Justin Donnelson Recognized As Rookie of the Quarter

on Friday, May 15, 2026 in Awards & Recognition

Justin Donnelson’s life has changed drastically in the last five years. He and his family moved to Texas from Washington state, and he decided to start a new career as a flatbed driver.

As his family has built a new life in Texas, Justin has also put in the hard work and dedication to make a great start in his new career. That’s why we’re proud to recognize Justin as the Rookie of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2026.

Learning from the Best

Since joining TMC in July 2025, Justin has been eager to develop the skills and systems he needs to be safe and efficient.

During over-the-road training, Justin had the opportunity to work with two different trainers, who helped him apply what he’d learned in TMC’s flatbed training program and get comfortable with the day-to-day routine of being on the road.

“The basic systems that my trainers had, I duplicated them,” he says. “They had pretty good systems, and I changed a few things that worked for me.”

Justin also gained a lot of insight from Driver TQM, TMC’s Total Quality Management training. TQM tailors TMC’s continuous improvement framework to drivers, applying the principles of quality management to help drivers make the most of their driving hours and maximize their paycheck. It empowers drivers to make smart, proactive choices on the road so they can stay safe and overcome the daily challenges they face.

“TQM is about knowledge and personal development,” says Mark Sickmiller, Driver Development Manager, who oversees the Driver TQM program. “It teaches that success is not luck—it’s the result of taking control by making better choices.”

Justin says that TQM has changed his approach to driving in several key ways. “I felt like I am a lot more efficient. I’m more aware of how parking up affects my loads that I would get, and more aware of my time,” he says.

Justin continued to build his skills and knowledge by choosing to attend Advanced TQM, which gave him a better understanding of how fleet managers and load planners assign loads across TMC’s fleet.

“How the planners get the load sent up to the fleet manager, and the fleet manager helps with the drivers getting dispatched—I didn't really quite understand how all that worked until I went to the classes,” he says. “It was nice to understand exactly how and why I got the load I got.”

The TMC Brotherhood

Since he’s gotten his own truck, Justin has continued to learn from other TMC drivers. He says he’ll often meet experienced drivers at shippers or receivers, and he’ll take the opportunity to chat with them to get the benefit of their experience behind the wheel. “It's good to have a couple of drivers that you can talk to that have experience,” he says. “They know the ins and outs that maybe you wouldn't know, and it's definitely nice to be able to reach out if you have questions.

“There's so many nice drivers at TMC,” he says. “That's one thing I really like. They’re all really good people.”

Chad Gurney, Justin’s fleet manager, says that Justin himself is helping to build this TMC camaraderie and brotherhood. “Justin is the kind of person that, if he sees another TMC driver having issues securing at a shipper, he always goes over and helps the other driver out,” Chad says. “It’s in his nature; he’s a team player.”

Making the Most of Home Time

When Justin was choosing a flatbed company to drive for, he wanted to make sure he would get enough home time to see his family on a regular basis. “When I found out that TMC drivers get to come home on the weekends, that was what sealed the deal for me,” he says.

Starting this new career has come with some challenges for Justin and his family, and he gives a lot of credit to his wife, Teesha, who has kept the family’s life in Texas running smoothly.

“I have a really supportive wife,” Justin says. “She's taking care of the family. She runs all the kids around, takes care of them, and does an awesome job.”

The Rookie of the Quarter Award

The Rookie of the Quarter award recognizes a new driver who has completed TMC’s TQM and Advanced TQM courses, taken the Train the Trainer course to prepare to be a driver trainer, and demonstrated high performance and a good safety record.

We’re so proud to recognize Justin Donnelson as the Rookie of the Quarter. With his commitment to continuous improvement and learning from other drivers, we are excited to see what he will accomplish as part of the Black and Chrome fleet.