Episode 66: Why Aren’t More Truckers Fighting for Their Rights in DC? Lewie Pugh Reveals the Truth

Brent – 00:00:01:

Welcome to Freight Nation: A Trucking Podcast where we explore the fascinating world of trucking and freight management. We dive deep into the freight industry and uncover why the trucking industry is more crucial to our country now than ever before. Stay tuned to uncover the driving forces behind successful trucking businesses and hear from the hardworking truckers and leaders who keep the world moving. Let’s hit the road. All right, well, welcome back, Freight Nation. And today is going to be a great episode of the Freight Nation podcast, a podcast by Truckstop. And it’s going to be a great one today because, I mean, when I started in this industry in 1998, there was really only one group in the marketplace that really sort of, over time, built and continued to hold my respect in this marketplace in how they treated the truck driving public and truck drivers in general and how they represent this industry. I’m going to get a chance to talk to one of the legends of this organization that really represents our industry so kindly and so well and so intelligently. And he represents the heart of the American owner-operator. So today we’re going to have joining us today on Freight Nation, which I’m so excited about, Mr. Lewie Pugh, the Executive Vice President of OOIDA and one of the greatest truckers America has. Lewie’s, thank you so much for joining me on Freight Nation today.

Lewie – 00:01:20:

Well, that’s quite the introduction. I don’t know if I’m worthy of all that. I feel like Todd’s. Spencer and Jim Johnson are more the legends than I am. I’m just the guy here.

Brent – 00:01:28:

Well, hey, someone’s got to stand in the gap, and you’re right about those two guys. They are two of the legends in this marketplace and what they represent. There’s many people that have to carry the torch. And so I learned that really early working for Overdrive Magazine. We used to compete with Landline Magazine. But when I would talk to people in the marketplace about it, there was this respect for Landline because you were an association that represented the rights of the smallest operators at the marketplace. And so that was what was unique. I’m excited today for you to be on Freight Nation, for you to tell your story because, man, Freight Nation, you’re going to love Lewie’s story. I mean, the one thing you learn about Lewie’s, you’re staring at what it is, man. He is exactly as he’s advertised. And also a part of Lewie’s responsibility is he grew up as a trucker from Ohio, and he now represents our industry, not just through OOIDA but also to the federal government and all across the board. We’re going to get to that eventually. But the first thing that’s for me that’s most important, Lewie’s, is for you to tell your story. Lewie’s and I have become better friends. We kind of knew each other for a long time. But since Truckstop and OOIDA become partners to help beneficially for the owner-operator in this marketplace, he and I have become much better friends. And boy, have I. I tell you what, if you want to have a fun conversation, just find Lewie Pugh at Mid-America or some truck show or in D.C.. It is a great rock and roll kind of conversation. But Lewie’s, so what I want you to do is just start your story. When you were young in Ohio, growing up a Buckeye at The Ohio State University. So start about like what got you into this part of the world? Because I know you kind of grow up a little bit maybe on the farming and agriculture end, but talk a little bit about that and tell your story.

Lewie – 00:03:03:

Yeah, thanks, Brett. And again, I appreciate all the warm accolades. And if you see me, come talk to me. I talk to anybody. I love to talk to people. I love people, 100%. I love to swap trucker stories. I was born in southeastern Ohio, raised in Harrison County, Appalachia, right off the Ohio River. I mean, it was coal mining and trucking and hillside farming is pretty much what we had. And of course, through time, the coal mining and all that stuff kind of got hit and the mills and everything else through politics and all those fun things. But we grew up on a farm. My dad was actually a blacksmith, shod horses through the summer and in the winter would drive truck. Was a truck driver in the winter and the shoe and horses was slow. But I tell everybody, and I know it sounds like such a cliche, but it is the truth. When I was about five, six years old, five years old, I think, Smoky and the Bandit came out.

Brent – 00:03:57:

Oh my gosh. That was my dad’s favorite movie, Lewie.

Lewie – 00:04:00:

It’s my favorite movie. Your dad’s a smart guy. So my dad took me. I remember we went and saw that movie.

Brent – 00:04:06:

Yeah.

Lewie – 00:04:06:

And from then on, I wanted to be a trucker. My mom has all these little books like moms do of your childhood. And there’s always a place like, once a year you put your school picture on it and what you want to be. And, of course, I had Farmer and Cowboy and Farmer. And that changed throughout the time. But it was always a trucker. Trucker was always in there. Always wanted to be a trucker. Loved toy trucks. Loved all that stuff. And then, of course, the BJ and the Bear came on.

Brent – 00:04:32:

Oh, you got to love that. Yeah.

Lewie – 00:04:33:

And then as time went on, my dad got a little older. And the horses got a little harder. And his body wasn’t what it once was. And he went trucking full time. My grandfather also drove milk truck. My other grandfather, after World War II and stuff, he was out in Oregon for a little while. Drove lumber truck and stuff for a little bit before coming back to Ohio. So trucking’s always been there. So when I got old enough. I drove truck on the farm. I started pulling a pickup truck and a horse trailer about 13, 14 years old. Drove truck. Drove farm machinery and all that stuff. And so learned those motor skills, I guess. And, I mean, when I mowed the yard, I used to think I was driving a truck as a little kid. Imagine all that stuff.

