After CTC: What Happens When You Trust the Process
Released 08/12/2026
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Episode description
You made it through CTC. You earned your CDL. You trusted the process. Now comes the part nobody fully explains before you get there, what actually happens next. In Episode 32 of the Cypress Truck Lines Podcast, Marcus brings together the head of the Cypress Training Center Ken Codere and orientation supervisor Randy Wells to walk new CDL holders through exactly what the transition from CTC student to Cypress driver looks like from the inside. Then Tim Bonner and Camren Snowten, two Cypress drivers with less than a year in the truck, join the conversation to talk about how the process went for them and what they wish they had known going in. The first half of this episode is focused, practical, and genuinely useful for anyone finishing up at CTC or thinking about starting. The second half goes a little off the rails in the best possible way and showcases the kind of camaraderie and culture that makes Cypress the company it is. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Subscribe now and find out exactly what is waiting for you on the other side of that CDL.
Earning your CDL is one of the best feelings in the world. You spent weeks learning the truck, studying your pre-trip, working through maneuvers, battling nerves, and wondering if you were really cut out for this. And then one day you pass the test. Just like that you have a CDL in your pocket and a whole new career in front of you. But passing the test does not make you a finished truck driver. It makes you a truck driver with a whole lot more to learn. In Episode 32 of the Cypress Truck Lines Podcast Marcus brings together four people who know exactly what comes next, starting with Ken Codere who runs CTC and Randy Wells who heads up orientation for the nuts and bolts of the process, and then handing it over to Tim Bonner and Camren Snowten, two Cypress drivers only eight and nine weeks into running their own trucks, to show you why the process actually works. The first half is focused and informative. The second half goes off the rails in the best possible way and accidentally becomes one of the most genuine portraits of Cypress culture the podcast has ever captured.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Ken frames the instruction manual: In the first half of Episode 32 Ken Codere walks through what the final stretch of CTC actually looks like from his perspective as the person running the program. What is he watching for as students approach graduation? What does readiness actually look like from his side of the desk? How does he know when someone is ready to hand off to Randy? Ken answers all of it with the directness and experience that comes from having built and run this program and his answer to every version of the question is the same. Trust the process. It works because it was designed to work.
Randy explains what orientation actually does: Randy Wells takes the conversation from CTC graduation into the orientation room and walks through what that first week looks like for a new Cypress driver. The key message from Randy is one Marcus has heard before and keeps coming back to because it matters so much for new drivers who are nervous about what comes next. Cypress does not throw drivers to the wolves. They do not hand you the keys until you are ready. And even after you are on your own the support does not stop. That philosophy is not a recruiting pitch. It is the thing Tim and Camren both confirmed independently in the second half of the episode without being asked.
Tim and Camren show you why it works: Everything Ken and Randy describe in the first half gets confirmed in real time by Tim and Camren in the second half. Camren struggled with his pre-trip. Tim noticed. Tim helped. They worked through it together until it was second nature. That story is not dramatic. It is not a crisis. It is just two guys in the same situation deciding to help each other instead of competing with each other. Marcus says in the outro that this is the type of education and training you are going to get at CTC and in orientation and you could not have a better proof of concept than Tim and Camren walking in and showing you exactly what it produces.
The football tangent that captured everything: When Marcus found out Tim was a former NCAA college football player the conversation went somewhere neither of them planned and it became the most memorable part of the episode. The discipline, the trust in coaching, the willingness to put in work before you see results, all of it maps directly from a football locker room to the CTC classroom to the cab of a Cypress truck. Marcus says the rabbit hole was worth every minute because somewhere inside it you hear exactly what trusting the process at CTC actually looks like and it sounds a whole lot like a team.
Tim plans to drink black coffee on a 100-foot porch: Marcus could not let this go and should not have. Tim said on air that he plans to drive for Cypress until he retires and can sit on a porch 100 feet tall reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of black coffee. Marcus took that image and ran with it in the outro, noting that retired people do not need sweetness in their coffee anymore because they have seen it all and bitter and black is the way the veterans take it. It became the perfect metaphor for what CTC and Cypress are building in Tim and Camren. They are at the very beginning of careers that Marcus says are going to be long and great and he believes every word of it.
Marcus wants Tim and Camren to host their own show: Marcus closes the episode by announcing that he is taking this idea to management for clearance. He wants to sit back with a mint julep while Tim and Camren run the show and handle all the heavy lifting. He says every podcast host needs a break once in a while and if he can take one with the microphone still on even better because then he can pretend he is working. Marcus is joking. But the underlying compliment is completely sincere. These two guys belong on a microphone and Marcus knows it.
From The Host
“I said it at the end of the episode and I mean every word of it. Ken and Randy are two of the most knowledgeable people we have had on this show about how the Cypress process works. They have been here. They built it. They run it every single day. And then Tim and Camren walked in and in about forty minutes confirmed everything Ken and Randy spent the first half telling you. Camren was struggling with his pre-trip. Tim helped him nail it down. Now it is second nature. That is what the instruction manual produces when you have the right people following it. I am the point guard on this podcast. I get the ball to the people who score the points. Ken and Randy and Tim and Camren scored a lot of points today. I am just glad I was in the gym." — Marcus Bridges, Host
Transcript
Expand to read the full episode transcript.
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You know, earning your CDL is a pretty incredible feeling. You spend weeks learning the truck,
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studying your pre-trip, working through maneuvers, battling nerves, wondering if you're really cut
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out for this, and then one day you just pass the test. Just like that, you've got a CDL in your
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pocket and a whole new career in front of you. But here's the thing. Passing the test doesn't make
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you a finished truck driver. It makes you a truck driver with a whole lot more to learn. In the
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first half of today's episode, you'll hear from Ken Codere and Randy Wells as they pull back the
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curtain on what happens after you graduate from CTC. Orientation trainers learning the
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job, building the confidence one mile at a time. They'll tell us that they don't throw drivers to
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the wolves. They don't hand you the keys until you're ready. And even after you're on your own,
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the support doesn't stop. Well. Talk is cheap. Obviously I, I
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embody that every single day of my life. So for the second half of today's show, we're going to
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hear from the guys who just lived it. Camren Snowten and Tim Bonner are only a couple months
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into the running their own trucks. They're going to tell you what the process actually feels like
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from the excitement of passing their CDL test to the nerves of meeting a trainer to the first time
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they're out there making decisions on their own. But somewhere along the way, this conversation
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became something even bigger, and I want you to look out for it. It became about confidence. It
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became about friendship. It became about mentorship, about picking each other up. When
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somebody starts doubting themselves. And if you've ever wondered what kind of culture exists here at
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Cypress Truck Lines, I don't think I could script a better answer for you than what you're about to
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hear. So buckle up. We've got football stories, we've got family stories. We've got enough laughs
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to make you forget that this was supposed to be an interview heavy segment? Um, because, hey, we got
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off the rails a little bit, and that's okay. We love a rabbit hole here on the Cypress Truck
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Lines podcast. But somewhere in the middle of all of this, you're going to hear exactly why
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trusting the process at CTC actually works.
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Countdown to the Cypress Truck Lines podcast starts now.
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Your number one professional flatbed podcast here to deliver stories, safety updates and company
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news directly to your ears. Let's get down to business.
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How's the weather out there? Cypress and Sun belt. Welcome into another episode of the Cypress Truck
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Lines podcast. I'm your host, Marcus. Thank you so much for being here with us today. We greatly
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appreciate every single one of you that clicks that download button or goes to the website
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podcast.cypresstruck.com and checks out any of the episodes. Uh, obviously we're doing
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this for you guys, and, uh, today's episode is a great example of exactly why we're doing it
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and exactly who we're doing it for. Um, we are going to talk about the process
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after you graduate CTC moving into orientation, kind of that last week in CTC. And
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that first week in orientation is where we're going to concentrate on when we get Ken Codere
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and Randy Wells in here. Now, of course, you guys have both heard from Ken and Randy together on
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the show before. Ken runs CTC and Randy heads up orientation. So there are two really
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good resources to hear from about the nuts and bolts of what you're going to experience. If you
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get signed up soon for CTC, you're going to get that CDL and get over there into orientation with
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Randy if everything goes right. That's really what today's episode is about. What's it look like? What
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are people that are listening to this podcast? And they're about to make that final call to Angela
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and the recruiting staff and get on board. What are they in for? And Ken and Randy do a great
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job in framing this up for you and letting you know exactly what you're in for, exactly how they
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they do the process and exactly what they're looking for before they're going to kick you into
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the deep end of the pool, which I think is really cool. Now for the second half of today's episode,
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um, we well, what we wanted to do was get a couple of drivers that were kind of fresh into Cypress
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trucks, and we did exactly that. We got Ahold of Tim Bonner and Camren Snowten, and these guys are,
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uh, nine weeks and eight weeks, respectively, into their Cypress trucking careers. They're out there
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on their own, but that CTC and orientation bit is fresh enough in their minds that they can really
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take us through it. And there's something I want you to pay real special attention to. Once we get
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to the Camren and Tim segment, which will be the second segment, you hear Randy and Ken are going
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to kind of frame up the how the instruction manual. Okay. And what Tim and Camren are going to
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come in here and show you is why it works. And Tim will tell you some, some very kind of
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deep personal stories about why he approached CTC like he did. And Camren will tell you
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about how Tim actually helped him through learning the pre trips and what comes out of that
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whole thing. And out of the entire second segment of today's podcast episode is the camaraderie, the
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culture that exists here at Cypress Truck Lines. You don't hear these guys talking about,
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um, you know, hating school and not liking the process or not trusting the process. You hear them
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talking about laughing. You hear them talking about making friends, helping one another out,
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trusting the process. And, uh, yeah, I'm not going to lie to you. We found a couple of rabbit holes. Uh,
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Camren informed me during the interview that Tim was a former, uh, NCAA college football player. And,
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you know, with my love of football and football season right around the corner, I'm gonna have to
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ask him about that. So, yeah, we found some rabbit holes, but that's okay. I think it all goes to show
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you how comfortable people are within the culture here at Cypress. There is a lot of trust in this
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company running through the entire thing. The highest levels of management trust everybody
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all the way down the line. Drivers, shop techs, anybody, you name it, safety personnel.
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There is trust here. And that trust comes through a place like CTC and a place like Cypress
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Orientation with Randy. You start to feel that what we're developing here is not only a skill
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set, it's not only knowledge of the job, it's a trust in one another that makes this whole thing
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go and run as smoothly as what it does. I don't have to tell you, this is a big operation. All
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right, we're sitting 500 trucks, 1500 trailers ish. That is a lot of moving
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parts. I can't even fathom the amount of moving parts. But you know what? Every driver we get in
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here on this show tells us about. They're happy here. They're going to retire here. They love this
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company. They love their trainers. They love their driver managers. They love their dispatchers. It
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goes on and on. And I think that all starts especially for the drivers
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with CTC and after that orientation. And that's why we wanted to bring you today's episode. What
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are you in for if you're about to call Angela and the gals over recruiting and have a real
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conversation about coming to work at Cypress, enrolling in CTC, earning your CDL.
