Every week, each of our driver managers takes a moment to acknowledge one of their drivers for their outstanding performance. We want to give a special thank you to the following drivers for their exceptional work, which serves as a great example of what it means to be an MK Driver.
Shoutout to Eli Greenwood. We had another driver, Randal Bayles, call in to compliment Eli’s Driving and how cautious he was being in a tricky area of our Effingham drop lot. Thank you to both drivers for the compliment and for being a great driver.
We would like to recognize Tim Garrett for taking a damaged trailer to a repair shop in FL and managing to get them to fix it at no cost to us. Thank you for being so willing to help out.
Shout out to Arneld Theodore for helping us get an extra trailer removed from Charlotte, NC, and dropping it at Greensboro, NC at the end of his shift. We appreciate it!
Thank you to the Branham Team, Ricky Sanftner, Terrance Parks, Randall Murphy, Bruchman Team, Mark Jordan, and Aaron Williams who all have done “Meet and Greets” in the past few weeks to help us make on-time deliveries. We appreciate the extra work from all of you!
Jessica BranhamRicky SanftnerRandy MurphyBruchman Team
We’re thrilled to announce our Spring Referral Campaign! As part of our elite fleet, we know you understand the importance of recruiting great talent. This contest is designed to help us achieve that goal.
All you need to do is refer a driver to participate in our referral competition. The Driver who grows the most flowers to full completion by the end of the contest wins an additional cash prize!
Growing Stages of Referral Flowers:
Application Phase – receive a planting pot
Interview Stage – stem growth begins
Applicant Hired – the bud develops
Applicant Seated – receive a fully bloomed flower
Referrals are good now through May 31st, 2024. Don’t miss out on your chance to win big this spring– start referring drivers today!
Each quarter, the Producer Badge is awarded to drivers who are in the Top 10% of the fleet in which they exceed the quarterly productivity goals. This badge symbolizes the driver’s hard work and success within Marvin Keller.
Congratulations to the following drivers who earned the Producer Badge for 2024 – Quarter 1!!
Owner Operators – Top 10% Total Revenue for the Quarter
Team Drivers: Junrey Montejo & Daniel Nunez
George Robinson
Rhonda Miller
Nicholas Harjung
Terry Hodge
Company Drivers, OTR – Top 10% Fleet in Total Miles
Branham Team – 58,654
Bruchman Team – 44,461
Richard Merrill = 41,324
Orville Merrill – 37,117
Allen Fitzgerald – 37,092
Company Drivers, 4 On/4 Off – Top 10% Fleet in Total Miles
Joshua Johnson – 25,994
Robert Benton – 25,365
Deb Coleman – 23,098
Caprice Dean – 22,947
Matthew McCants – 22,819
Gifford Libby – 22,629
Terrence Bridgers – 22,024
When Drivers receive the Producer Badge, they earn 1,000 Pro Points. Being in the Top 10% is a great achievement and we appreciate the extra work these drivers put in to be our Top Producers! Keep up the great work drivers!
After reviewing all the referral submissions, we had a four-way tie! Please watch the video to see who won first and second-place prizes!
Snowmen built:
Frank Rich
Scott Lamotte
Wes Thomas
Ricky Sanftner
Referral Submissions:
Anthony Collins
Merk Coleman-Goode
Anthony Dent
Myles Rogers
Dennis Bradley
Mark Favreau
George Robinson
Brian Doughty
Jimmy Hendrix
Congratulations to Frank Rich & Wes Thomas! Thank you to everyone who participated! We greatly appreciate your referrals. Stay tuned for our Spring Referral Campaign.
Texting while driving is one of the leading causes of distracted driving accidents. Even though people are conscious of the risks and the fact that using phones while driving may be illegal, many still choose to engage in this dangerous activity, putting themselves and others at risk.
The “Put the Phone Away or Pay” campaign by NHTSA serves as a reminder of the grave dangers and legal consequences, including fines, associated with texting and other forms of messaging while driving. Texting while driving is illegal in 49 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Police enforcement of texting and distracted-driving laws typically increases from April 4-8 to bring awareness of the issue.
A recent FMCSA regulation prohibits commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers from using handheld mobile devices. The rule prohibits drivers from holding a mobile device to make calls or dialing by pressing more than one button. CMV operators are allowed to use only hands-free devices placed nearby while driving. Studies funded by FMCSA reveal that CMV drivers who dial a mobile phone while driving are six times more likely to be involved in safety-critical incidents like crashes or near-crashes compared to those who do not. Dialing drivers typically divert their attention from the road for an average of 3.8 seconds, covering a distance of 306 feet at 55 mph (equivalent to the length of a football field) without looking at the road.
What is the definition of using a mobile telephone while driving?
Using at least one hand to hold a mobile phone to make a call
Dialing a mobile phone by pressing more than a single button; or
Reaching for a mobile phone in a manner that requires a driver to maneuver so that he or she is no longer in a seated driving position, restrained by a seat belt.
Drive Safe Every Trip
Consider these tips for safe driving:
Secure a mount for your phone.
Utilize a headset, earpiece, or voice-activated dialing to ensure hands-free operation.
