Author: Tiffany White

Categories
Recognition

Who Are We?

Hello, everyone! My name is Tatum Ellis and I’ve been with Marvin Keller for two years. Over these past couple of years, I’ve done a variety of things for MK, but my main focus now is our social media! I push everything out on different social media platforms and help create content for it. This is what I am interested in and going to school for. I attend Eastern Illinois University and I’m majoring in Corporate Communications with a minor in Public Relations. I will be graduating this summer which is very exciting! I’m very grateful to be able to work and focus on getting my degree.   

When I’m not here working or studying for school, I enjoy spending time with my friends, family, and dog. My dog’s name is Eva. She is a cocker spaniel, poodle mix, and is seven years old. She’s definitely the queen of naps. She’s truly the best dog “Eva”.  

And if you guys don’t already know I’m a part of the family tree here! Marvin is my grandpa, Joe is my uncle, and Rick is my dad. My other grandpa, Preston, also drives here too! Who wouldn’t want to work with their family?! That’s one of the many reasons why I love working here at Marvin Keller because of our family-oriented culture. 

Categories
Announcement & Hot Topics

Podcast Recommendations

Our podcast fanatics have compiled a list of their favorite podcasts to share with you. Start off the list with our team’s favorite, Crime Junkie Podcast recommended by Aleta, Kassie, Mindy, and Rachel.

Kyler Houser, Recruiting Team

  • Impaulsive
  • Views
  • King and the Sting
  • Unfiltered

Aleta Crouch, Owner Operator Team

  • And That’s Why We Drink
  • Cold Case Files
  • Sword and Scale

Mitch Wilson, Customer Team

  • The Joe Rogan Podcast
  • Adam Corolla Show

Kassie Waggoner, Accounting Team

  • 88 Days: The Jayme Closs Story
  • Cold
  • Red Collar
  • Monster: DC Sniper
  • Relative Unknown
  • The Orange Tree
  • The Drop Out
  • The Dating Game Killer
  • The Clearing

Mindy Miller, Customer Team

  • Something Was Wrong
  • Anatomy of Murder
  • Crime Beat

Michael Richards, Company Driver Manager

  • The Dan Lebatard Show with Stugotz
  • This Past Weekend with comedian Theo Von
  • The Monday Morning podcast with comedian Bill Burr

Try these out and share your favorites!

Categories
Announcement & Hot Topics

Make It Monday

On this week’s Make It Monday we are featuring the Instant Pot Pressure Cookers! The Instant Pot was created with the need for making fast, tasty, and healthy meals in mind. With their pressure cooker abilities, Instant Pots are able to bring tasty meals to the table within minutes.

If you haven’t already joined the Instant Pot family, the model below can be purchased for $80.00 on Amazon or Walmart. If you want to use your Pro Points, that would equate to 800 Pro Points.

Here are two recipes to try out brought to you by Aleta Crouch and Mike Richards.

Root Beer BBQ Chicken – Slow Cooker Recipe from Aleta Crouch

  • 2 thawed chicken breast
  • ½ bottle honey BBQ sauce
  • ½ can root beer
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • Cook chicken on slow cooker setting on high for 3 hours
  • Drain juice
  • In a bowl mix BBQ sauce, root beer, salt, and pepper
  • Pour mixture over the chicken
  • Cook covered on high for 30 minutes

Instant Pot Chicken Tacos from Mike Richards

  • Add raw chicken to your instant pot. ( I usually use breasts or tenderloins, whatever you prefer)
  • Add enough chicken stock to cover the raw chicken.
  • Add whatever spices you prefer on your taco meat. (I like to use regular taco seasoning and add dried chilies to give it a bit of spice.
  • Pressure cook the chicken for roughly 20 minutes until the meat is tender and pulls apart.
  • Serve on tortillas and garnish with whatever taco toppings you prefer.
  • Added note from Amy Graven – I have done something similar but poured a jar of salsa over the chicken as my seasoning and pressure cooked it.

Categories
Customer News

ADM/Stratas Spotlight

Author: Donna Reed, Customer Team

Marvin Keller has been hauling products for ADM/Stratas Foods for about 12 years and has been steadily increasing our load volume. They are our 3rd largest customer. We are primary on several Stratas lanes including Walmart in Brundidge, AL, Opelika, AL, and New Albany, MS, and Kroger in Forest Park, GA, and Valdosta, GA. We also haul several loads a week for ADM Milling warehouses. MK is considered a top carrier for ADM/Stratas, which puts us in the position to have our trailers preloaded and be able to use their drop lots. We are known as a carrier who is reliable and can make deliveries on time without problems. Big shout out to all drivers as this helps with feeding families around the world.