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And let me tell you something, Ken. Over there at CTC, he runs a tight ship. All right. You're not
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going to go and just coast through that school. You'll hear Tim and Camren talk a little bit
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about that later in the episode, but that's for good reason. Ken's not over there outdoing the
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federal standard every day of the week just because he feels like it. He knows that that's
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what it takes to make this company run as smoothly as it does, as safely as it does, and as
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efficiently as it does. And then right into Randy's arms. And, you know, Randy knows it, too. Ken
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and Randy both drove for this company for years. There's a reason they are in the positions that
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they are in. So we're going to talk to them here in just a couple of seconds. And then later on,
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we'll get Tim and Camren in here are a lot of fun guys. These conversations today are so much
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fun, and you're going to get a lot of insight out of them. So if you're listening to this and you're
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already driving for Cypress and you went through this same thing and you want to come on and talk
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about your experience, I would love to have you head on over to the website podcast, Cypress
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Comm. Send me an email. It'll go right to my pocket. In fact, a guy that we mentioned a couple of times
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last week, uh, Jimmy Henry's, he's a trainer. Um, he emailed me this morning and told me it's actually
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his last day with Cypress. Uh, everything is good. He's departing on good terms. Um, we want to wish
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him well on this podcast because he got so much love from so many drivers that said that he was
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their trainer. And, uh, Jimmy reached out to me today and just said that, uh, he was appreciative
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of that. And he'll still come on an episode if we want him to. And, uh, I can get that cleared for
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sure. With as much love as Jimmy's already received on this podcast, you know I can get it
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cleared to get him on here, even though he's no longer wearing a Cypress Trux logo. Um, I already
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mentioned the podcast. I'll say it one more time. Or the website. Sorry. Uh, podcast website. My mouth
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is going faster than my brain right now. podcast.cypresstruck.com. And really the the main piece of
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homework I've got for you, you guys are finding the website. I think about 80% of our listeners
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are coming from the website, which we really appreciate. Uh, but we want you to tell a friend
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today. Tell a friend about the Cypress Truck Lines podcast. Maybe you're out helping him secure the
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load. Maybe you run into him at a truck stop. You guys are enjoying an American pig missile
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together. Um, maybe you see him on the lot or in the break room. If you're enjoying this podcast,
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even if you've just enjoyed one episode, tell a friend about it. It will help us out greatly
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because we want to keep bringing you this great content. And, uh, today, you know, we're hearing from
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a couple of guys that we've already heard from on the show and they have great stuff to offer, and
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we got a couple of new guys on the show today, and our two drivers that are joining us. That's what
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we love. Let's hear from more of you. Let's tell a friend. Let's go over to podcast.cypresstruck.com and
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eat up some of this awesome content we're bringing you every single week here on the
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Cypress Truck Lines podcast. That's enough of me running my mouth in the intro. Let's get Ken and
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Randy in here and talk about CTC and orientation.
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All right, Cypress Truck Lines, I told you about how excited I was for this one in the open. Let's
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get the experts in here real quick. First, I want to welcome back to the show director of CTC, Mr.
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Ken Codere. Ken, thank you so much for being here today, my friend. Hey. You're welcome. It's always a
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pleasure. How's the foot doing? Uh, well, I got it up and elevated right now, but but it's getting there.
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Okay. All right, well, uh, listen, just a peek behind the curtain. Before we get too far into this, we're
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welcoming two guys that are, uh, recovering from injuries right now. Uh, the next guy we're going to
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bring in here, director orientation, Randy Wells. Uh, Randy's recovering from a hip surgery. Joining us
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from his recovery. Not even at work right now. So huge hats off to both of you guys coming on the
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show. Sick or injured. Randy, really appreciate the time as well. Hey, I'm glad to be here, Marcus. Thank
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you. We like to consider ourselves. We're part of the sick, lame and lazy crew. Well, you know, Ken, I
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told you guys if you'd stop fighting in the parking lot, you'd stop laying each other up so
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much. I mean, what is it between you guys? That's right. Yep, yep. Hey, I'd rather be at work and then
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do what I've been through. I hear you, man, I hear you. Well, I just want to say thanks. Glad the
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recovery is going well for both of you guys. And hope that you're back to 100% sooner rather than
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later. Randy, I know you're going to be back at work here, uh, starting next week. We're recording
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this on the 6th of August. So you're going to be back in the in the shop next week? Yes. Awesome.
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Glad to hear it, man. Well welcome back. When you do get back going, fellows, the reason I have you in
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here today is because the last time I had you in, we kind of talked about the entire process. We
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talked about trust in the process at CTC. We talked about what orientation is going to look
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like for the most part. Um, that was kind of a 10,000 foot view. I want to zoom in a little bit
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here. I want to talk to you guys today about the end of the CTC process in the beginning of
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orientation, maybe kind of the most nerve wracking part that some drivers might go through. And so,
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Ken, I'm going to start off with you here. Can you take me through kind of what the last week in a
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driver's CTC experience is going to look like as they're starting to try to test out, um, what's
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that last week entail for the guys in CTC? So the last week is going to start with, um, uh,
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actually working on the footprint for their testing. So for the first three weeks, they did all
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the maneuvers and everything else. And then on the fourth week, it all comes together and they're
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going to practice that all week long until they test at the end of the week. So they're mainly
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focused on strictly going to that test and making their CDL. Okay. So lots of test prep. Do you find
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that guys get a little nervous towards the end there when that test prep really starts to ramp
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up? I'd say probably about 25% out of 100. Sure. Okay, so not as much nerves as I
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expected. So is it. Do you see excitement? Do you see, uh, people questioning whether they're
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actually ready or not? How to how do they kind of come through? I assume you've done a very good job
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the three weeks prior instilling confidence in these guys. Ken. Yeah. So some of the guys that
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the other 75%, you know, some of them are a little cocky and they go, yeah, I got this and this and
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that. And and then of course, the other 25%, you know, they're a little skeptical. And we try to
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lean on them guys a little more, give me a little more pointers and and try to instill a little bit
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more confidence in them. Uh, that way come test day. You know, we're in a pretty relaxed environment,
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even through test day. Um, it doesn't go so bad for them. You know. That's good to hear. Uh, how about
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the guys that are a little bit too cocky? How do you how do you check them and make sure that
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they're not overconfident for that test? Well, shame on me, because when we see it and they come
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out and they act like, yeah, I got this, you know, and we're like, man, don't get all happy with
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yourself, you know, because anything can happen in any particular minute, you know. Uh, so we, you know,
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getting around with them and stuff. Well, that's the experience talking, isn't it, Ken? You've been
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out there. You've seen the way that things can go off the rails and, uh, you're just trying to help
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them be prepared for anything that can happen out there, aren't you? Yeah. Yeah, it's good to have the
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confidence. But they also got to be humble to a certain degree also because again, you just said
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anything can happen at any given time or day. When you're working on that confidence with some of
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the guys that are maybe a little bit more concerned. Do they ever have kind of a harsh
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realization? I won't even call it a harsh realization. Maybe the great realization that, man,
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I'm more prepared for this than I actually thought that I was. So we hear it after the fact.
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Yes. Um, of course, you know, everybody's all high and mighty after they pass, you know? But yeah, not
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too much prior to. Okay. All right. I like to hear it. Randy, uh, I'm going to go over to you. When you
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first see these guys coming fresh out of CTC, are they skipping? Can they can they not wait to get
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into orientation or some of them walking across the parking lot? A little bit slow. What do you see,
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by and large, from the guys coming over from CTC about to step into orientation with you? Well,
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usually when they come in, they, you know, when Ken brings them over to us, you know, they're on cloud
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number nine. You know, they pass their test, they're ready to start a career. You know, they know
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they've got a job now. They got to prove their self. You know. Now they've got to get into
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orientation and start proving theirselves. But right now they're on cloud number nine. So walk me
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through day one and orientation for our cloud number nine guys. What's the first thing they're
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seeing I assume there's some paperwork involved. There's a lot of preparation for what they're
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going to see in orientation. But take me through day one, Randy, and how you kind of navigate those
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waters. So so on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, they're still at home and they're going to the
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DMV to get their license. And, uh, there's a bunch of films that they got to watch. Then they come
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back Thursday and then, uh, on Thursday we give them a road test. And if they do real well on the
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road test, you know, we keep going with them. And then, uh, you know, like I said, there's a lot of
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paperwork on Thursday and then on Friday, another a lot of paperwork and then on, uh, if they do real
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well on that Friday, then the following Monday, they start with load procurement. And they're with
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us on the yard for Monday through Friday. And then on that Friday we start sending out, uh, the
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trainers for warn. Then they start with their trainers. So it all happens pretty fast once this.
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Once this orientation gets started, you guys aren't in the mood to to sit around and wait. You
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guys are pushing them through pretty quick because you trust the education that they've got
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at CTC. You know they're ready for this, right? Randy. Right. I mean, you know, like I say Ken don't
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he don't play. You know if the if they ain't right, they're not coming to see us if they're right, you
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know, they're pretty well ready to go, you know, and sometimes, you know, like Ken said, they still get a
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little big head. You know, sometimes we have to bring them back into the to the real life and, and
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tell them, hey, you know, you're still on the bottom level. You know, you're not you're not a number
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just yet. You know, you got to prove yourself before you get out there and tell everybody, hey, I
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know how to do this. Do you ever get any pushback from those guys? No. They're all pretty well, you
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know, people, they they kind of know, hey, I'm at the bottom level, and I know that they're here to help
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me. And you know, they know what's going on, you know? And we tell them, hey, you guys, we're here to
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help you. We're not here to hurt you. Sure, sure. I wonder, Randi, by and large. Um, is there anything
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that sticks out to you? That is something that new drivers worry about that usually ends up not
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being as big of a deal as they make it, as they start orientation. Yeah, they get out there, you
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know, and they're afraid, you know, they got to be out there by theirself and stuff like that. But we
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kind of coach them enough that they know when they when within the seven weeks, they know that
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what they, they're going to be looking for and they know this is a good career for them. And then
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they can make a lot of money for this. And and so we just don't throw them out there to the woods.
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You know, we're like the little bird. We hold our hands for about seven weeks. And then after that
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seven weeks we put them out there. And if they're not ready for us to release them, we don't release
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them. Right. You guys aren't in the in the mood of kicking people out of the nest that don't have
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developed wings yet. Isn't that the case? That's exactly right. Yeah. Okay, now, on the flip side of
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that question, I asked you, what's something they worry about that ends up being not as big of a
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deal. Uh, what are some things that maybe some of your newer drivers aren't considering? Or. Don't
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worry about that. They should worry about Randy. You know, sometimes these guys, they worry about,
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you know, can they be gone from their family and and Stan gone from their kids and stuff like that,
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and we kill them. Hey, this is a new career for you. And after they get out there for a few weeks, they
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understand, hey, they're making a lot of money. And, you know, the family has got to sacrifice. Daddy's
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being gone, you know, and and they understand it. And then they say, well, it ain't as bad as they
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thought it was. Their home every weekend. So, you know, they justify with it pretty well. Sure, sure.
