Expediters Hall of Fame

[guest]

I got the info from the FedEx Custom Critical website. I can get a few pictures of the Ford 450 that they use in the 80's. Don Hanna out the Akron area can tell you alot about the early years. I know he had a few trucks because Roger Hunt started driving for him in 1984 and then Roger bought his 1st truck off of Don. I know alot of those Ford 450's was build by Wade Ford in Wadsworth, Ohio if that helps you out some.


Drive safe

Dave Mayfield
FEDExCC/Roberts express O/O Since 3/3/1995
C1847,C2045,D3397,

 

[ATeam]

This is great and it's one way to do research. We don't have to tell the story. We just need to follow the bread crums and let the story tell itself.

An arricle might yield a name. A photo might yield a former truck dealer. A company-written company history might yeild some dates. Just keep following the trails until they all lead back to the same infomration you have already discovered. That's the base material from which a history can then be told.

With names, memories, and article references already bubbling up at the rate they are, we might be onto something here. Keep the info coming folks. Random and seemingly insiginficant or unrelated facts are very much in order at this point. Just keep tossing items into the stew and let's see what we end up with.

 

[greg334]

Sorry to pee on your parade but I got to add something here.

You all know it is great to hear about the history of EO and some of the world of expediting, but got to tell you a quick history, two maybe three pages is really the best thing and have the hall of fame people tell their own story – maybe ten or twelve pages. A few pictures, some good humor should be added of course.

Don’t get me wrong, I love history – especially business history like this but got to be honest that after reading all the posts and enjoying all of it until I got to Phil’s long dissertation on how to write this and lost interest in the subject. I am not saying Phil’s comments are not valid or improper, but it got really boring.

 

[ATeam]

>Sorry to pee on your parade but I got to add something here.
>
>You all know it is great to hear about the history of EO and
>some of the world of expediting, but got to tell you a quick
>history, two maybe three pages is really the best thing and
>have the hall of fame people tell their own story – maybe
>ten or twelve pages. A few pictures, some good humor should
>be added of course.
>
>Don’t get me wrong, I love history – especially business
>history like this but got to be honest that after reading
>all the posts and enjoying all of it until I got to Phil’s
>long dissertation on how to write this and lost interest in
>the subject. I am not saying Phil’s comments are not valid
>or improper, but it got really boring.

Good points and I agree fully. History is boring to many people, plain and simple. And it's exciting to others. That's why there is the History Channel on cable TV, and about 100 other channels too.

I would hope that a history of expediting would include an introduction or executive summary written with readers like Greg in mind. It could serve both as a stand-alone piece and as an introduction that leads interested readers to the larger work.

If it is well organized and indexed, people won't have to read the entire piece to find out what they are after. As an internet piece, it can be even easier to use since hyperlinks and a search engine can be used to allow readers to surf and search the piece in the amount and order that makes sense to them.

 

[cheri1122]

This seems like a good time to ask something I've wondered - is there a difference between expediting & hotshots? Because I drove hotshots for a guy who owned a small trucking firm in New Orleans, back in the early 80's, & it was pretty much the same thing as expediting. (I thought the difference might just be that "hotshots" doesn't sound terribly professional to prospective customers, lol)

 

[guest]

Yea this a great way to find out the history of Expediting. I called Roger Hunt and his wife about some of the old picture's of the truck's him and his brother Bill Hunt had while they was on with Robert's Express. They both had there own trucks, Sadly Bill passed away from cancer last week. Does anyone remember the Big UD's that
Bush leasing had? That's what Bill drove, he was a great guy and will be missed. If there ever is a Hall of Fame built I would be more that Happy to share some of the picture's and some of the old paperwork that we used. I save everything, I still have the paperwork from my 1st load. Hard to Think that I can still remember my 1st load, it was a Conrail load from Cleveland, Ohio to Plainfield, Ind. Well everyone have a safe and Happy Easter.

Drive safe

Dave Mayfield
FEDExCC/Roberts express O/O Since 3/3/1995
C1847,C2045,D3397,

 

[greg334]

>Good points and I agree fully. History is boring to many
>people, plain and simple. And it's exciting to others.
>That's why there is the History Channel on cable TV, and
>about 100 other channels too.
>
>I would hope that a history of expediting would include an
>introduction or executive summary written with readers like
>Greg in mind. It could serve both as a stand-alone piece and
>as an introduction that leads interested readers to the
>larger work.
>
>If it is well organized and indexed, people won't have to
>read the entire piece to find out what they are after. As an
>internet piece, it can be even easier to use since
>hyperlinks and a search engine can be used to allow readers
>to surf and search the piece in the amount and order that
>makes sense to them.

Phil I think you missed my point, I am only bored with the long explanation on the writing of the history of something and seeing this turn from posting the actual history to the mechanics of writing. History does not have to be boring.

The FedEx history is a good start and to many it is all that is needed but may not live up to your standards but what can I say.

With that said, I also have to say that this is a niche market in the supply chain or the world of freight. It is not something that is completely unique or stands alone in the industry – hot shot freight hauling is close to what we do as Cheri mentioned. From what I read you want to write an in depth history so if you write an in depth history, you have to include things like the expedited freight service that the rail roads provided in the 19th century, the stage coach system, the original expediters – the US mail system and western union – each dealt with time sensitive freight on an short notice. This gives the real beginnings of what we do. Oh yea don’t forget the courier services that also do almost the same thing we do with small freight. You may not agree but it comes across you want to have this all encompassing history.

To tell you the truth I love details and I love complicated situations that are detailed, not executive summaries.


one last thing, I would love to hear from the hall of fame people themselves.

