments Todd Bunting vice president of safety. "His logs are accurate and in on time, he has never had a moving violation and he is preventable accident free and is expected to receive the third diamond for consecutive accident free driving this October. Garth is a professional and a very safe and responsible driver. TMC is fortunate to have him as a company driver and owner-operator."

With nearly 15 successful, safe years as a professional truck driver and owner-operator, two million safe miles and more to come, Thompson has learned a few secrets to success. In a nutshell, defensive driving, smart business decisions and hard work have gotten him where he is today.

And, don't expect him to give up his T600 anytime soon. Thompson figures he has another four or five years left before emissions standards will force him to upgrade. By that time his truck will more than likely see two million miles.