Brent – 00:05:18:

Visual of young Lewie P the truck driver.

Lewie – 00:05:22:

I’m sure my mama’s got pictures because I’d take my rack wang that I had when I was a kid and hook it to the back of my lawnmower, and that was my trailer, buddy, and I was hauling whatever I could haul. Anyway, long story short, graduated high school, joined the United States Army. What did I do in the United States Army? I drove a truck. Uncle Spam, tractor trailer, first was in a heavy haul unit. We hauled tanks and stuff with the big heads. Then I became a fuel line haul driver. I hauled fuel, became lead driver, squad leaders throughout my Army career, active in the reserves.

Brent – 00:05:54:

Yeah, thanks for your service, man. Appreciate it.

Lewie – 00:05:56:

Oh, no problem. It’s just what we’re supposed to do. No thing. Anyway, with that being said, by the time I was 21, I got into reserves, and on my 21st birthday, I went and took my CDL test. I was grandfathered because of the military training I had for the driving and all that stuff, so I just had to take the written, got my CDL, and about a week later, I was off to Green Bay, Wisconsin, because when I started driving, you either drove an orange cab over when you were 21 and dumb and do nothing, or you drove kind of a yellowish-brown cab over, I guess you would say, JB, what colors are. So I was a punkin’ egger, so…

Brent – 00:06:35:

What is a punkin’ egger? I don’t know what that was.

Lewie – 00:06:38:

Well, back in the day when Snyder and J.B. Hunt was like, everybody made fun of the cones and the barrels over Snyder eggs. So, yeah, that’s why. And, of course, they called our trucks pumpkin trucks.

Brent – 00:06:49:

Oh, okay. That does make sense.

Lewie – 00:06:51:

My dad said, you’ll like this. I had my job. As soon as I had my license, I had my job at Snyder. So my 21st birthday, I get my CDL. Like that weekend, we had like a birthday party and some friends and stuff because, I turned 21, I guess. And my dad, somewhere appropriated one of those big highway barrels that they call Snyder eggs and gave me that for my 21st birthday since I was going to work for Snyder.

Brent – 00:07:17:

Your dad’s a jokester. I get it.

Lewie – 00:07:20:

Yeah, my dad’s pretty ornery too, just like me. So yeah, I worked for them for about nine months and left there. It’s kind of funny because I say I went from probably a company who, at least on the surface, tried to show they were the most compliant out there. Because that was when Snyder was 55 and all that kind of stuff back in the early 90s. And then I went to work for an owner-operator on five trucks. He was leased to a carrier in Pennsylvania with a flatbed. And that’s what I wanted to do was pull a flatbed. And it was out of all cattle. I was going back and forth.

Brent – 00:07:53:

Right.

Lewie – 00:07:54:

So I went to work for Wolfie out of Hopedale, Ohio, Dave Tucker. And we were leased to a carrier called Kephart out in Pennsylvania. And we hauled steel and plastic pipe and all that stuff to the East Coast. And then we hauled garbage back to Ohio, Eastern Ohio, Central Pennsylvania, bale trice and big square bales. We were probably what they would consider. Outlaws of the road at this time. But it was a good education. I worked for Wolfie. He was a good guy. Give him and ran that job for about six or eight months. And then I bought my first truck. I was 22 when I bought my first truck and I bought my first truck. And this is funny too, because I buy this truck up at fighter freight liner in Youngstown, Ohio. I bought an old FLD 120. It was an old Eckmiller truck.

Brent – 00:08:40:

Oh yeah.

Lewie – 00:08:41:

And I bought the truck and I went and told Wolfie that I was giving my two week notice and bought this truck.

Brent – 00:08:47:

Yeah.

Lewie – 00:08:47:

Well, they financed my truck, but I can’t get nobody to finance my damn trailer. And I’m planning to just go haul trash because, that’s what I know. That’s what I was doing. I was going to lease back to where we were working and haul steel and pipe and garbage. I knew them guys well ran together. We were all a rat pack to say the least to hauling that trash. It was a fun job. It was the hardest job I ever had, but it was the most fun job I ever had. But I couldn’t get nobody to finance me a trailer. So I’m looking around. So there’s mass trucking is in Millersburg, Ohio. They used to have all bull rocks and then it went into kind of bull rocks and reefers. And now I think they’re all refrigerated freight. But I went up to mass trucking because a buddy of mine worked there and he said, well, you can pull their trailer with your truck. So I always wanted to haul cattle. So on my way up to mass, I stopped at Triple R trailer. At the time it was leader in New Philly, Ohio. Good friends of mine. Good people, love truckers. So just a little shout out for triple R, New Philly. But anyway, I stopped there. My friend Roger worked there. Roger and I are pretty close, same age. Looked at a trailer, talked to Roger. The families are super good people. And he said, I think I can get you financed. And I said, okay. So this is on Friday. I fill out all the papers. I go on up to Millersburg and I sit down and talk to Willie Mast. And he’s telling me all about the bull rack. And he says, the only thing I’m worried. And this was the other little problem that we had. I’m 22 years old, with about a year and a half experience. Not a lot of insurance companies or people want to give me a job. That’s another real problem.