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And that's something we've heard from drivers on the show plenty of times is like, man, I thought it
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was going to be tougher. There's we had one driver come on and say, I didn't think it was going to be
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so tough. Be in a way that's been the hardest part, but we're adjusting well. And then I've also had
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drivers come on the show and say, I thought that it was going to be a lot harder, but I see that my
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my family at home is doing fine. That's helping me stay out on the road longer and not worry about
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it. So really kind of sounds to me, Randy, like something they have to experience before they're
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going to be able to adjust to it. Yeah, I think that they need to talk to their wives or their
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families and say, hey, you know, daddy or me or girlfriends or boyfriends, whoever that is. You
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know, we got males and females and they got to say, hey, you know, I'll be home, you know, for the
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weekend. So just gotta justify it because I'm going to make a good living doing this. You know, I
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mean, it's it's a good job. It pays well. They just gotta suck it up and get through it.
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And, you know, after a few weeks, a few months, you know, they they're used to being that gone from
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their family. Uh, you know, I remember, uh, in ten from 5 to 10 to leaving on that, that Sunday or
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that Monday. It's kind of hard telling the family, hey, I'll see you Friday. So, you know, that's
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something you just kind of, kind of have to get used to and and kind of suck it up. Sure, sure. Uh,
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in terms of relationships here. Ken, I know that the guys get. They get really fond of you during
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the, uh, the CTC training because they've told me that here on the show. How often do you hear from
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guys that have gone through your CTC training? Uh, down the road? Ken, what kind of relationships do
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you get to keep with these guys as they become tenured drivers at Cypress? Well, whenever they
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come through the yard here and we're up by the break room or we're even out here and these guys
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are cruising by the yard, you know, going through the safety lane. They'll honk the horn. We'll wave.
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If we happen to be able to see who's in the seat. And well, that's a good experience. You know, with
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my broke foot, I'm down there at the break area and and these guys are sitting down two former
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students and, uh, man, how are you doing? What happened? You know, and I hear it all the time, um,
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almost probably 4 or 5 guys a week or, uh, that have come through the school that I conversed
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with out here that we run across. Uh, it's a real good feeling. And it's. And it's good to see that
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what we do, not only here, but orientation through the whole process. It's helping the company
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grow. And it's we're seeing that what we do makes a huge impact on the company itself.
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Oh for sure. For sure. I want a good feeling to converse with you. Matter of fact, I had one call
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me this morning and said, hey, could you do me a personal favor? I don't live far from home. Hey, can
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you pick this up from Napa and a carried home? I'll swing by the house and pick it up. Yeah. Sure.
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Man. So? So those are the kind of things that, uh. Yeah. Every day just about. That's awesome. And I
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love the fact that it makes you feel good because it should, um, you you really are trained in the
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next, uh, crop of drivers here at Cypress to carry this company into the future, Ken. And it's it's
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got to be cool to know that they trust you enough to, you know, ask you to go pick something up for
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them or do a personal favor. I wonder, do you ever have any of these guys come back to you and be
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like, man, I'm glad I listened to you because you told me X would happen and X happened anything
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like that? Sure. We, um. And I'll go back to the one I talked about last time. Uh, Andre, you know, after
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I think after he finally, uh, about a year after he got his truck, came through the school, got his
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truck, and about a year later, he had bought his family a car. And shortly after that, he bought a
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second car for his family. Yeah, we we hear these stories all the time, and it's it's nice. It really
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is. It it feels good. Yeah. See, it's helping their lives along with this because we're all the team
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together, you know. Sure, sure. And, I mean, what a cool transition for you to go from literally
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moving, uh, the things that build America to now training the drivers that will move, the things
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that that build America. It's got to be a great feeling, Ken. And and you can tell by the amount of
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pride you take in it, man. It's it's. No. And Randy's the same way. Uh, you guys obviously came up
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through with this company. You had really good experiences, great careers as drivers. And now you
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get to continue and pass that knowledge down. Um, I mean, it's it's the same feel that a coach gets or,
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or a teacher or anything like that, uh, when they get to apply the knowledge that they've learned
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over all those years. And I think it's such a, such a well thought out program to have you two guys
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in the positions that you're in, because there's nothing that can happen out there that's going to
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surprise either one of you. Right? Right. And what another good part of it all is, you know, when
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these guys, like Renee said, when these guys are out there on their own, um, they're having to make
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these decisions, understand to now they have our phone numbers, they've got Randy's phone numbers,
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they've got their trainers, phone numbers. And we all tell them anytime you guys run across any
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issues, don't hesitate to give us a call. We're all there to help you get out of tight spots, so to
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speak. Right? And tons of experience doing so. And that actually brings up a good point. Can you
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mention trainers there, Randy? Um, I want to talk to you about kind of how you go about pairing
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trainers with drivers. Um, obviously we've talked to a lot of driver trainers on this show. We've
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got a lot of really good, really experienced driver trainers out there. But like everyone else,
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they have a diverse personality set. Uh, are you looking to kind of match personalities, Randy, when
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you're looking for drivers, or are you more looking at the skill level and who who you're
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going to put that, uh, driver with as a trainer to best help them advance their driving skills?
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What's in the philosophy behind parent drivers and driver trainers? Randy. Yeah, a little of both.
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You know, we try to make sure that everybody is compatible. You know, and we try to make sure that
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where they live at that helps them out, you know. But we want to make sure that everybody can get
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along. You know, so we know just about all of our trainers personalities and stuff like that. And we
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know, hey, this guy here is a little harder on, on, on some of the trainers and, uh, trainees and maybe
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he won't fit. So we. We don't move him. We don't put him with that. But we got another guy there a
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little harder. You know, he he's been in round cup and stuff like that. So we'll try to put him with
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them. And another thing is, you know, we try to help the guys out. You know, uh, if we can get them close
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to the trainer where they live, and maybe they're in the same area that they live with, where if the
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trainer is home on the weekends, that they can get to go home for the trainer. Got it. Have you ever
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had an instance where maybe a driver and a driver trainer didn't really mesh, and you had to you had
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to move them out of that, uh, out from with that trainer maybe to another trainer or anything like
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that. Oh, yeah. That happens all the time. I mean, you know, I think it probably happens at least a
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couple of times a month. You know, like I say, everybody's not compatible. You know, we'll try to
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move them around. I think that that's a really big thing. And the fact that you're even willing to
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mix and match and and maybe move a guy off with one trainer and put him with another one, that's
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something that a lot of companies don't do because they don't have as robust of a of a crop
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of driver trainers as you guys do, and they don't necessarily always promote from within as well as
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Cypress does. So, um, it's been really cool to get so much insight into how these
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drivers get trained here at Cypress and why they perform so well after that training. Um, can I
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wonder what's something when when you see guys coming through CTC, is there any, uh, one thing or
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any collection of things that makes you look at this guy and go, yeah, this guy is going to make it.
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He's going to do really well. Yeah. So between me and our instructors out here, we
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look at all aspects of the individuals coming in from day one all the way through up until
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hopefully they make it to test day. And uh, there's, there's some certain traits that we see, um,
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personalities. Uh, if they're uncatchable, then those aren't people that we want here. Um, so we
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are tasked with vetting these people out. We can't always do it correctly and get every single one
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of them, but I think we do a pretty good job at doing that. Yeah, I think so. Uh, Randy, how about
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for you in orientation? Same question. Anything that you look for that really, uh, tips you off
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that. Hey, this is a good one. Yeah. You'd like to say, you know, there's a lot of guys that come
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through that the family is in trucking and they've been around trucking, so we kind of know
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that these guys are going to make it. And and sometimes we don't make that call perfect. But a
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lot of times we'll say, hey, this guy's going to make her this guy's not going to make it. You know,
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some guys, you know, mama, tell em, you gotta get off the couch. You got to get a job. And they're
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they've got a CDL license, and they don't really want this job, but they gotta just they gotta try
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to get out and make a living. Yeah, well, we've had lots of guys on this show, Randy, that come on and
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say, you know, uh, this was going to be a field trip for me, or I just wanted to check it out and see
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what truck driving was like. I needed to put some money in the pocket. This was going to be a kind
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of a stepping stone for me, but now I'll retire with this company. That's something we see quite
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frequently. And that adjustment, I think a lot of that adaptation of The Driver comes from, man, if
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I'm trained this well and I'm this well prepared to take on this as a career, not just my next job,
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I can really flourish here. And, you know, we've had a couple episodes recently talking about the
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bonus structure and things like that where there's plenty of opportunity at Cypress. And I
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mean, it's got to feel good for you guys in orientation and training and CTC alike. Uh, just as
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good as it feels for the drivers to make it through that kind of grueling process and come
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out smelling like a rose on the other side. And that's the whole reason behind today's episode, is
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just to get a little bit of that out into the open and let these guys know if they're listening
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right now, thinking about calling Angela over in recruiting. We want them to know what they're in
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for. Um, and, guys, this has been great. I know you're both busy. I want to get you back to what you're
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doing. So, uh, we're going to go ahead and, uh, get to our Final Thoughts segment here, because we've got
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some drivers that are coming in to share about their experience at CTC and an orientation that's
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going to follow this up. So, uh, Ken Codere going with you first. Uh, the director over there at
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CTC, um, very, very prideful in the program that you've put together for very good reason, often
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exceeding the federal standards for testing scores, all of that stuff. Uh, final thoughts from
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you today, Ken, for this episode and anything that we left on the table, you can feel free to bring
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up here because, uh, I want to make sure that everybody's got a good snapshot. So before you
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give me the final thoughts, I'm going to ask you for two things here. First off, give me one piece
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of advice for a driver that's thinking about signing up to go to CTC right now. And then give
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me your final thoughts before we let you go, sir. So one of the things that I want you to look at
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yourselves and see if you have the ability to handle structure and discipline. We're very
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structured here. You know, we start at 8:00. We don't start at 805. I know there's a lot of jobs
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out there that, you know, it doesn't matter if you come in late, blah, blah, blah. You know what? Every
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minute is every bit of training time and it ends up with your success, hopefully. And one of the
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other things I wanted to add on in my final thoughts on is one thing we left out here. One of
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the the best things Cypress has got going on for all the process from beginning to end in this
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whole company is we're personable. If you've got an issue, you can come talk to each and every one
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of us at almost any time of the day. We're all accessible at every level, and I think that's what
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separates us from any other company out there. Well said, man. Very well said. And I think that
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if you've listened to enough episodes of this podcast. There's proof in the pudding to what Ken
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just said there. You hear it from the drivers and everybody else that we have on. The accessibility
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is second to none at Cypress and Sun Belt. And uh, uh, there's good reason for it, Ken. You guys got a
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great support staff. We appreciate everything you do over there at CTC and, uh, even more so here
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today. We appreciate the time that you've given us. Ken, thank you so much for this insight today. Sure.
