* Queensland - First female manager for family business
--- Melissa Taylor is the first female manager in four generations of the Taylor family business, Taylor's Removals and Storage... After a very successful career in retail, Ms Taylor joined the Toowoomba-based Taylor's Removal and Storage in 2004, a moment she holds as one of the proudest of her life... She started INFOstor, the records management arm of the company and in 2010 was appointed managing director of the entire company. Her business acumen is credited for transforming Taylor's Removals from a furniture removal business to a multi-faceted transport and logistics business... In 2015 she was recognised by the Queensland Trucking Association who named her their 2015 Trucking Woman of the Year... GenR8 aims to introduce the next generation of employees to the transport, logistics and supply chain industry through collaboration between the industry and schools... She has also been involved with the Count Me In program which highlights career opportunities for local women and has also worked with the Queensland Government and TAFE to offer all employees the opportunity to complete a qualification in their chosen role... Through her involvement in those initiatives Ms Taylor said their company had instigated a program for both male and female year 12 students which showcased career choices and opportunities in the transport industry to them through a 20-week work experience program which included work in the field, admin work, sales and warehousing...
(Photo by Kevin Farmer - Melissa Taylor with her father Ray Taylor) -- Toowoomba City, QLD, Australia - Big Rig - 24th Feb 2017
* Northern Territory - Liz Martin a leading light in heritage
--- Liz Martin is a leading light in road transport heritage and has driven the National Road Transport Hall of Fame for what feels like forever... But Liz had a life before the Hall of Fame always involved with trucks and running a spare parts business out of Alice Springs... Growing up on a cattle and buffalo station in the Top End meant that Liz was driving trucks long before it was legal to do so... She has made the national road transport Hall of Fame the centre of her life for quarter of a century and the complex now houses the largest collection of commercial vehicles in the southern hemisphere. Liz has attracted a string of awards including the national road transport personality of the year, national transport woman of the year, Northern Territory achiever of the year, the Brolga Award for excellence in tourism and an Order of Australia medal... Quite an achievement for a woman from the bush...
(Photo: Liz Martin gets the keys to another piece of trucking history from Big Rigs) -- Alice Springs, NT, Australia - Big Rigs, by Neil Bromley
* Tasmania - Tassie women in trucking: Sarah Brosnan
--- Sarah happily found time in her busy day to tell us: "I work for Matt & Trish Ryan of Thirlstane and am driving their 2010 Sterling. They are an agricultural family with much diversity, and variety and are great people to work with... "I absolutely love my job, every day is different and the work provides me with new challenges from carting vegetables from the paddocks to the factory, containers to wharfs for export, contract work for various companies, general freight and tipper work... "I am so lucky to be in a region that has some of the best truck drivers in the world and the more time I spend with the drivers learning about the trade the more I pick up on the 'tricks of the trade' that they willingly share with me... "I feel greatly privileged to be driving among them, taking notice of their skills and listening to their always constructive advice and then putting it into practice..." The highest respect for Sarah, and indeed for all the ladies driving trucks in Tasmania, with their high level of professionalism and driving skills. We concur...
Deloraine, Tasmania - Big Rigs - 4 March 2017
* Tasmania - Another Tassie women in truckin': Kerri Connors
--- We recently caught up with Kerri Connors from Devonport, driving an eye catching 2016 FM Volvo 500hp with the i-shift fuel tanker for Caltas. She was on her way from Devonport to Launceston at the time, and said they always keep her happily busy... She tells us she has been driving for Caltas for nearly nine years so far and "I am still loving it!! And I have been driving here in Tasmania for 11 years now and really enjoy that too!" ... Kerri started driving in the army 20 years ago when she lived in Oakey in Queensland. It was a good start to a career driving, but she has fitted a lot into her life, including a stint with Toll and Linfox on the Mainland... She moved to Tasmania 11 years ago and reckons it was the best move. She loves Tasmania with its amazing scenery and gentle climate...
(Photo: Kerri Connors and her VOLVO truck) -- Devonport, Tasmania, Australia - Big Rigs - 4 March 2017
* Tasmania - ... and Jane Beswick, another trucker women
--- We enjoyed a good chat with Jane Beswick from Boat Harbour in the North West of Tasmania the other day. She told us her truck is a three-year-old Mack Trident with a 535 hp MP8 engine. She filled us in on some details of her life and her experiences driving which are best put in her own words:
"I have been driving trucks for about 30 years and I am still loving it. Sometimes I tow single trailers, sometimes B doubles, carting mostly vegetables or machinery but lately also carting cattle. Most work is in North West Tasmania but I also did a couple of seasons carting potatoes from NSW to Melbourne. It's great being part of this industry; I have variety in my job and meet a lot of great people"...
Boat Harbour, Tasmania, Australia - Big Rigs - 4th Mar 2017
Labels: truckers' life, trucking industry news Australia, women in trucking
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