Brent – 00:10:17:

Right, right.

Lewie – 00:10:18:

So he’s like, if I can get you insured, I’ll hire you.

Brent – 00:10:22:

Right.

Lewie – 00:10:22:

And I said, okay. So nice man. So I fill out all the stuff for him. I went home and I told my girlfriend at the time, I’m like, whoever calls me first. Cause she’s like, what if you get both? That was the quote. What if you get both? I said, whoever calls me first wins. That’s what I’m going to do.

Brent – 00:10:39:

Okay.

Lewie – 00:10:39:

But in God’s hands destiny. whatever you want to call it. I really want to go hulk cattle, but if I get this flatbed, I know that job. I’m gonna go do that, whatever. So Monday morning, about 10 o’clock, I get a call from Roger, you’ve been approved and it wasn’t five minutes later I get a call from William Mass, saying, hey, you can go to work for me. You’re my insurance. You check out. You’re good to go. But like I said, I went with my guy. I said, I’m going with what was first. And so I started all trash for a little bit with my flatbed, back and forth in East Coast, New York City, and was pretty much a flat better from there on for my entire career.

Brent – 00:11:18:

What brand of trailer was there?

Lewie – 00:11:19:

I bought an old Ravens trailer at the time. And they were old TMC trailers that they’d gotten from back in the day. And I’m trying to think it escapes me because it was their heavier made trailer, but I bought that Ravens. I pulled it for about a year and a half and then I had an East. And then from then I had Benson’s the rest of the time. And I mainly bought, Benson’s. They were good trailers, but whatever triple R trailer sold is what I bought. Cause they were good people. And that’s the one thing in this business that a lot of people miss, especially when you’re starting out is make connections with people or get to know people. You need a good repair shop for your equipment to buy equipment and parts and all that and work with good people and it’ll pay you dividends. That’s one of the biggest secrets to my success. I feel, was truck sales in Midvale, Ohio, the international garage. If I had a problem, I couldn’t repair myself. I could pick up that phone and Bruce would be like, get it in here now or get it in here in the morning. They understood that as a small business trucker, I don’t have a fleet of a thousand out here that I can just park this one and get another one. They understand I need my truck. So if you were an owner-operator, you got preferential treatment there. And like I said, as far as trailers and parts and everything, the people at Triple R and Roger and those guys, they took good care of me. They understood it too. And we’re just good people. And if you have good people like that behind the scenes working for you, it makes you successful. And I give all the credit to them. And there’s a lot of other people we could talk all day that I could give credit to my success. It wasn’t Lewie’s Pugh’s a genius. It was Lewie Pugh was smart enough to work with good people and have good friends.

Brent – 00:13:01:

Yeah. I see you’re 22 hauling trash.

Lewie – 00:13:05:

Mainly plastic pipe, but we had an account with this pipe place up in northwestern Pennsylvania, and mainly I was hauling plastic pipe. And the other thing we were doing was me and my buddy Hard Times, who’s passed away now. We trucked together all the time.

Brent – 00:13:19:

His name was Hard Times?

Lewie – 00:13:20:

His CB handle was Hard Times, Roger Salvey.

Brent – 00:13:23:

What was your CB handle?

Lewie – 00:13:24:

Bum Steer.

Brent – 00:13:25:

What was Bum Steer?

Lewie – 00:13:26:

Bum Steer. And that’s the name of my truck. Yeah, it was Bum Steer Trucking. And now my farm, I call it Bum Steer Cattle Company.

Brent – 00:13:32:

Yeah, you got a hat. I’ve seen a hat that has Bum Steer on it.

Lewie – 00:13:35:

Yeah, it’s Bum Steer Cattle Company. That’s my farm that I have now.

Brent – 00:13:39:

I love it.

Lewie – 00:13:40:

So like I said, it’s been a fabulous ride. But my buddy Hard Times, my big claim to fame, or I guess if you want to call it a claim to fame, but me and him were hauling the bridge decking into the big dig in Boston.

Brent – 00:13:52:

Oh, wow. Okay.

Lewie – 00:13:53:

The bridge decking was made in Warren, Ohio, and we were running three rounds a week from Youngstown, Ohio. These are probably stories you’re not supposed to tell, but everybody likes to get trapped. We were on three rounds a week from Warren, Ohio, to Boston. And from Boston, we’d load crushed cars. And down to Newark, New Jersey, unload our crushed cars. And then hop across the bridge to Queens and load our garbage, or as we like to say, our produce. And take that East Coast produce back over to Ohio. We’d drop our trash and then get another load and go back to Boston. So, I was young and single and just having a great time. Good old time trucking.

Brent – 00:14:32:

Yeah, man. So did you transition straight from trucking into representing OOIDA or did you have some other stops along the way?

Lewie – 00:14:40:

The way I got to OOIDA was I started trucking in 94. I joined OOIDA in 1996.

Brent – 00:14:47:

You joined early in your career. Yeah.