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Anytime. Randy, going over to you. Same thing. One piece of advice you've got from somebody who's
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maybe got, let's say, a week or less left at CTC and they're headed your direction. And then final
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thoughts from you before we let you get back to your recovery, my friend. Uh, just being prepared to
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do the job and, you know, don't think that you can just come up there and be a big head in,
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uh, you know, prove yourself to what you can do. Don't just get out there and and be the person in
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the back. Make sure that you know what's going on and what you gotta be looking for. And hey, I'm
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doing this for me and my family, so, you know, everybody can do it. Um, we just try to do the best
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we can with everybody, you know? And like I said, we we do the best we can for everybody from
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CTC to orientation. You know, and like I say, even when we put them in the truck, you know, like Ken
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said, hey, you call us, you know, I, I've been out for a few weeks now and, you know, I've had several
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calls, you know, and I tell these guys, hey, if you need help, call me. You know, I had a guy the other
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day was picking up a load of wiring and said, Randy, I don't know how to do this. And I said, hey,
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send you some pictures, I'll walk you through it. So, you know, they know that they can call us and,
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uh, we'll help them out. You know, we're we're a family. We're a team. Yes, sir. And and and a very
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tightly woven one at that, I think. Randy, one thing I can take away from what you just said is you
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don't want guys to come in and be like me. Don't be a podcaster. Don't just talk about it. You gotta
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live it, right? Exactly. Randy Wells, Ken Codere. You guys are always awesome when you come on here. We
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appreciate it. Uh, thank you guys, both for the time. Here's to a full recovery for both of you and
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Randy. Can't wait to see you back in the office, man. All right, man, I thank you. I thank you so much.
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All right. Thanks again. Marcus. We'll talk to you later. Yeah. Thanks, Ken. Thanks, Randy. Have a great
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day, fellas. All right. Bye bye.
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All right. Welcome back in here to the Cypress Truck Lines podcast. Very excited to get my next
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two drivers in here. I've already had the pleasure of having some conversations over the phone with
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these guys, and this one's going to be very entertaining and very fun and very informative
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for you new drivers who are thinking about heading through CTC, getting your CDL, and maybe
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going to work for Cypress. So let's get these guys in here real quick. First, want to welcome Camren
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Snowten to the show. Camren, thank you so much for being here, my friend. Yes, sir. Now, Camren, how long
378
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have you been driving for Cypress? Out on your own? Um, I've been driving for eight weeks on my
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own. It's right here at the end of my eighth week. Going into my ninth week, Monday. It's been good so
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far. That's great. Man. That was. He took the words right out of my mouth. That was going to be my
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next question. How do you like it? But, uh. Good so far in eight weeks in, you probably start to feel
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like you're really, uh, getting this down now at this point. Yeah. Camren. Yes, sir. Great. Glad to
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hear it, man. Our other driver joining us today is going to be Tim Bonner. Tim, thank you so much for
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being here, my friend. Well we're certainly daddy. That's. Hey, that's a new CB handle
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for me, man. If my CB handle is going to be Lil Daddy from here on out, I'm good with it on the
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Cypress Truck Lines podcast, okay. Tim. Tim. How long you
387
00:36:13,870 --> 00:36:19,509
been driving for Cypress man? Is it kind of the same time frame for you? No. I think my night. We
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wait till then. My night week. Ninth week. And how are you liking it so far? I'm enjoying it. You know,
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because I've seen her in different cities, different towns, staying the same with her. Don't
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save me. But, you know, I'm enjoying it right now. I ain't got no place. That's great man. Great to hear
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it. Well, listen, I want to rewind you guys back to 8 or 9 weeks ago. Maybe ten weeks ago. Uh, to talk a
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little bit about the transition between CTC and orientation. Now, uh, Camren, I'll start here
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00:36:50,789 --> 00:36:57,229
with you. Um, Randy told me yesterday that every driver that comes to him at
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orientation from CTC is always on cloud nine. He said, you guys are just tiptoeing over there, happy
395
00:37:03,710 --> 00:37:08,749
as can be because you've passed the test. You've kind of gotten through the hard part. Camren
396
00:37:08,749 --> 00:37:13,439
walked me through how you were feeling when you passed that test at CTC and you were headed to
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orientation. CTC I was actually proud of myself because
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it's something that I've been always trying to work hard towards getting my CDL, and I had always
399
00:37:25,279 --> 00:37:29,479
looked up towards my uncle working here, and I was going to work from Cypress, so I was kind of happy
400
00:37:29,519 --> 00:37:34,600
and proud of myself, and it just made me feel a on a different type of level because I always wanted
401
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:40,439
to. This is what I always wanted to do. That's awesome. And I had actually been told by somebody
402
00:37:40,439 --> 00:37:45,479
else that your uncle works here, and that's very cool, man. We want to do an episode sometime in the
403
00:37:45,479 --> 00:37:50,039
near future where we get you and your uncle on here. Talk a little bit about, uh, what it's like to
404
00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:54,559
have a family member driving in the same fleet. Do you guys kind of support each other and and
405
00:37:54,560 --> 00:38:00,679
communicate that often out there? Camren? Yes, sir. We talk every day. Me and my uncle back and forth
406
00:38:00,679 --> 00:38:06,519
about each other. And what? What's a better me from what he knows so far. And we actually got that son
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00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:12,009
out here getting on his own next week, actually, to join us in the family. That's awesome. And that's
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00:38:12,050 --> 00:38:16,889
actually what we're waiting for. We wanted to make sure that he got through, and he was, uh, you know,
409
00:38:16,889 --> 00:38:22,889
comfortable out there on the road before we do that episode. But don't, uh, you know I'm coming
410
00:38:22,889 --> 00:38:26,849
knocking again here Camren. Very soon. All right. So we're going to turn you into a star on this
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00:38:26,849 --> 00:38:33,648
podcast, you know. So uh, I hope you're ready for it. Yes, sir. Awesome. Camren. He ain't no star.
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00:38:33,850 --> 00:38:40,329
That boy still got a cap on. He ain't never the baby he was on, baby. He ain't. He's got a he's got
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00:38:40,370 --> 00:38:45,850
water behind the eels. He's still crawling. He ain't even walked me yet. He's. He's still got a
414
00:38:45,850 --> 00:38:52,609
soft spot in here. He ain't. No he ain't never thought he a baby. Still I raised his boy Camren.
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Camren. You just just sitting here laughing at this. This seems like old hat to you. You heard
416
00:38:57,370 --> 00:39:04,129
this stuff before. Haven't you raised that little boy? Yeah. He'll kill me. I look up to him.
417
00:39:04,689 --> 00:39:10,290
I look at him like a big brother. Okay? And. And did you guys know each other before you were at CTC
418
00:39:10,330 --> 00:39:16,330
together? No, sir. Uh, me and Tim is like was was as I was meeting Tim. It's like I was meeting a
419
00:39:16,330 --> 00:39:21,929
celebrity because I, I always watched him on TV playing football. I always looked up to Tim ever
420
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since I was in middle school. So me and Tim, it was like I was coming here to get my CDL. That's one
421
00:39:28,850 --> 00:39:34,009
good thing I was coming to do. But also I ran into somebody I always wanted to meet. Now, I didn't
422
00:39:34,010 --> 00:39:38,769
know anything about Tim's football background. Tim, tell us a little bit about your background in
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00:39:38,770 --> 00:39:45,770
football, because we're big football fans on this podcast. Oh, man. Oh. My football career started in
424
00:39:46,010 --> 00:39:52,729
2008, back when I was like 11 years old. And, um, I always kept on
425
00:39:52,730 --> 00:39:58,169
playing it and kept playing throughout the years, even though I didn't really like it like that. I
426
00:39:58,169 --> 00:40:04,449
kept playing it. And, um, as the years went on, I got better and better at the sport
427
00:40:05,010 --> 00:40:11,779
than football. At, um, around 2013, I had got my first offer from Middle Tennessee
428
00:40:12,220 --> 00:40:19,219
and, um, from Tennessee. And then after that I had got west to Turkey. And then as
429
00:40:19,220 --> 00:40:25,779
the year went on, I started receiving offers from Louisville, Mississippi State, Ole Miss,
430
00:40:25,820 --> 00:40:32,179
Minnesota. They're not interested in Michigan, Minnesota University. And I had an offer medical
431
00:40:32,180 --> 00:40:38,779
university and a committed to the University of Louisville in 2014. Um,
432
00:40:39,300 --> 00:40:43,379
and I had a lot of interest from the Ole Miss, too. You know, they offered me I was thinking about
433
00:40:43,379 --> 00:40:49,060
going to Ole Ole Miss, but I didn't go. You know, going to Louisville did do myself.
434
00:40:50,179 --> 00:40:55,980
Got dismissed. Ain't no going to a junior college in Mississippi called eastern Mississippi. Uh,
435
00:40:55,980 --> 00:41:02,459
dream college. I got them. They were shooting a Netflix documentary called Last Chance. You that
436
00:41:02,459 --> 00:41:08,030
fall in here? They asked me to be a star on the show, and I'm like, nah, I don't want to do that. So
437
00:41:08,030 --> 00:41:12,908
by the time the summertime hits, they're like, man, you gotta, you know, go ahead and beat you. The last
438
00:41:12,909 --> 00:41:17,909
one we need. So I started my contract the first day outside my country. The cameras found me while
439
00:41:17,909 --> 00:41:22,949
I went. So I was like, nah, you know what? The camera's on me, bro. I'm gonna show the world who I
440
00:41:22,949 --> 00:41:28,750
really am. For real. Like, I'm gonna play ball and I'm gonna be a funny dude. Like, I don't know. And
441
00:41:29,469 --> 00:41:36,428
it worked for them. And I became the real fake. The the real fan favorite. And after that,
442
00:41:36,470 --> 00:41:43,429
I ended up going to the Atlantic with Lane Kiffin in 2017. I won the championship that year. Oh,
443
00:41:43,429 --> 00:41:46,628
and I won a championship at Eastern Mississippi two. Then I hit with the throat and then it went
444
00:41:46,629 --> 00:41:53,589
back to three five. Won a championship on their team. We had a bad year. We won the one five games
445
00:41:53,629 --> 00:42:00,549
my second year. That same year with Doug, we had came together again as a team. We worked real hard
446
00:42:00,549 --> 00:42:06,519
in the off season and then summer workouts. Then we went to the stream two. We were like, man, if
447
00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:11,079
somebody mess up, we just got a fight on. But nobody never messed up. Ain't nobody want to. Fight.
448
00:42:11,159 --> 00:42:16,080
For everybody that you know wrote together. And we worked. We worked as a team, like a brotherhood. We
449
00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:22,199
had called ourselves the Band of Brothers, and my senior year was like one of the best year of my
450
00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:27,639
football career because it was so fun. And we were in temporary that year. Also 2020, I had the
451
00:42:27,639 --> 00:42:33,800
opportunity to go to work out with the Miami Dolphins and the Seattle Seahawks, and I did that
452
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:40,759
and went to the CFL and played in Vancouver, Canada with BC Lions for two years. Then I came
453
00:42:40,799 --> 00:42:46,958
back in 2023 and played in the USFL, the spring live in Houston. But I had got my foot in
454
00:42:46,959 --> 00:42:51,879
2022 and with that foot injury had kind of held me back, but I still would have played another
455
00:42:51,879 --> 00:42:58,159
year after that. I just wrapped it up because my foot hurts so bad. I had an injury like a Achilles
456
00:42:58,159 --> 00:43:04,439
injury. It wasn't the injuries you get in your own career. Sure there was, there was, there was some of
457
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:08,439
my football career, I got a lot of football so I could go out there. The coach is going to be
458
00:43:08,439 --> 00:43:14,999
around. Oh, I see, uh, the locker room or summer workout. You know, I missed the locker room a whole
459
00:43:14,999 --> 00:43:21,678
lot. You know, like when I was in D.C. and training back there, the guys I met, they were. Everybody was
460
00:43:21,679 --> 00:43:26,759
so funny. And, you know, cam came along my second week. You know, he was so young and funny. And I
461
00:43:26,759 --> 00:43:31,999
said, man, this is a funny little dude where, you know, he said to me, he's funny, man. He's funny. In
462
00:43:31,999 --> 00:43:35,799
fact, they kind of remind me of the locker room when I was in the locker room when I was in this
463
00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:41,039
field, because everybody back there, we all got along. We joke to have fun all day back, though, and
464
00:43:41,040 --> 00:43:44,080
they kind of had to remind me of when I was playing football, because they got a lot of
465
00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:50,359
memories in the locker room. And just about 20 minutes ago, I just see my old college roommate, my
466
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:55,719
old kind of creamy with the flat jeans. These are all stuff I was taking my 30 minute break. You
467
00:43:55,719 --> 00:44:01,519
were there too, and I met him back in 2017. We won championships together. We we came to FSU together.