ADM is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation. They operate more than 270 plants and 420 crop procurement facilities worldwide where they transform natural products into ingredients. Some of the major ingredients they supply are cereal grains and oilseeds that are processed into food and beverages, animal feed, fuel, and other industrial products for their markets worldwide. They also provide agricultural storage and transportation services. Products are transported with dry vans, refers, tankers, hoppers, railcars, planes, and cargo ships.

In 2008, ADM and ACH Foods formed a 50/50 joint venture forming Stratas Foods, whose corporate office is located in Bartlett, TN. They are a leading supplier of a variety of fats, oils, sauces, mayonnaises, and dressings for food service (food ingredients) and private label markets of retail facilities, such as Walmart, Kroger, Aldi, and Supervalue grocery stores. They have production facilities in CA, IL, GA, NJ, TN, and TX. With supplying to both the foodservice and retail markets, Stratas was able to adapt quickly during covid shutdowns.

Categories
Customer News

Walmart Customer Spotlight

Author: Mitch Wilson, Customer Team

Today’s customer spotlight is one you may be familiar with – Wal-Mart! Walmart distribution centers (or Walmart DCs) receive merchandise that is not delivered directly to the stores. At the DCs, merchandise is held, sorted, and delivered to Walmart stores, Sam’s Clubs, and even customers via direct delivery. One distribution center can support up to 100 stores. In the event of a natural disaster, Walmart also has disaster DCs in place to support local communities. An individual Walmart DC unloads over 200 trucks each day. Each facility is over 1 million square feet in size, with over 50 million square feet combined across the US!

We have seen a tremendous increase in volume for Walmart in the past year. What started with a few loads per week has grown to 40 to 50 loads. Our main shipping states include TX, MO, SC, AL, and GA with the majority of these loads going to Missouri, Kentucky, or back to Illinois. The majority of this freight is drop and hook at their DCs which makes it nice for Drivers. We haul all sorts of commodities from furniture and pet food to toys for the little ones on Christmas!

Categories
Announcement & Hot Topics

Who Are We?

Author: Greg Allsop, Recruiter / Trainer / Driver

Hello, I am Greg Allsop. Many may know me as a driver recruiter, a position I have held for the past 5 ½ years. I am also a part of the driver training team, conducting Smith System Defensive Driving, remedial training, and backing training. I also deliver loads when necessary.

My trucking career started at Marvin Keller after attending Lincoln Land Community College Driving School and receiving my OTR training from Frank Rich here at MK. After full-time driving, I was recruited to join our Recruiting and Training team here at Marvin Keller. I enjoy what I do to help drivers find their way to Marvin Keller and to help them become safer professional drivers.

When I’m not at work, I enjoy spending my time with family and friends, especially my 5 grandchildren, working on home improvement projects, hunting, and outdoor activities.

Categories
Announcement & Hot Topics

Make It Monday

Author: Mindy Miller, Customer Team

Are you getting tired of take out? Are you looking for ways to eat healthier on the road? Well, we have a solution for you!

Our very own Mindy Miller has been cooking it up in the MK kitchen. She has found a new appliance, the Mini Dash Waffle Maker, that allows her to create quick, healthy meals. She cannot wait to share some recipes with all of you. Check it out below!

I have found success utilizing the Mini Dash pictured above. This one is on sale right now for $5.00 (50 pro points) at Walmart. The normal price is around $9.00. You can also get a double pack, that comes with one Mini Dash Waffle maker and one Mini Dash Griddle. This is selling on Amazon for $30.00 (300 pro points.) To get you started, I have provided TWO recipes for you to try below.

Easy Breakfast Chaffles with Egg and Bacon — Get it, cheese waffles, chaffles!

  • Step 1. Preheat the waffle maker. When it is hot, spray with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Step 2. Sprinkle a little shredded cheese of your choice on the bottom of the waffle maker.
  • Step 3. Crack an egg, break the yolk.
  • Step 4. Sprinkle some real bacon pieces on that.
  • Step 5. Add more shredded cheese on top.
  • Step 6. Close the lid on the waffle maker.
  • Step 7. Cook for around 3 minutes.