Lewie – 00:14:49:

Yeah. I was 23, I guess, something like that. A guy from Pennsylvania that I hauled garbage with, Kenny Bell, he had four or five trucks of his own. His son-in-law was 007, worked for me. Good bunch of guys. Kenny had OOIDA mud flaps on his truck.

Brent – 00:15:06:

Ah, the old mud flap.

Lewie – 00:15:07:

Yeah. And he, in fact, I almost went to work for Kenny. When I quit on trash, I was going to go to work for Kenny. Now, this is kind of funny how things work out because I didn’t like Kephart that well. And I was going to go to work for Kenny because he was kind of doing the same thing. And I really liked Kenny. But Kenny couldn’t give me a job because he had OOIDA insurance and he had to be 25 years old at the time to get insured through OOIDA. So he couldn’t hire me. But he said, you ought to join this association. They are fighting. So I joined OOIDA even though they cost me a job, I guess you would say. I couldn’t get hired where I wanted to go to work. But, you know, everything happens for a reason. But I joined. And I was just a member, like most people, really. I didn’t really even call OOIDA. I enjoyed Landline Magazine, kind of kept me up on things and stuff like that. I had real no involvement. And then in 2004, I got a letter about getting on the board and being nominated for the board. Right.

Brent – 00:16:06:

You were still young though, 2004. You’re only?

Lewie – 00:16:09:

I was 31 when I got on the board at OOIDA. I don’t know if it’s true, but I’ve been told I’m the youngest person ever got on the board here at OOIDA.

Brent – 00:16:17:

Yeah. Hey, let’s talk about that just for a second. So a trucker, one of your trusted friends, by the way, first off Freight Nation, I hope you’re paying attention to what Lewie’s talking about here. If he’s emphasized anything, he’s emphasized be connected to people in this industry because they can help you solve the problems, get you opportunities. And help you really enjoy trucking. Lewie, I’ve said that since the beginning. I started in 98 in transportation. I’ve just said it since the beginning. It’s about the relationship that we have with each other. And if we do that, it’s just a whole lot more fun to be in trucking when you’ve got those relationships. I’ve been saying it since on the stage and on shows and interviews, as far and wide as I can to owner operators. Get to know the people that you’re going to get your freight from, whether it be a shipper, whether it be a broker, however you’re doing business in this marketplace. Because you’ll find the better the relationship, the better rates, the better consistency. You’re going to get the better profitability you’re going to have so you can enjoy trucking. All right. So you’re 31. You get invited to be on the board. You joined at 23 because a good friend of yours that you trusted said you should be a part of this because this will help you. But, there’s obviously a bigger decision to be representing yourself and your business on the board. What motivated you to become part of the board?

Lewie – 00:17:25:

Mainly, I mean, it kind of goes back to the reason I joined, even though, like I said, they wouldn’t insure me. I was raised by my parents and my grandparents were involved in things. A lot of people, of course, in agriculture seem to be involved in things. My grandfathers were on the school board, council, civic clubs, soil and water conservation, Farm Bureau 4-H, all this kind of stuff. And I was always taught from a young age, you need to pay attention to what’s going on in the world politically and all these things. And mainly, if you’re not involved and you’re not trying to do things to make things better, you really got no reason to complain. So that’s sort of the way I was raised. So that’s why I joined OOIDA in the first place. And the main reason I really joined OOIDA, what really intrigued me about OOIDA and I liked about OOIDA, and I still stand by it to this day. What makes a lot of difference is they were started by truckers. Jim was a trucker. Todd’s a trucker. It was all truckers that started this association. And our board of directors that still guides us on our policies and stuff today are truckers. So these are people that know what I’m going through. I guess that’s why they can relate. That’s what I looked at. So when the time came and I got this, I was like, yeah, I’d like to be a board member. I think that I have some knowledge and experience that probably other people don’t. I’ve always been, just because of the nature of our industry. And I don’t I think it’s changed maybe a little. But at the time I came in, I’ve always been like the new kid on the block. I was always the youngest one where I worked and everything. And I was good at it, I guess. Knock on wood, not to brag, but I was successful. So I felt like I always got respect from the older people. And I can relate to the older people from getting around my grandparents. I like older people and I’ve always liked to hear older people’s stories. Old people got the best stories. I’m that kid that could sit there and listen to old guys bullshit at the store all day. I loved it. My grandfather was that guy. And I guess now I’m becoming the old guy with stories.

Brent – 00:19:27:

Yeah, we’re kind of the old guy. We’re getting to be the old guys now.

Lewie – 00:19:30:

Yeah, but that’s why, yeah, I’m going to run for the board. And I ran for the board in 2004. There was like nine or 10 people running against this. And the way it works in OOIDA, you get elected and you become an alternate. Well, it just so happened they took five of us, of the nine, I think, or 10. But I was number six. One of the five couldn’t fulfill it or couldn’t do it or just decided he didn’t want to do it. So about two weeks before the meeting, I get a call and said, hey, officially, you were the alternate of the alternates, I guess, for lack of better terms. And one person can’t come. So that’s how I got here. So that was kind of a fluke.