468
00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:06,169
We left together. And they were my old roommate and my old teammate threw a good thing there, too.
469
00:44:06,209 --> 00:44:11,849
It ain't can't dock. I just saw him and he sat for 30 minutes and let her talk. You know, we had fun,
470
00:44:11,850 --> 00:44:17,569
but yeah. Damn them. There's a lot of football and some football. I could go out there and cut the
471
00:44:17,569 --> 00:44:22,169
football. I got a lot of footballs, too. I've been around a lot of coaches, a lot of Hall of Fame
472
00:44:22,209 --> 00:44:28,049
coaches and a Hall of Fame players, you know? I looked up to them in the kitchen when the kitchen
473
00:44:28,050 --> 00:44:33,689
was, uh, the Hall of Fame coach from the temple. His son, Lane Kiffin had coachman, Lane Kiffin and
474
00:44:33,690 --> 00:44:39,449
Chris Kiffin. All the kids were there around me. So yeah. And I had a I had a good experience in the
475
00:44:39,450 --> 00:44:46,249
game of football. You know. It sounds like it. Man. Yeah. That's why it made me the person I
476
00:44:46,249 --> 00:44:51,330
am now. That's why I did my work so hard. I got the call, cam 1:00, 2:00 in the morning, and I for the
477
00:44:51,330 --> 00:44:58,249
energy, because when I was playing football, I had to be energized. You know, four hours of
478
00:44:58,250 --> 00:45:03,580
sleep. Wake up. Go to the me room. Now we're going to go to the work out their minerals in a
479
00:45:03,580 --> 00:45:09,699
practice field at the practice field meetings all day. So that's why now, when I came CPC, I tried to
480
00:45:09,699 --> 00:45:14,620
tell you every day when I started to see, I studied my future like it's a free book. I used to
481
00:45:14,620 --> 00:45:20,059
have came in the parking lot late at night. Some have a history show because I want him to pass it.
482
00:45:20,379 --> 00:45:26,059
And when I was in college playing football, I either helped the freshmen with the playbook. I
483
00:45:26,179 --> 00:45:33,139
transition the football to CTC. You know, I like I was in training camp or training camp for
484
00:45:33,139 --> 00:45:37,899
four weeks and CTC was four weeks of training. So that's how I looked at that CTC training, like I
485
00:45:37,899 --> 00:45:42,819
was at football training. So got. It. That's how I that's why I take the day every day. Like every
486
00:45:42,820 --> 00:45:48,139
day I wake up by the day. I don't want to. I don't want to lose the day. I want to win the day
487
00:45:48,139 --> 00:45:52,898
because I got to do my job. And that's why, like when I'm in this truck, I'm focused. I'm locked in
488
00:45:53,020 --> 00:45:59,739
like I was. I'm playing football. So I just took football and back to the real, real with me. So
489
00:46:00,300 --> 00:46:06,309
that's why I passed my test and passed my freak show. You know, when they came out to come down.
490
00:46:06,309 --> 00:46:12,149
Because, yes, I was nervous when I asked before I did my my road trip and my pre-trip and my
491
00:46:12,149 --> 00:46:18,030
maneuvers. I was nervous, but once I got past the girlfriend, the cutoff man was game time. This is
492
00:46:18,030 --> 00:46:24,109
like it was a football without playing football. The coin toss. I'm like, bro, I don't want to kick
493
00:46:24,110 --> 00:46:29,270
the ball because I was on kickoff, but we had to kick the ball. I said, you know what? My mom said?
494
00:46:29,470 --> 00:46:34,389
I'm gonna run down the field fence. I can at run through the blocker. And by the time I do that, I'm
495
00:46:34,389 --> 00:46:41,350
ready to get on defense. So once I had got that double cut out, 121 for the outside, the first mile
496
00:46:41,350 --> 00:46:48,309
wide open, I read the road. Then I was good. Oh. Yeah, I love that I yeah, I did that
497
00:46:48,309 --> 00:46:54,149
when I was wide open I was ready, you know so. Well that's awesome man. Well thank you for sharing a
498
00:46:54,149 --> 00:46:57,589
bit of your history with us. I'm going to be honest with you. I googled you while you were
499
00:46:57,590 --> 00:47:03,429
talking there, and I got this picture of you in your Florida Atlantic uniform, wearing number 45
500
00:47:03,429 --> 00:47:08,909
with that beautiful red helmet. That picture goes hard, man. I like it. It looks good on you, man. I got
501
00:47:09,629 --> 00:47:14,269
I got a fruit purse on my Instagram, man. You know, I got I got a few pictures. I know I got a lot of
502
00:47:14,270 --> 00:47:18,909
pictures, but I never uploaded it on. I just I'm just saving them. I got pictures from when I was
503
00:47:18,909 --> 00:47:24,509
in college, and I just. I never uploaded when I was even in the U.S.. Got them upload. I got a picture.
504
00:47:24,510 --> 00:47:28,870
I was in Miami Dolphins I never uploaded. All right. I was going to wait because they're going
505
00:47:28,870 --> 00:47:34,749
to be a they're going to be a story for me to tell behind them, you know. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I got a
506
00:47:34,750 --> 00:47:38,669
lot of pictures that you can see on my truck. And although the look I got a story behind it, you
507
00:47:38,669 --> 00:47:45,509
know. So. Love it. Love it. Now, now, Camren, I want to go back to you here. Uh, can you
508
00:47:45,509 --> 00:47:51,789
talk to me a little bit about Tim's mindset in CTC and how that rubbed off on you? Um, obviously,
509
00:47:51,789 --> 00:47:57,029
he's he's trying to mentor you, trying to bring you along a little bit. He said he he raised you,
510
00:47:57,070 --> 00:48:03,040
which I think is great. It's funny, but talk to me a little bit about. How that boy panther. How that
511
00:48:03,079 --> 00:48:09,319
how that relationship kind of help you get through, uh, the, the grind that can can be CTC.
512
00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:15,479
Camren. Okay, so when I first came to CTC, I'm not going to lie, my first week I kind of stood up on
513
00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:21,399
the wrong foot because my mind was stuck in negativity, not thinking I was going to make it
514
00:48:21,399 --> 00:48:26,839
and stuff like that. Because like I said, I've been training for so long, my pre-trip not was my
515
00:48:26,840 --> 00:48:32,438
biggest problem. And then when I came and, um, me and Tim started skating and stuff and he was
516
00:48:32,439 --> 00:48:37,119
always telling me, don't stop right here. You keep going. You push yourself to better yourself
517
00:48:37,159 --> 00:48:40,600
because this is what you want to do. So you keep going. So like he said, he helped me with my
518
00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:45,679
preacher, my stuff, and by my my third week, it's like my pre-trip now was just like I was just
519
00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:50,839
talking about it because he just taught me really every every day, every all night long about what I
520
00:48:50,840 --> 00:48:55,760
really needed to know. And he didn't just, like, read it out to me. He made me understand, give me a
521
00:48:55,760 --> 00:48:59,849
better understanding of it and what comes. What comes where and where this right here is supposed
522
00:48:59,850 --> 00:49:06,168
to come from? Um. In in a timely manner and stuff like that. And Tim, like, he, he a great person,
523
00:49:06,209 --> 00:49:11,529
somebody that he could be like a motivational speaker for real. Because if somebody they mindset
524
00:49:11,530 --> 00:49:16,209
ain't the right talking to Tim, it's gonna get you back on track. Him call me every morning. Well, some
525
00:49:16,209 --> 00:49:21,049
mornings around like 1230 1:00 at me and he would just talk about life and God and stuff like that
526
00:49:21,050 --> 00:49:26,289
and talk about the Bible. Tim is really a great person to be around. Like, I never had nobody like
527
00:49:26,290 --> 00:49:32,049
that to actually communicate with that. I always keep me on the right track. Man, that's awesome,
528
00:49:32,050 --> 00:49:35,810
because not only do you have Tim, but you've got your uncle and you've got your cousin coming
529
00:49:35,810 --> 00:49:41,369
along here too soon. So you're building this nice little network of people that, uh, you guys can all
530
00:49:41,370 --> 00:49:47,009
help one another out and and get help from one another alike. Man, that's a really cool thing. And
531
00:49:47,010 --> 00:49:52,009
and from what I hear, Camren, that's kind of unique here. Uh, the way that that works at Cypress,
532
00:49:52,010 --> 00:49:57,769
you don't find that at a lot of other trucking fleets. So you don't find that at all. To be honest,
533
00:49:57,809 --> 00:50:03,449
uh, Cypress, really? The one of the first ones I ever seen was like a family owned business, but have, uh,
534
00:50:03,449 --> 00:50:10,249
family working for them? Yep. Yes, sir. Tim, uh, going back to you, man. Uh, we we asked Camren
535
00:50:10,249 --> 00:50:17,168
already kind of how he was feeling, uh, that transition from CTC over to orientation. Uh, were
536
00:50:17,169 --> 00:50:22,329
you on cloud nine? Just like, uh, just like Camren was when, uh, you wrapped up the test, you already
537
00:50:22,330 --> 00:50:28,729
said, man, I'm ready to go. That's the coin toss. We're 100%. Uh, you you seem pretty, uh, pretty happy
538
00:50:28,730 --> 00:50:35,689
to get past that test and get into orientation. Yeah, well, it opened up because just
539
00:50:35,689 --> 00:50:41,850
in January, I was in the railroad school in Minnesota, and I was there for a whole month in
540
00:50:41,850 --> 00:50:48,409
class, and I had failed my test. And when I got sent home on the plane,
541
00:50:48,689 --> 00:50:55,539
my daddy had picked me up. And I told him, I said, hey, bro. I said I would never, ever again get
542
00:50:55,540 --> 00:51:01,940
sent home on a plane because I fail the test, I told myself. I'm about to study for my CDL. I'm a
543
00:51:01,940 --> 00:51:07,179
part of my permanent test and I'm instead of my preacher. I told myself I never let an opportunity
544
00:51:07,180 --> 00:51:12,659
to embarrass me with the applicant in front of me, so I never let that happen again. And I was in
545
00:51:12,659 --> 00:51:18,259
that classroom in Minnesota at railroad school, packing up in front of everybody because I fail
546
00:51:18,300 --> 00:51:24,099
my test. And then it had brought me back flash back when I was the Seattle Seahawks. And when
547
00:51:24,100 --> 00:51:30,418
they flew me home, I said, dang, bro, I never again get flew home again because I got cut. And that's
548
00:51:30,419 --> 00:51:36,059
always been my motto. Uh, I never let this happen again in my life. And once that happened to
549
00:51:36,060 --> 00:51:40,540
railroad school, I thought I'd never again get sent home because I failed the test and the
550
00:51:40,540 --> 00:51:46,499
answers in front of me. So when it came to my CDL, want me to pass my test? I made sure I was
551
00:51:46,499 --> 00:51:49,738
prepared for because I wasn't gonna get embarrassed again. That wasn't going to happen
552
00:51:49,739 --> 00:51:56,309
again. So when I passed, they were like me winning the Super Bowl. Hey, Liv. They were. They were they
553
00:51:56,310 --> 00:52:02,049
one of the CTC teachers? Yeah, I think the leader. You know. They're about four feet tall, about 120
554
00:52:02,050 --> 00:52:07,949
pounds, you know. Here he is, here in the dude. He's like 50 years old, though. He he's small. I ain't. No,
555
00:52:07,949 --> 00:52:12,549
I picked him up for real. He was so small. Like I picked up. Like I picked up a newborn baby when I
556
00:52:12,550 --> 00:52:19,269
picked him up, but boy, so little. I picked him up and picked that boy around and
557
00:52:19,270 --> 00:52:25,949
circle. That boy little. Oh, man. Kevin. Camren, were you
558
00:52:25,989 --> 00:52:30,070
watching this happen? Did you think something bad was going to happen? Were you like, oh, God, he's
559
00:52:30,070 --> 00:52:36,749
gonna drop him anything because. No, sir. Because, um, better at CTC, the
560
00:52:36,749 --> 00:52:43,350
best. The the me, uh, Mr. Lawrence and Derrick, they made me feel welcome and CTC.