 

[cheri1122]

So, wouldn't the actual beginnings of what we do be the Pony Express Riders? Cool!
Please tell me that expediting & hotshot driving are the same - I so enjoyed listing my occupation as "hotshot driver" on official forms, lol

 

[RichM]

Remember those old days of 62 and 46 %. Everyone was paranoid that the 46 percenters would get the offer first.How about getting put out of service for 2 refusals. On the other side they would buy you a motel room every night.

 

[guest]

Yea,and if you was planned for an Express center you didn't like you had to call in and ask the planning Dept to get okayed for the Express Center you wanted to go too. Sometimes they would, sometimes the wouldn't. Yea when 1st started if you was in your home Express center and a truck wasn't based out of that express center they would go ahead of you on the Board. Remember how the board was, you could be #10 in your size trucks and #1 in trucks one size down. And you could flag that you perfered loads over 300 miles and you wouldn't get offered those loads unless that went threw all the other trucks that didn't have it flagged. Things have changed so much over the years.


Drive safe

Dave Mayfield
FEDExCC/Roberts express O/O Since 3/3/1995
C1847,C2045,D3397,

 

[Moot]

Don't forget Hermes!

 

[ATeam]

Greg said, "...so if you write an in depth history, you
>have to include things like the expedited freight service
>that the rail roads provided in the 19th century, the stage
>coach system, the original expediters – the US mail system
>and western union – each dealt with time sensitive freight
>on an short notice. This gives the real beginnings of what
>we do. Oh yea don’t forget the courier services that also
>do almost the same thing we do with small freight. You may
>not agree but it comes across you want to have this all
>encompassing history.

I do agree and thank you for sharing. It never occured to me to link modern-day expediters to old-west stage-coach drivers. It's fun to think about expediting in that way. Your big-picture perspective is helpful.

Lawrence has given the green light for me to proceed with and lead this project. Can I task you with further developing the themes you raise? The project will focus on expediting as it evolved from the Roberts days, but a summary of expedited freight and communications from America's origins would be in order too. If you are interested, let's chat in private about what to include and exclude.

 

[Moot]

Con-Way Now was a late comer to the expedite industry. But with CNF's vision and financial backing they were able to become a major player in a few short years.

Con-Way Now opened for business in August,1996, with company drivers, a fleet of Ford 350 vans and a handful of owner/operators. As they grew, the company drivers and equipment were phased out. Like most expediting companies, Con-Way Now is 100% owner/operator.

I joined the company in January of 1997 as an employee. I was assigned a Ford van and hit the road. If a customer needed a "C" or "D" unit and an O/O wasn't close, Con-Way would lease a straight truck for me. Usually a FL-70, no sleeper. I was paid per mile. Driving the truck got me an extra .05/mile compared to the van. Motels were paid and also per diem.

In February of 1997 I was phased out. In May of that year, missing expediting I bought my first van. Fulfilling a long time dream of becoming an owner/operating.

I'm sure someone from Ann Arbor can add to this. Some statistics from opening day would be interesting. Notice I made no mention of the trailer hitch and electric brake controls on the Ford vans.

The original owner/operators must have some interesting stories to tell. Many of them may have had doubts about leaving an established company and signing on with a start-up.

 

[ATeam]

The History of Expediting project is a go.

See: http://www.expeditersonline.com/dcforum/DCForumID1/3882.html

Keep that information coming, folks. It's exactly what we need!

 

[Moot]

I believe that Hot Shots origin can be linked to the oil industry. Pick-up trucks pulling flatbed trailers hauling pipe and drilling equipment to remote oil fields.

 

[ATeam]

>Remember those old days of 62 and 46 %. Everyone was
>paranoid that the 46 percenters would get the offer
>first.How about getting put out of service for 2 refusals.
>On the other side they would buy you a motel room every
>night.

This is good! Including a number of fifty-word "I remember when" boxes throughout the pages of the book would make it a more lively and personalized read.

 

[ATeam]

>Con-Way Now was a late comer to the expedite industry. But
>with CNF's vision and financial backing they were able to
>become a major player in a few short years.
>
>Con-Way Now opened for business in August,1996, with company
>drivers, a fleet of Ford 350 vans and a handful of
>owner/operators. As they grew, the company drivers and
>equipment were phased out. Like most expediting companies,
>Con-Way Now is 100% owner/operator.

I'm glad to see people start talking about carriers other than Roberts/FedEx. We'll need to include all major carriers to be fair and informative to readers who are researching the industry. We'll also need to include examples of mom and pop carriers and one-truck expediters with their own authority to fully present the story.

 

[ATeam]

>Two more names Come to mind.
>
>Joe Roman For his early web site.
>
>George McDonald (GEO) For his LO/TS guide.

Can you provide more info about the Roman web site and the LO/TS guide? I'm unfamiliar with both.

 

[ATeam]

Add to the list:

Terry and Rene' O'Connell

Dave Hodge

 

[guest]

Yea I found some Stuff on TST, this was about there 20th year back in 2002.

TST Expedited Services Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Since 1982 customers have relied on TST Expedited Services for quality service in expediting their shipments. TST Expedited Services is proudly celebrating our 20th year anniversary. We would like to extend our thanks to all of our customers for their strong partnerships over the years. We look forward to continuing to deliver a competitive and quality service. The fleet is celebrating the anniversary with new decals on the trucks and vans as a celebration of the 20 years of quality service.

TST Expedited Services operates with Owner/Operators based in Canada and the United States.

I also found a picture of an old Roberts express truck

Drive safe

Dave Mayfield
FEDExCC/Roberts express O/O Since 3/3/1995
C1847,C2045,D3397,