Brent – 00:20:12:

That’s super cool. One of the things I appreciate, Lewie, about what you’re saying, Freight Nation, pay attention to this. There’s a lot that goes on in our industry. It’s one of the largest industries in the world. And so sometimes you feel like you got no voice. You can’t do anything. Well, that’s not true. You can become part of OOIDA and you can become part of the board and you can help shape what goes on in D.C.., how owner operators can react to it or how they can work within it. And so I love that story. And the thing that really struck me was you said, well, this is what my parents taught me to do. This is what my grandparents taught me to do, which was, hey, be involved. And so that’s one thing that I think is just remarkable. And that’s a story for all of us, every trucker out there. Hey, man, find a way to get involved. What you do matters. You’re a vital part of the American economy and a vital part of what the United States stands for. So, all right. So you’re on the board. So you get to you’re all bright and shiny pinned and you’re ready to be on the board. You’re going to make a difference. And so what was it like being on the board that first meeting and everything?

Lewie – 00:21:16:

Well, my first meeting, I flew out. After that, I started driving, but I flew out here. Of course, I know nobody. I know no one. Young, dumb kid, I fly out, and I’ll never forget, Bill Rohde was one of our board members, long-time board member, old guy, he’s passed away now. God bless him. But I remember Bill Rohde picks me up at the airport, him and Ken Becker, which me and Ken are still friends to this day. We ride motorcycles together and stuff. He’s from Texas. And Ken’s wife, Elizabeth. And I remember, of course, this is TSA, and all this crazy shit wasn’t going on like it is now. So they were standing at the gate at the old Kansas City airport. And for those who flew in there, you walk off the terminal ramp and out the front door pretty much is the way it used to work. It was great. But I remember Rohde had a sign. Of course, I don’t know him, but he’s holding a sign that said Lewie Pugh. And I’m coming down the ramp thing or whatever, and he looks over at Ken Becker, and he says, I think that’s the guy. He looks like a truck driver. And it was point on me.

Brent – 00:22:13:

You probably felt like the bigwig, man, with somebody holding a sign.

Lewie – 00:22:17:

Yeah, just a dumb hillbilly kid from southeast in our eyes. It was a big world. But anyway, with that being said, the first thing we do is we went to Darin at night and kind of got to know them guys a little bit. And then the next day, it’s like, because now we bring people out here before, like the alternates, they come out before they’re ever elected to kind of get a feel. But this time, it’s baptism by fire. And they bring in, and I still remember, they took me in the old boardroom, and Bob Esler at the time was our secretary. Bob was from Kansas originally, but lived in Detroit. Heavy hauler, big old gruff trucker, and a bunch of old, other old truckers. And here’s this young, dumb kid, and they kind of put me through the paces and asked me a lot of questions, because they want to make sure you’re just not all hat and boots, I guess, for lack of better terms. But it was fun, and I became great friends with a lot of those guys and still friends and a lot of past since I’ve been on the board. But what a bunch of fun guys and fun stories and just guys who really loved the industry. John Taylor, who’s still with us, thank goodness. He’d started trucking when he was 13 and just hung up his steering wheel a couple years ago, like at 86 or 87 years old. Bob and just all them older guys that was here on the board, and Bill Rohde, good people, good friends, salt of the earth, and truckers. Just what we think of truckers is that we grew up around and stuff like that.

Brent – 00:23:42:

Right. Well, that’s exciting. So you’re on the board, you’re making a difference. You’re still running your operation. You’re still running your truck and you’re on the board. How long did you serve on the board and still run your truck before you became an official? Hold on. What got you to the point of like saying, okay, I’m going to exit my trucking operation. I’m going to go full-time with OOIDA. What conversation was had? What was going through your mind? Because you’ve become OIDA’s voice and the members of OOIDA, you’ve become the voice in Washington.

Lewie – 00:24:11:

Yeah, I know. It’s kind of scary, isn’t it?

Brent – 00:24:13:

Well, hey, I mean, I couldn’t think of anybody better. So what transpired in that? And then to tell that story, and then I want to talk a little bit about what the OOIDA is doing, and then we’ll talk about a few of the topics, and then we’ll wrap it up. And I say this because I want the Frank Nation, authors to hear like, okay, well, there’s some point in your career when you move from one stage to the next. When is that? How do you know?

Lewie – 00:24:39:

Well, I guess to back up a little bit to get to that. And when I got on the board, our D.C.oOffice was kind of up and coming. We had Rod. Rod. Well, and Rod was down there getting it off the ground. Because before that, Todd pretty much spent all the time in D.C.. And we had some hired people and stuff like that. But we’d hired Rod.

Brent – 00:25:01:

Jim was still alive at this point, right?

Lewie – 00:25:02:

Yeah. Jim’s been all through this. Yeah. Jim didn’t pass away until after I got here. So, anyway, Rod’s getting the D.C. office up and going and starting. He’d been here, I don’t know, a couple years maybe before. But, anyway, getting that built up. Rod and I are pretty close, the same age. And we became really good friends. I can’t say enough about Rod and his knowledge and his experience, especially with D.C.. I still use him as a resource today. Even though he hasn’t been in D.C. for, I think, about 10 years. But Rod noticed that I had much interest in government. I really enjoyed it. So, he brought me to D.C., the first time, I think, was in, like, 2005 or 2006. He asked me to come down and talked to some people about truck parking, of all things, you know.