561
00:52:43,909 --> 00:52:50,350
Yeah, I was in my mind. It was like, I don't like school and training, and training at PTC is like a
562
00:52:50,350 --> 00:52:55,199
school to me. But Mr. Lawrence And there. They didn't. They didn't make it like a school to me.
563
00:52:55,199 --> 00:52:59,639
They they told me what they were there for, and they and they and they told me, like, straight up,
564
00:52:59,679 --> 00:53:04,399
either you can pay attention or at the end it's going to show what you paid attention to and what
565
00:53:04,399 --> 00:53:10,120
you didn't pay attention to. Yep. They had a way of whipping you into shape out there. And yeah, they
566
00:53:10,120 --> 00:53:14,840
didn't just throw us out there and tell us what to do. They actually they got to show you how to
567
00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:20,840
do. And like in my situation, I'm a I'm a learner, right. As a learner, 120 plays or trying to count
568
00:53:20,840 --> 00:53:27,039
in four weeks. And I'm in a dead guy in the truck my first week. And so I do it straight back. When
569
00:53:27,040 --> 00:53:32,919
he got out, I did my straight back thinking, we just got in the truck. He showed me how to do an
570
00:53:32,920 --> 00:53:39,600
offset backing. I got a truck. I did all sit back. And third, we, um, David showed me how to do it at a
571
00:53:39,600 --> 00:53:45,919
job. I messed up first two days that came with it. But by the way, it's the third of Friday. I went
572
00:53:45,919 --> 00:53:52,198
for shooting 2.03.2 out of you, and my first week I'm still going to look at the parallel
573
00:53:52,199 --> 00:53:59,159
parking there. Got me right, man. When the first time I came. I put the truck in the hole. So
574
00:53:59,199 --> 00:54:04,159
it's all about me. When Darren showed me that attitude and this and this and it taught me how
575
00:54:04,160 --> 00:54:09,399
to drive. Sure. My first time on the road, and it was like my first day driving. I was getting a
576
00:54:09,399 --> 00:54:13,958
pregnancy and said, where are you going? I said, I'm getting a patsy. He said, man, today ain't driving
577
00:54:13,959 --> 00:54:19,678
you driving. I'm like, damn, I never drove a truck and trailer before, bro. So I had to get right. And
578
00:54:19,679 --> 00:54:24,159
I drove that truck there and got to my destination, drove that truck back to the yard, and
579
00:54:24,760 --> 00:54:30,479
it was like, hey, man, you did good. And I did not expect you to do so. After that, I said, I ain't, bro,
580
00:54:30,520 --> 00:54:34,720
I ain't ain't going to be afraid of the truck. I'm getting drive the truck, bro. And then I made a
581
00:54:34,720 --> 00:54:40,439
house. I love it, I love it. Now I want to give a quick shout out to your guys's trainers, your
582
00:54:40,439 --> 00:54:45,839
driver trainers real quick, because we've talked a lot about driver trainers on today's episode, and
583
00:54:45,840 --> 00:54:52,369
they are so crucial to the next crop of Cypress drivers that we have. So Tim, real quick, who was
584
00:54:52,370 --> 00:54:59,168
your trainer? I had old Gary, and if I want to get a good, uh, trainer, you might have an idea.
585
00:54:59,210 --> 00:55:06,089
Gary. But I had a man. He told me a lot about him. You know, I still use some of his to make it, and I
586
00:55:06,090 --> 00:55:10,290
mix it with some of the stuff I just learned on my own out here. For sure. That's what the. That's
587
00:55:10,290 --> 00:55:14,610
the name of the game man is, is learning the things that they teach you and pass you down, and
588
00:55:14,610 --> 00:55:20,729
then shaping it around yourself is is the best way to get by. And, uh, shout out to Gary, how about
589
00:55:20,730 --> 00:55:26,889
you, Camren? Who did you have as a trainer? Deonte Pittman, top five. One of the best trainers that I
590
00:55:26,889 --> 00:55:31,969
ever been that I ever been. Man. That boy. Sorry. That boy. You drive. No draws. Don't eat raw hot
591
00:55:32,009 --> 00:55:38,929
dogs. That man lied. About what he did.
592
00:55:39,129 --> 00:55:45,888
His trainer. Man. You lying to me? Say, are you kidding me? I don't know, man. We've
593
00:55:45,889 --> 00:55:50,779
had we've had him on the show, man. He seems like he's got his stuff together. Give me one of the
594
00:55:50,780 --> 00:55:57,139
top five. He won the top five. Regardless of how he eats his hot dogs, right?
595
00:55:57,620 --> 00:56:04,499
Yeah, he's real hot dogs. Yeah. Oh, man, you guys got me going. Well,
596
00:56:04,500 --> 00:56:09,219
shout out to Deontay Pittman as well. Uh once again we've had him here on the show. He did a
597
00:56:09,219 --> 00:56:13,939
fantastic job. You could tell he was a really good trainer. And uh, just wanted to give you guys a
598
00:56:13,939 --> 00:56:18,979
chance to shout out those guys because I know they're so. Important to the Andre man. I spoke to
599
00:56:18,980 --> 00:56:24,458
him a lot from cameras and trainer, man. Funny dude. Good dude man. Shout out to the Andre bro. Now, uh,
600
00:56:24,459 --> 00:56:29,779
Tim, I gotta ask you a question here. How important is it to be able to have this type of camaraderie
601
00:56:29,779 --> 00:56:34,139
with the people that you're working with? Because I never played any college level sports or
602
00:56:34,139 --> 00:56:38,939
anything like that. But I was a big athlete all through high school, and one of my favorite parts
603
00:56:38,939 --> 00:56:45,779
about it was that camaraderie in the locker room. I mean, we did just playing pranks on each other,
604
00:56:45,779 --> 00:56:51,389
joking with one another. Hanging out. Going to get a cheeseburger. All that stuff with your position
605
00:56:51,389 --> 00:56:56,509
group. I always love the camaraderie, and it really seems like that's a big thing for you here at
606
00:56:56,510 --> 00:57:01,789
Cypress. Can you tell me how important that is to you in in loving this job and wanting to stay
607
00:57:01,790 --> 00:57:08,749
with this as a career? For me. I wake up at 4:00
608
00:57:08,749 --> 00:57:15,668
in the morning. It's the locker room. I'm in, like, at 445. Everybody looking all sad. Long face.
609
00:57:15,830 --> 00:57:22,509
I come in, no loud mouth. Waking everybody up, getting everybody going crazy to him. I got to
610
00:57:22,509 --> 00:57:28,990
Cypress. I come out upstairs at about 6:00. Everybody out there at 630. Everybody all
611
00:57:28,990 --> 00:57:34,910
quiet. I climbed out with everybody, but we didn't do any quiet game, bro. No parties are going around
612
00:57:34,949 --> 00:57:40,589
here. Y'all, y'all. But like y'all that live down here, bro. And we're all just need to stay calm.
613
00:57:40,589 --> 00:57:46,189
When I come downstairs to say we had a dude named Jeffrey with us, he said, oh, there. Go big. Mouth.
614
00:57:51,269 --> 00:57:57,069
Every time I'm coming down, I'm still wide open. Like I'm getting people going. And they know we
615
00:57:57,070 --> 00:58:03,029
gotta win the day, bro. Ain't no such thing, y'all. He'll be looking sad and dead, man. We're just
616
00:58:03,029 --> 00:58:09,950
alive. And we're in a blast. Let's roll bro. Let's get it. Ain't no damn me, you, you round me. You just
617
00:58:09,950 --> 00:58:16,029
not really look sad at all. Are they quiet all day? Like the first two weeks were? My first two weeks.
618
00:58:16,030 --> 00:58:22,989
Which was him. Uh, third and fourth week. There was quiet all day. But at the end of our. At the
619
00:58:22,990 --> 00:58:29,749
end of our, um, training every day. Every day. You didn't see them quiet people no more. They were
620
00:58:29,750 --> 00:58:33,629
talking. They were active. There was talk them up. They they liked talking to people. Now they're
621
00:58:33,629 --> 00:58:38,790
happy, they're laughing. And soon me and Taylor come downstairs. Everybody's laughing and joking
622
00:58:38,790 --> 00:58:43,549
and talking. Do you think that that helps build the build the confidence, fellas? Because that's
623
00:58:43,550 --> 00:58:48,799
something that Ken and Randy talked about a lot was guys building confidence over time. Yeah,
624
00:58:48,839 --> 00:58:55,719
because I remember I go back with Derek, said, Derek and Andy and Laurence and Kenny. I
625
00:58:55,720 --> 00:59:01,719
remember they were like, use the time we've been on break. Everybody quiet, nobody talking. But when
626
00:59:01,719 --> 00:59:06,680
we were on break with my group, my first, second, third, fourth and we count back there, everybody
627
00:59:06,680 --> 00:59:13,559
back there, we was loud. We was active. We went, we had Derrick, Kenneth noise. All of
628
00:59:13,560 --> 00:59:19,439
the Andy laughing. They laughing. And I never forget what Lawrence said. Lord said we haven't
629
00:59:19,439 --> 00:59:26,360
lived back in so long. He says the fresher fresher. All too loud back, y'all. And
630
00:59:26,360 --> 00:59:32,359
I don't know how it is back there now, but when we were back there, we had it loud. We were loud to
631
00:59:32,359 --> 00:59:35,879
the point where we don't break Darryl. I mean, y'all gotta keep em back. Y'all go up there with
632
00:59:35,879 --> 00:59:42,560
all that, bro. It was. I was like, yo, we had a loud man. Like we had we had. He was
633
00:59:42,560 --> 00:59:49,330
fun, I knew Forget Them for weeks was almost like me in training camp for four weeks. But the big
634
00:59:49,330 --> 00:59:56,129
difference is when I was at 66 for four weeks, everybody passed their test. I'm training camp for
635
00:59:56,129 --> 01:00:01,169
four weeks. You will meet the most nicest quarters of the people, but never get cut and you'll never
636
01:00:01,170 --> 01:00:05,689
see him again. The only difference anyway, though, you keep in touch with him. But you ain't gonna
637
01:00:05,689 --> 01:00:11,689
see him again. Sure. So that's why I say, man. Like when you go to 66, you gotta, like, enjoy. Because
638
01:00:11,689 --> 01:00:16,570
it's it's a grind. It's something that could change your whole life this year. I got for life.