This is a great little snack, especially if you are eating low carb or doing the Keto Diet.

Lunch Meat Chaffle Sandwich

  • Step 1. Preheat the waffle maker. When it is hot, spray with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Step 2. Place a slice of provolone cheese on the bottom.
  • Step 3. Add desired lunch meat on top of cheese slice.
  • Step 4. Place another cheese slice on top of the lunch meat.
  • Step 5. Cook for 3 minutes.

This is a quick and easy low carb sandwich!

Categories
Announcement & Hot Topics

5 Things More Likely to Happen Than Winning the $750 Million Mega Millions Jackpot

1. Being Killed by Hornets, Wasps or Bees: 

As painful as a bee or wasp sting is, chances are it won’t kill you. The National Safety Council estimated the odds of dying by a hornet, wasp or bee sting are 1 in 54,093.

2. Becoming President of the United States:

If you had your hopes set on the Oval Office, the chances of becoming president could be about 1 in 32.6 million, according to The Motley Fool. Those odds increase drastically when you’re between the ages of 40 and 72, have a law degree, are a military veteran, or a man of faith above six feet tall. 

3. Becoming a Movie Star:

You can’t have it all right? Apparently, fame and fortune don’t go hand-in-hand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean hourly pay for actors was $32.89 per hour as of May 2017. Although few acting jobs will put you on the A-list, landing a role for a big-screen film is far easier than winning the lottery. You’re better off buying a ticket to Los Angeles than spending the national average of just over $200 on lottery tickets a year. 

4. Going to the Emergency Room With a Pogo Stick-Related Injury

To be fair, pogo sticks are hard to use. Just be aware that if you have the misfortune of spending an afternoon on one, your chances of bouncing your way into the ER are about 1 in 115,300, according to Deseret News. 

5. Having Conjoined Twins

Your odds of birthing conjoined twins are about 1 in 200,000, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Your odds of giving birth to normal identical twins? About 1 in 250.

Categories
Customer News

Tate and Lyle Spotlight

Author: Melissa Shain

Tate and Lyle is becoming a larger customer for Marvin Keller as we have become primary on about 15 new lanes for them this past year.  They are becoming much more focused on service to their customers so they are getting rid of many brokers.  They think of Marvin Keller as one of their top carriers, providing excellent on-time service.

 Did you know that one of Tate and Lyle’s biggest competitors is ADM?  Not only does Tate and Lyle have a need for dry van carriers, but the majority of their freight is on bulk liquid tankers and railcars.  Tate and Lyle ship their 50# and 2000# bags of dextrose or dry “sugar” in the dry vans as well as their dry starches and specialty products.  These specialized products can be very pricy if something were to happen to them in transit. They are specifically engineered for their customers and their individual needs for their trademarked products.

Tate and Lyle is obviously known for the food products their ingredients go in- beverages, spices, dressings, soups, cake mixes, the list goes on and on.  But, did you know their ingredients also go in different industrial products like extra adhesive packing tape, paper, and insulation?  Their ingredients also go in personal care products like hair care, skincare, and sun care.  These less known products are typically the ingredients we are delivering to their customers.  The well-known beverage companies are receiving their liquid sugar on railcars or bulk liquid tankers.  We haul extremely important “secret” ingredients for Tate and Lyle’s customers and deliver all around the United States.  

Categories
Maintenance & Equipment

Tidy Trucks

As drivers, you have so many responsibilities and tasks to keep track of while being on the road. With all these responsibilities, you may struggle to stay organized.

No Fear! We are here to help you by providing tips and tricks to help keep your truck clean, organized, and tidy!

Here are two great ideas to aid in your organization brought to you by Driver Manager, Mike Richards.

  • Keep an Organized Dash-

I found keeping my GPS off to one side and my phone off to the other worked best.   Both of these are still in my line of sight but do not block my ability to focus on the road.  I was able to keep an eye on my directions while safely maneuvering my truck. 

  • Use Organizational Tools

Here are two of my favorite organizational tools to use in the truck.

Self-adhering Lights:  These are perfect to put anywhere in your truck, just turn them on with a tap. Easily stick them inside cabinets or above your bed for more lighting.

Hooks/Velcro:  Self-adhering hooks and Velcro can be put just about anywhere to create a spot for an item that was previously creating clutter.