Brent – 00:25:48:

Oh, my goodness.

Lewie – 00:25:48:

And about this issue with parking.

Brent – 00:25:51:

That was 2006.

Lewie – 00:25:53:

Yeah, in 2006.

Brent – 00:25:54:

We’re still talking about truck parking.

Lewie – 00:25:55:

And we’re still talking about it, yeah. But Rod brought me down for that. And so, a lot of the credit or the blame lies on Rod Nofziger, I guess.

Brent – 00:26:04:

Maybe we should check whether or not he’s sane or something. I’m not real sure.

Lewie – 00:26:07:

Yeah, exactly. But anyway, Rod brought me down and then Rod brought me down for some other things. It’s time went on. And one thing that helped with them, for one, I live close. I was only like 300 miles. And two, most of my trucking was to the East Coast. So I was in D.C. or Philly or these places. I remember I delivered in Philly and left my truck somewhere and rented a car and drove to D.C.. For some meetings. So Rod kind of gave me the base experience and stuff like that and kind of taught me how to heal. And again, I’m a huge history nut. I love history.

Brent – 00:26:44:

Yeah, D.C..

Lewie – 00:26:45:

I love American history the most. So I know we all get wrapped up with all the crap that comes out of D.C.. And all the bad things. But I still look at it. There’s so much history there and there’s been so much good come out of that. You know, we’re in the greatest nation in the world. And so I just thought it was cool. I get to go down and do this kind of thing. And we talk about more as we go on, but I still do. So that’s how that started. And so to get to where I am now, as things progressed, I continued to truck them. Coming out here to board meetings, I got put on our finance kind of business committee, which is kind of a standing committee. You have to be elected by your peer board members. So I got put on that, which I was proud of. Jim was having some health issues and getting older. I started asking questions. It’s like, what? What’s going to happen? What are we going to do? Some other people within this organization, like Rod, for example. We knew Rod out here to kind of take over the business, which was great. Wonderful. And Angel Bernal Bernal and some other staff around here got promoted up. But my question was to Jim and them is, where’s the trucker? All these people are great. Love them all. They’re all very capable, way smarter people than I am, but there’s no trucker. And that’s what makes OOIDA different to me and I think most people. And Rod will tell you, that’s what makes us different on Capitol Hill than the others. So I can go up there. I live this.

Brent – 00:28:13:

Yeah. Well, it keeps you relevant. I mean, that’s really the difference in that. All right. So what made you want to leave the truck and say, all right, look, that part of my business life is over. Was it your passion to make a difference? Because, look, the one thing I love about you is you express yourself very well, very honest and open, but very well. There’s not a lot of people that want to stand in front of like all these congressional muckety mucks and deliver that message. So did you find like, hey, I really enjoy this?

Lewie – 00:28:41:

I do. And the way I mean, honestly, I didn’t look for this job. That’s the thing here. Like you asked me how I did. I did. That wasn’t a look. And I brought up these questions. I was kind of told, well, it’s hard to find truckers. Guys are successful. They don’t want to come in here. You know, do you want to sell your business and move halfway across America? And I said, I don’t know. I don’t think I’m probably the right guy. You guys know what you need, not me. So I’m not I’m just asking, where’s the truckers? Truckers smarter than me. But you know what you need. So about a month later, I got a phone call in April 1st of May. Actually, I think it was Rod called me and asked me if I would be willing to come out here, start in a compliance department, which is where our catch all for all calls, our members calling here with problems and issues. And we try to help them fix it. And if I would want to start there and see if I could, as I jokingly tell people, learn how to drive a desk. And, as I tell people, after seven years of being here, I’m still a much better truck driver than I am a desk driver. So with that being said, it was a tough decision. And Rod called me, and I talked to Jim, and I talked to Todd. And I finally told him, like I said, it’s the end of April, 1st of May. I said, I’m going to Rolling Thunder on my motorcycle Memorial Day weekend. I go there every year. And I said, when I get back on Monday night, I will call you Tuesday and give you a decision because this is a huge thing. I’ve got a successful trucking business. I’ve got great accounts. I’m happy.

Brent – 00:30:16:

I get it.

Lewie – 00:30:17:

My home’s paid for. My equipment’s paid for. I mean, trucking was really good to me. Really good. So when I was at Rolling Thunder, we were down there, and I was talking to my friends that was with me at Rolling Thunder and Jill. And I said, I come to Rolling Thunder. Because people who didn’t make it home from wars need a voice. There’s people, God forbid, maybe still prisoners or whatever, they need a voice. That’s why I come to this every year. I take my Memorial Day and I come here. When I was married, that’s when my wedding anniversary was, and I would skip my wedding anniversary to come to Rolly Thunder. So that’s probably why I’m not still married, but that and some other things. But anyway, so I said, trucking’s been good to me. It’s been the love of my life. And if I can go make a difference or make trucking a little bit better for other people, that’s what I want to do. And I’m going to at least try. I’m going to at least go try. So to be clear, when I came here. The only difference between when Todd came in the office, Jim told him the only way to give him the job, he had to sell his truck. Well, it happened with some other guys that come in the office and they lasted about a month and then they went back to driving their truck. And then Todd ended up selling his trailer to buy the typesetting machine at Landline. There’s a whole nother great story for you.