639
01:00:16,610 --> 01:00:22,609
It'll never, ever leave my pocket unless I mess up. Nobody can take it from me. I work hard for it
640
01:00:22,649 --> 01:00:29,209
unless I mess up. I don't have no plans to mess up at all. I got past my CDL for a long time. Till the
641
01:00:29,210 --> 01:00:36,129
day I die. And I owe that bout. And that's how I can see me. I'm gonna be a 100ft tall and
642
01:00:36,129 --> 01:00:43,019
about 105 years old, sitting in rocking chair on the front porch and my feet Get back! You
643
01:00:43,020 --> 01:00:49,539
read the newspaper. Like the old folk. Like the old time. I'm gonna be sitting back 100ft tall.
644
01:00:49,980 --> 01:00:54,339
And that's my plan to go away, though. That's what you're gonna do. You're gonna pile up a bunch of,
645
01:00:54,379 --> 01:00:58,659
you know, millions of safe miles, and then you're gonna retire and enjoy your golden years. Right.
646
01:00:58,899 --> 01:01:04,299
You and I'm. And I'm gonna sit back in The Rocketeer like an old bit. I promise you, drinking
647
01:01:04,300 --> 01:01:08,980
a cup of coffee, a cup of black coffee. Yep. Yeah. And I'm gonna keep on rocking like a cutoff
648
01:01:08,980 --> 01:01:15,299
stocking. I promise you. I mean. Hey, man. The black coffee is great, and I know that's what the
649
01:01:15,300 --> 01:01:20,819
retired guys like, but you guys live down there, and sweet tea country, man. I don't want no black
650
01:01:20,820 --> 01:01:26,739
coffee. I want no coffee with some sugar in it. Yes, I know, I want sweet corn. He told me something
651
01:01:26,739 --> 01:01:33,060
black cause, you know, black coffee. Hey, man. You're down there in sweet tea country. How could you
652
01:01:33,100 --> 01:01:38,019
want anything other than some sweet sun tea? I mean, come on, like that's why you want to find it.
653
01:01:38,019 --> 01:01:44,020
You get it down in Florida. Man. One thing about it. I've been living in Florida since
654
01:01:44,020 --> 01:01:51,019
2017, and I'm gonna give a big shout out to Boca Raton. Y'all gotta go to France. Haven
655
01:01:51,019 --> 01:01:57,260
chicken. It will change your life. I promise you, if anybody lives in this town in Boca Raton,
656
01:01:57,740 --> 01:02:04,419
go to France. Haven chicken on federal highways. I'm right here. Change your
657
01:02:04,419 --> 01:02:09,939
life. I'm writing. It down. Change your life. I don't get to Boca Raton very often, but I'm going. I'm
658
01:02:09,940 --> 01:02:16,378
coming now. I mean, I'm all the way out here in Oregon, so I got a long. Year to go. Honey.
659
01:02:16,419 --> 01:02:23,340
Go, chicken. I promise you, it will change your life. You won't ever think about it. Camren,
660
01:02:23,340 --> 01:02:29,699
have you tried this chicken that Tim's excited about? No. He served the squirrels and turtles and
661
01:02:29,699 --> 01:02:36,579
apostles and raccoons. All that duck. Yeah, yeah. He mean, he'd be eating all that. He eat frog
662
01:02:36,620 --> 01:02:43,229
legs and horse toenails. Maybe she and all that little
663
01:02:43,229 --> 01:02:49,949
Bobby and he everything. So you like a good. You like a good fish boil, then, Camren? Yes, sir.
664
01:02:49,989 --> 01:02:56,269
Yes, sir. Okay. Yeah. Like I like fish, too. I like catfish. Oh, crappie.
665
01:02:56,990 --> 01:03:03,269
Hey, y'all. That deal crawfish. You know, my family side. You know my family on my dad's side. You know,
666
01:03:03,310 --> 01:03:06,869
my dad grew up in New Orleans. All my family on my dad's side, new Orleans, my mama's side out of
667
01:03:06,869 --> 01:03:13,110
Belmar. You know, so I'm a seafood type of eating person. I like that. I got you get some of those
668
01:03:13,110 --> 01:03:18,589
spicy crawfish, man, that's oh so good. You know, I don't want to get that spicy one either. Norman
669
01:03:18,590 --> 01:03:24,509
gives us spicy sauce. There you go. That should be good. You'll be hurting. You can just fight the
670
01:03:24,510 --> 01:03:29,229
crawfish. You could be hurt at the end of the day. Yeah, I hear you. That's why you do it. That's is.
671
01:03:29,230 --> 01:03:35,310
It's a rite of passage, right? You gotta prove that you can. Have, you know, you can handle. It. Because I
672
01:03:35,310 --> 01:03:38,479
know it's like the food before, man. I'm a hot for two days.
673
01:03:42,719 --> 01:03:47,480
Uh, Camren, I can hear it in your laugh, man. You know he can't hang it. One of your fish boils,
674
01:03:47,480 --> 01:03:54,439
right? I mean, he's. This. Spicy bird that. If I even count, he and I hate to be a toilet. Cause
675
01:03:54,479 --> 01:04:01,359
count he. I can't even count me eating. Well,
676
01:04:01,400 --> 01:04:06,439
fellas. I wasn't I wasn't a defeat for cam. I wasn't dill burgers on deal signing day. What I
677
01:04:06,440 --> 01:04:12,279
really want. Well, yeah, you gotta get. You gotta get your hands on some man. Uh, but, fellas, listen, uh,
678
01:04:12,319 --> 01:04:17,199
we're running out of time here. This has been great. I, I want to give everybody that's listening
679
01:04:17,199 --> 01:04:22,360
a peek behind the curtain. Tim told me, uh, the first time I called him, he said, if you want to go
680
01:04:22,399 --> 01:04:27,960
viral, you get me on the show with Camren. Um, I think we've accomplished it here today. We've had
681
01:04:27,960 --> 01:04:33,319
a lot of laughs, but we've got some insight, too. We got to learn about the camaraderie and the
682
01:04:33,320 --> 01:04:37,839
importance of confidence from you guys, uh, building that up in one another, helping each
683
01:04:37,840 --> 01:04:43,359
other along. Now you've got a little community of of people that went through CTC and orientation
684
01:04:43,360 --> 01:04:48,959
with you. Camren, you've got your uncle and soon to have your cousin out there as well. Um, this is
685
01:04:48,959 --> 01:04:53,999
exactly why we brought you guys on today. Really appreciate it. Now, since it's your first time on
686
01:04:54,000 --> 01:04:58,159
the podcast, I want to let you guys know that everybody that comes on the show gets a chance to
687
01:04:58,200 --> 01:05:03,119
share their final thoughts with us, and this can be anything. This can be shouting out other
688
01:05:03,120 --> 01:05:08,478
employees or management or your trainers. This can be shouting out your family back at home if you
689
01:05:08,479 --> 01:05:13,559
want to, or if we left anything on the table and you want to talk about something before we get
690
01:05:13,560 --> 01:05:19,439
out of here, this is the time to do it, fellas. So, uh, real quick, uh, want to thank you guys, both
691
01:05:19,439 --> 01:05:25,159
Camren Snowten and Tim Bonner for your time today. Camren, I'm going to come to you for your final
692
01:05:25,159 --> 01:05:29,919
thoughts first, my friend. Uh, thank you so much for agreeing to do this today. Can't wait to have you
693
01:05:29,960 --> 01:05:36,249
guys back on again. Final thoughts from you, Camren, before we let you go today. Everyone is
694
01:05:36,249 --> 01:05:42,649
trying to get into the trucking industry. Stay positive and believe in yourself. That's great
695
01:05:42,649 --> 01:05:47,489
advice, man. And you said you were. You were a bit negative at first. The negativity kind of had a
696
01:05:47,490 --> 01:05:52,730
hold of you. Uh, you were able to change that pretty early on and build some confidence at CTC,
697
01:05:52,769 --> 01:05:59,529
weren't you? Yes, sir. That's great man. Anybody back at home you want to shout out you got a wife or
698
01:05:59,529 --> 01:06:03,089
some kids or anything that you might want to shout out here before we let you go? You got about
699
01:06:03,090 --> 01:06:09,489
20, sir. He got about 20 kids. You got kids. You got that? He got it
700
01:06:10,649 --> 01:06:16,849
later. Later on. Later on in life. My kids, they they looked up to me with my son. Uh, CJ, he looks up to
701
01:06:16,850 --> 01:06:23,570
me and he want to get in with trucking and come to Cypress. That's awesome man. Well, uh,
702
01:06:24,209 --> 01:06:30,289
hats off to you for the job you've done so far. And, uh, here is to a long, successful and safe
703
01:06:30,290 --> 01:06:35,219
career with Cypress Truck Lines. Camren, thank you so much for the time. We really appreciate you
704
01:06:35,260 --> 01:06:41,859
coming on here today, my friend. Yes, sir. Thank you to. Uh, Tim Bonner. On to you, my friend. Final
705
01:06:41,859 --> 01:06:46,739
thoughts from you before we let you go. We greatly appreciate the time, uh, and the attitude and all
706
01:06:46,739 --> 01:06:51,299
the fun you've had on here today. That's exactly what we're looking for, man. It's contagious. Thank
707
01:06:51,300 --> 01:06:57,579
you for bringing that to the show. Final thoughts from you. Before you take off today. I'm gonna say,
708
01:06:57,620 --> 01:07:03,379
bro, bro, y'all gotta have confidence in yourself, bro. Y'all gotta go there. I know y'all gonna get
709
01:07:03,379 --> 01:07:07,538
y'all CDL. Don't get in the truck and be like, oh, man, it's hard. I can't do this now. You gotta have
710
01:07:07,539 --> 01:07:13,019
faith and believe in yourself, bro. So once again, that truck and do that first maneuver, you better
711
01:07:13,019 --> 01:07:17,740
okay, I can do this. And they get you your second maneuver and they get hard. Then you got locked in
712
01:07:17,779 --> 01:07:24,499
and put your mind to it so you could do it. And oh man, don't be that 1% who don't make it, man. Be the
713
01:07:24,500 --> 01:07:29,219
one who gonna make it and do it and change your life. Because it's not an opportunity. This world,
714
01:07:29,219 --> 01:07:34,668
man. A lot of people don't take advantage of it, you know? And I know a lot of people who didn't go
715
01:07:34,669 --> 01:07:41,629
to college don't got no degrees. They got a CDL making a lot of money. And I just
716
01:07:41,630 --> 01:07:46,749
gotta have a little faith in yourself, faith and belief and stand them knees and praise him in the
717
01:07:47,149 --> 01:07:53,589
Broncos right here. We wouldn't be nobody, bro. Remember that y'all. If anybody in
718
01:07:53,589 --> 01:08:00,229
life ever get destroyed and going through tough times or bro y'all Bible or read the book of Job.