Distracted driving encompasses more than just texting; it includes eating and adjusting the radio. Stay focused and use defensive driving techniques.
When you get behind the wheel, be an example to your family and friends by putting your phone away. Just because other people do it doesn’t mean texting and driving is “normal” behavior.
Cell phone use while driving is dangerous and illegal. Break the cycle. Remember: Put the Phone Away or Pay
We have sent all Drivers a link to this survey to determine what we can improve and the effectiveness and performance of our Driver Training, Operations, and Driver Management Team. We are asking you to take some time to fill out this survey. We care about your thoughts and opinions and really want your detailed feedback. Our simple goal is improvement.
Fill out as many questions as you can. View the form by clicking on the link below. Once your survey is complete, your driver manager schedules a time to talk about your response.
The most successful drivers are highly organized. Organization is a means of managing your life, and it involves both your physical world and your mental state. When our physical surroundings are cluttered, our minds are as well. When we organize our days into regular routines, we are more productive and efficient.
Drivers who are highly organized and productive have routines they follow every day. They plan their trips in advance and know exactly when they need to leave out while accounting for a thorough pre-trip inspection, breaks, and possible traffic delays. Having a routine and following through with it every day is a great way to stay organized and productive. When you’re rushing around because you didn’t plan out your day it causes you to miss pickups and deliveries, take unsafe shortcuts, and can cause you to feel overwhelmed and stressed. It also frequently leads to downtime and money loss.
Organized drivers keep their paperwork organized and turned in every day. Bills of lading are currency in the trucking industry. In many cases, we can’t get paid without them. Drivers who don’t have a good system for organizing paperwork frequently lose bills or don’t get them turned in in a timely manner. This causes revenue loss for the company. Scanning in paperwork every day and keeping bills organized in a folder or binder removes the clutter and ensures you get paid for your work.
Having organized days allows you extra time and improves your work-life balance because you are able to manage your time more effectively. Time is a precious commodity, especially in the trucking industry where regulations have limited drivers to a certain number of work hours per day. By planning in advance, sticking to a schedule, and prioritizing tasks, you can be more productive and successful in your career.
Just a quick update on our exciting driver referral event! We’ve welcomed 3 drivers from your referrals – way to go!
To participate in this campaign, refer a driver and you might win a fantastic summer getaway to a sandy beach in our vacation giveaway draw! Remember, ask them to enter your name in the referral section of the application, and we’ll handle the rest.
Thank you for your referrals to the following drivers!
Anthony Dent
Brian Doughty
Anthony Collins
George Robinson
Myles Rogers
Scott Lamotte
Dennis Bradley
Garrett McWilliams
Mark Favreau
Wes Thomas
Jessica Wilson
Frank Rich
Merkeresseria Coleman-Goode
Here’s what the prizes look like:
The Driver who builds the most snowmen wins the first grand prize – a vacation giveaway (location and dates are TBA)
The Driver who builds the second most snowmen wins the second grand prize – a cash prize
How to build your Snowmen:
Application: receive the bottom layer of the snowman
Applicant Interview: receive the middle layer of the snowman
Applicant Hired: receive the snowman’s head
Applicant Seated: receive the snowman’s accessories
Referrals are good now through March 30th, 2024. Don’t miss out on your chance to win big – start referring drivers today!
Alex explains the importance of accounting for potential delays when calculating your estimated arrival time (ETA) and the need to communicate this information with your driver manager. Remember that ETAs are rough estimates, so try to provide the most precise estimate possible. We understand that unexpected events may arise, so don’t stress if there are any changes to your ETA!
The network team spends time each week reviewing our network and looking for ways to improve it. We are always trying to find more freight that we can book directly through Customers and reduce the number of broker loads we are forced to accept. Our team builds relationships with our Customers and we depend on drivers making on-time deliveries so we can keep the lanes that are strongest for us. It is not uncommon for a Customer to take away lanes if the carrier cannot provide good service. We have been providing excellent on-time delivery for Wal-Mart, ADM, Georgia Pacific, and Graphic Packaging.
In addition, we focus on drop trailer opportunities to improve the experience for our drivers. We know drivers prefer to be able to drop and hook rather than wait for a very long unload. Here are some of the improvements we have made in the past few weeks:
Added a new lane out of Munster, IN that drops in Decatur, IL 10 times per week
Added two drop trailers in Friendship, TN so they can start preloading for us
Hired local drivers and created a drop lot in Cordele, GA to finish deliveries into Southern GA and stage shipments for road drivers. This provides a faster turnaround and less wait time for OTR drivers.
Our team’s goals for the year include growing Customer freight by 10% and reducing the bottom 10% of freight.
Examples of the bottom 10% include:
Lanes that do not pay well
Broker lanes
Lanes that have a long wait time
Lanes that are outside our dense network regions
We are also working to reduce our deadhead (or empty miles) by 5% this year. We have added a new Customer, Packaging Corporation, in Valdosta, GA to match up with deliveries we make in Valdosta on a daily basis.
Our team welcomes Customer leads from drivers so if you are at a facility that is friendly, clean, and quick…reach out to your Driver Manager so we can check it out!