Brent – 00:31:34:

That’ll be the next episode of Freight Nation. We’ll talk about the line.

Lewie – 00:31:37:

The Lewie’s Kept his truck. Not only did I keep my truck, I kept my truck for a year and a half and I was leased to Landstar when I came to OOIDA. I didn’t cancel my lease for like four or five months. I continued to pay my insurance. I told Landstar I was having some personal issues and just I paid my insurance stuff. I had to pay there. I didn’t even put my lease because I left my family, my friends. I’ve never lived in town in my life. I rented a house. I’m now living in the suburbs, a split level house with a little picket fence. And this is I’m out of my world.

Brent – 00:32:14:

Right, right.

Lewie – 00:32:15:

And going in and answering the phones. But thankfully, Todd and Rob. And Angel, and some others around this place were very patient, very understanding. This was very hard for me. I miss driving truck every day. I miss my family, my friends still to this day. But as time moved on, I was able to buy a house, get out in the country. I bought a little small farm, got a few cows and play around to have my meat. But the thing that people don’t realize, and I don’t think any trucker will realize the thing that I missed the most was the commodity of my fellow driver. But I guess the second thing was the solitude of it. Because the good thing about trucking, if you don’t want to be bothered, you can shut your CB off, shut your cell phone and you can zone in your own world. Listen to an audio book, whatever. When you come to an office with 285 people, you don’t have that. There’s no HR in trucking, but buddy, there’s HR in an office building.

Brent – 00:33:14:

I love it. I love it. All right. So we got about five minutes left. And so I just want to make sure we get to the part where you started pivoting into being the voice for the OOIDA membership and the owner operators out there in D.C.. Because what a way that you’ve worked through OOIDA. You’ve given back to this industry that you love, that has given you so much really, since you were a boy, 13 years old.

Lewie – 00:33:41:

As far as I’m concerned, Brent, in a lot of ways, I’m the most blessed person in the world because trucking has afforded me and allowed me to do things that anybody can only dream of. And I can’t believe it’s real here because I’m a college dropout with a vocational school education from Appalachia. And look where I’ve gotten to. And again, it’s not because of me. It’s because of the people around me. And I appreciate that.

Brent – 00:34:10:

And I can totally understand our life experiences, but you have a PhD in transportation and trucking. And so you are an expert at that. And I think that most truckers, and I would tell everybody watching from Freight Nation, every OOIDA member, every Truckstop customer, I’d say you’re an expert in transportation. And so all that other stuff doesn’t matter. What you want to be is focused. You want to be an expert at something. And so that to me, Lewie, when I talk to you about this industry, oh my goodness, such deep water. So let’s talk about DC and you kind of get into that. Yeah.

Lewie – 00:34:36:

Yeah. So, I mean, I was sort of the plan when I came here in the first place, but I went to a few meetings and then in 20 and I was working in compliance, became the manager in compliance. And then I started here in June and that’s the other crazy thing. I told them on the day after Memorial Day and I like, when do you want me to start? And they’re like, can you be here by June 19th? So I had like two weeks to get all my stuff packed and move halfway across America. But hey, we did it. But with that being said, Jim passed away the first part of 2018. I remember. And I was at time for trucking. Jim passed away. And so in April, I think was the board meeting. Todd was elected to the vice president role. Todd was at the time, the Executive Vice President and our board took enough faith and trust in me and they voted me as Executive Vice President. So, and it’s the board too. I can’t not give them a lot of credit too. They trusted me and put the trust of the association and my leadership and Todd’s. I mean, Todd was a no brainer and still is, but, everybody took a chance. Everybody, like I said, a lot of patience because there was some growing pains on both sides for them, a lot for me and some for both. They weren’t used to having a guy fresh off the road coming in here complaining about things that we probably should be doing. And they didn’t always want to hear that. And I didn’t always want to hear what they had to say either, but we got it all worked out. But anyway, my main thing around here was job is membership and the advocacy part. And that honestly is my two favorite things about the job. The day-to-day work, I hate it for the most part. I’m not going to lie. But when I get to go to truck shows and be out here talking to members, that’s my element. I love it. And when I go to D.C., you’re right. I am who I am. I ain’t forgot where I come from. I never will. And like I started to say, or talked about earlier, when I go to DC and I talk to lawmakers or FMCSA or all these things, I walk through those buildings up there on the Capitol Hill. It touches me in a special place because I think as a history nut of all the great world decisions has been made by very smart, intelligent, capable people who saved our world multiple times over in wars and different things. And here’s Lewie Pugh. And this is why America is great. This is why our country is great. I’m kid. Like I said, with a vocational school education who hated school and dropped out of college, is able to go in there, and sit in Congress or the Senate, and testify and talk about trucking and tell them out, really is, and I guess I never even, that’s what my girlfriend said. You got nervous? I said no. I said they put their pants on the same way I do. I sit and there’s 3 or 4 people in Congress and they’re trucking. The rest of them don’t know crap about it. That’s what I tell my members. Don’t be afraid to talk to your lawmakers. You’re the expert. They’re not. They only know what their fricking staff tells them.

Brent – 00:37:36:

They need your input on that.

Lewie – 00:37:38:

Exactly.

Brent – 00:37:39:

We’re going to have to have Lewie Pugh part two on this. Here’s why I say this, because I’m really glad that you went and told the whole story on how you got there, because I hope the Freight Nation watchers and any OOIDA member that’s listening to this and any Truckstop client that’s listening to this, just listen to his story, which is know that you matter. Know that your voice matters. Know that you have a responsibility, not just to your business, but to our industry to make it better. And I love your hard- I love the idea of how you got to where you were. You felt like a calling that this is something I’m supposed to do because you can’t do it any other way. I absolutely love it. By the way, I experienced the same thing when I got to go up on the Hill, when I got into logistics in 2013 with Truckstop and got to go talk to representatives and talk to senators and stuff. And I experienced the exact same thing. I was like, people go, aren’t you like intimidated? No, this is the most fascinating thing to know that I, as an individual, and I look, I’m middle-class redneck from Center Point, Alabama. Okay. I’m no different. All right. The fact that I could do the same thing and be a part of that is exciting and humbling and scary all at once, but boy, is it fun. And so Lewie, thank you so much for coming on Freight Nation. Tell your story. First, thank you for letting Truckstop be a part in a partnership with OIDA because your heart for the owner-operator, your heart for making this industry better is the same as Truckstop. It’s the same as brewing hot toads. And so, man, thank you so much for doing that.

Lewie – 00:39:07:

Yeah. And that’s the thing. And thank you, Brent. You’ve become a good friend and I enjoy your conversation. I enjoy bantering back and forth with you and stuff. That’s what real friends do. Just like our partnership. And I said this earlier, trucking isn’t rocket science, but if you want to be successful, especially in what we’re seeing today with the fraud and all these things, I know it’s easy to get down, but like I said, again, it’s relationships and working with people and you can trust. And as you well know, becoming our partner, was a long drawn out. We made you go through, run the gamut. And you got lots of hard questions and we didn’t let up on you, but you got there because being part of OOIDA and being our team, a part of us, it means something. But again, the drivers out there and people, I did a story last month in Landline, just an editorial about the brotherhood of trucking. And I was surprised when they posted it on social, cause it’s in the print magazine, but I was surprised the amount of truckers who were kind of slamming. There is no brotherhood. There’s none of that anymore.

Brent – 00:40:11:

I disagree. Yeah, I disagree with that.

Lewie – 00:40:13:

There still is. We’re in a very bad time and I’m going to get on my soap, but we’re in a very bad time in our country’s history, just because there’s so much division and so much stuff and some of it’s warranted and some of it’s not. But what we need to focus on in trucking and as a nation, but in trucking, especially, let’s look at what we got in common with each other instead of what’s dividing us. And let’s take these common things and join together, because the way we move things and make our industry better is by working together and dividing and tearing each other down is what the people who don’t want us to be successful, want us to do. So remember your fellow trucker, cut them some slack out there. Everybody has a bad day. Not everybody does things right all the time. And again, surround yourself with people and be thankful for the time you have on earth, because it ain’t a long time. And we saw what happened with that airplane accident and a split second, it can all be over. And most importantly, I can’t say this enough. Thank you, truckers. Thank you for the ones that are members of OOIDA, but thanks to all truckers. And please join OOIDA if you’re not a member. If you watched this and you made it this far, you call it, if you’re not a member or you’re a renewing member, you call my membership department, tell them you watched this and you’ll get a membership for $10 off at $35 a year instead of 45 for the year. So call our membership, say you watched this and we’ll get you a $10 discount too. But mostly thank you for everything you do, truckers. You keep this country moving. You’re one of the most important cogs in the wheel and we can’t thank you enough.

Brent – 00:41:47:

Yeah, well, Truckstop agrees. You couldn’t have said it better, man. Lewie, thanks again for coming on Freight Nation. You’re a treasure, man, and I appreciate our friendship too. So thank you so much for being on. And Freight Nation, that’s a wrap, man, for this one. Lewie and I are going to have another episode where we’re going to talk about some topical things because they got their finger on the pulse and so to see. All right, so Freight Nation, thanks again for joining us. I know this was a benefit to you. What an incredible story about the heart of a trucker, Lewie Pugh, man. So again, Freight Nation, thanks for joining us. Guys, don’t forget to work hard, to be kind, and to stay humble. We’ll catch you next time, Freight Nation. On behalf of the Truckstop team, thanks for listening to this episode of Freight Nation. To find out more about the show, head to truckstop.com/podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you hit subscribe so you don’t miss any future episodes. Until then, keep on trucking and exploring the open roads with Freight Nation: A Trucking Podcast.