719
01:08:00,270 --> 01:08:06,749
It will help y'all out. Or not. Because when I was going through tough times, my life in 2024, 21
720
01:08:06,750 --> 01:08:13,709
through the 2025, I read the book of job and I realized, dang, man, Joe is literally just like me.
721
01:08:14,189 --> 01:08:20,990
Lost a lot, but never lost faith. And I drove for a job. He lost a whole lot, but he never he never
722
01:08:20,990 --> 01:08:24,749
turned his back on God. He kept on believing in him. Even his wife tried to make her turn her back
723
01:08:24,749 --> 01:08:31,029
on him, but he never turned her back. And he lost a lot. He lost his son. And you know, the devil went.
724
01:08:31,070 --> 01:08:36,350
The devil went to the garden. So we're going to do the job, he said. You can do it to him, but you
725
01:08:36,350 --> 01:08:43,309
can't kill him. And he took everything from him, and he never lost. He never stopped losing faith
726
01:08:43,549 --> 01:08:50,269
in God and the devil. My story with God. Never lost faith in God. I just kept my best foot forward, man,
727
01:08:50,270 --> 01:08:57,029
and just kept pushing. And that's how. That's how I die on. Not to this day, you know. And that's how I
728
01:08:57,029 --> 01:09:01,709
got through it, though, man. Shout out to my I ain't gonna say no name because last time I got in
729
01:09:01,710 --> 01:09:07,749
trouble. Y'all go do that shout out boy do y'all go to TikTok. Look on BC live on and look at that
730
01:09:07,750 --> 01:09:12,189
shout out. I got big trouble right there with her because I forgot a few people and I ain't doing
731
01:09:12,189 --> 01:09:17,069
it no more. Alright, good. I'm going to my home. I'm going to say shout out to my old family, bro, cause
732
01:09:17,069 --> 01:09:20,789
I when they call the names, I forgot some of my brothers and sisters and they were heated. They
733
01:09:20,790 --> 01:09:27,709
were mad. You know, hey, I ain't doing that no more. I'm just saying sorry to my own family, bro. Like
734
01:09:28,230 --> 01:09:34,160
the whole family though, I got. I got sister, sisters and I forget nobody. There you go.
735
01:09:35,160 --> 01:09:39,640
That's the best way to do it. The whole family. Every last one of you got a shout out today on
736
01:09:39,640 --> 01:09:46,039
this podcast. I like it, Tim. Yeah. Well, fellas, thank you so much for the time today. You guys be safe
737
01:09:46,039 --> 01:09:51,279
out there on the road with as much fun as I had in here today. We will be getting you guys back on
738
01:09:51,279 --> 01:09:57,399
the show whenever you're willing. So we greatly appreciate the time. Man town is available
739
01:09:57,439 --> 01:10:03,919
247. Man. We got we could be your man. Host. You ain't gotta go look for nobody or be here.
740
01:10:04,160 --> 01:10:09,240
Okay. Well, if you're gonna make my job easy, I'm just going to send you the topics and let you
741
01:10:09,240 --> 01:10:15,519
guys do the podcast every week. I'm gonna go take some time off. Yo, y'all let us do this. Y'all see
742
01:10:15,560 --> 01:10:20,359
conversation rule the nation. You know what I'm saying? Come on. Move the nation. I gotta have man.
743
01:10:20,400 --> 01:10:25,798
Campbell here. You just sit back and let him do the talking. Yes, sir. I, I like to say I'm Steve
744
01:10:25,799 --> 01:10:31,490
Nash on this podcast. I don't score the points. I just get the ball where it needs to go. Man. Told
745
01:10:31,490 --> 01:10:38,208
you to throw you that, are you, bro? How about that? We told you that you. Love it, fellas. Oh, yeah. Dude.
746
01:10:38,330 --> 01:10:44,449
We'll be in touch. Okay, guys. Yes, sir. All right, that's all good with me. Be safe out there. Guys,
747
01:10:44,450 --> 01:10:47,369
thank you so much. Yes, sir.
748
01:10:55,569 --> 01:11:01,009
You know, I've said it so many times on this podcast. I've. I've said constantly that I am the
749
01:11:01,009 --> 01:11:05,609
Steve Nash. You heard me say it right there at the end of the interview with Tim and Camren. I'm
750
01:11:05,610 --> 01:11:10,729
Steve Nash. I get the ball to the people that score the points on this podcast. I'm not the star,
751
01:11:10,730 --> 01:11:16,409
I'm merely the point guard here. I'm the quarterback and I gotta get the ball to you in
752
01:11:16,409 --> 01:11:23,289
space and let you work with it, okay? And, uh, it's almost every single podcast episode that
753
01:11:23,290 --> 01:11:30,139
I get. Just overwhelmingly lucky, uh, with the people that come on here to share their time with
754
01:11:30,140 --> 01:11:36,980
us. Ken and Randy. Those are two of the guys that have some of the most knowledge, not only about
755
01:11:36,980 --> 01:11:43,859
trucking in general, but about Cypress truck lines and how the process works here. That's why Ken
756
01:11:43,859 --> 01:11:50,419
says, trust the process. And once you do, you get to go over and hang out with Randy, who will get you
757
01:11:50,419 --> 01:11:56,220
so well prepared for heading out on the road with your driver trainer that you're going to wonder
758
01:11:56,220 --> 01:12:01,379
why you didn't make this decision sooner? And that's what you heard there from from Tim and
759
01:12:01,379 --> 01:12:05,899
Camren both. You know, Camren talked about, hey, I was struggling a little bit with my pre-trip. Tim
760
01:12:05,899 --> 01:12:10,939
came and helped me out. We nailed it down and all of a sudden it was like second nature. That's the
761
01:12:10,940 --> 01:12:16,819
type of education. That's the type of training you're going to get at CTC and in
762
01:12:16,819 --> 01:12:23,339
orientation. Um, and and trust me guys, it's to, to be able to sit in my seat
763
01:12:23,939 --> 01:12:30,939
and get to talk to people like we got to talk to today. Um, the the knowledge and the know how
764
01:12:30,980 --> 01:12:37,659
that comes from Ken and Randy. Just the straight up good energy that we got from Tim and Camren.
765
01:12:37,699 --> 01:12:44,699
You here? Tim. So much confidence and just happy to be here, you hear? Camren. Humble but still
766
01:12:44,700 --> 01:12:51,020
confident and still trusting the process. These guys are going to have great long careers with
767
01:12:51,020 --> 01:12:56,339
Cypress. You heard Tim say it. I'm driving here until I retire, and I can sit on the porch at
768
01:12:56,339 --> 01:13:02,339
100ft tall and read the newspaper and drink a cup of black coffee. Why would you do that? That's what
769
01:13:02,380 --> 01:13:06,539
retired people do. You don't need any of that sweetness in your coffee anymore. When you're
770
01:13:06,539 --> 01:13:12,620
retired, you've seen it all. Bitter and black is the midnight sky. That's the way the retired guys
771
01:13:12,620 --> 01:13:17,139
like their coffee. And that's where Tim and Camren are both headed. But they're at the very
772
01:13:17,139 --> 01:13:22,939
outset of that right now, and it's very exciting to see, uh, once again, I just feel super lucky that
773
01:13:22,939 --> 01:13:28,109
we got those guys in here today. You know, you'll hear from Ken and Randy again on this show. Uh, we
774
01:13:28,109 --> 01:13:34,148
can't keep them off the air. They've got too much good information for us. And, uh, if I have my way,
775
01:13:34,149 --> 01:13:38,989
we will get Tim and Camren in here. Um, and they're going to host their own show. I'm just
776
01:13:38,990 --> 01:13:44,789
going to sit back, relax, kick my feet up and drink a mint julep while they are, uh, you know, running
777
01:13:44,790 --> 01:13:49,950
the show because, hey, every podcast host needs a break once in a while. And if I can take a break
778
01:13:49,950 --> 01:13:55,869
with the microphone still on, even better, because then I can act like I'm actually working. I can
779
01:13:55,870 --> 01:14:00,749
let Tim and Camren do all the heavy lifting. I love that idea. It's going to management for
780
01:14:00,750 --> 01:14:06,990
clearance next week, for sure. Uh, I want to thank Ken, Randy, Tim and Camren for coming on today.
781
01:14:06,990 --> 01:14:12,669
This was a fantastic episode. If you are a prospective Cypress employee and you've been in
782
01:14:12,669 --> 01:14:18,350
CTC and you've been thinking about it and you've listened to today's episode, I don't know how
783
01:14:18,549 --> 01:14:23,869
you're not on one side of the fence with both feet firmly planted in the grass. At this point in
784
01:14:23,869 --> 01:14:29,919
time, we've given you all the info that you need, and this isn't the only episode we've done on it.
785
01:14:29,919 --> 01:14:36,839
You can go back into our episodes at the website podcast.cypresstruck.com, and if you get back there,
786
01:14:36,839 --> 01:14:41,759
I think it was somewhere within the first ten episodes. We talked to Ken and Randy about the
787
01:14:41,759 --> 01:14:47,679
whole about trusting the process. In fact, I think the episode is called Trust the Process. Um,
788
01:14:48,479 --> 01:14:54,359
listen, we've given you all the information that you need, and I would also say, listen to our
789
01:14:54,359 --> 01:14:59,879
episode where we spotlighted the recruiting team because those ladies are hard at work and trying
790
01:14:59,879 --> 01:15:05,079
to look for good, qualified candidates. If you are that, you got to give them a call. There's just no
791
01:15:05,080 --> 01:15:10,279
reason not to, and there's no reason not to listen to the rest of the content that we're pumping out
792
01:15:10,279 --> 01:15:14,759
here. If you're interested in Cypress truck lines, whether you're driving for them, you're thinking
793
01:15:14,759 --> 01:15:19,679
about it. You got a family member out there driving for them. Uh, or maybe you've just seen
794
01:15:19,680 --> 01:15:24,329
these big, beautiful trucks on the road and you wondered what this company was all about. Well,
795
01:15:24,330 --> 01:15:30,008
here you are at the Cypress Truck Lines podcast, and we thank you greatly for tuning in here and
796
01:15:30,009 --> 01:15:35,089
listening to a little bit about this amazing company. We do this once a week, Wednesdays, 5 a.m.
797
01:15:35,089 --> 01:15:41,409
local time. We pump out a new hour of content for you, fully focused on Cypress truck lines. And let
798
01:15:41,410 --> 01:15:45,689
me tell you, if this is the first episode you've ever listened to and you're wondering, well, I
799
01:15:45,690 --> 01:15:50,768
wonder what this podcast is all about. We got a whole team of people working on this thing. I'm
800
01:15:50,769 --> 01:15:57,609
the only one you ever hear from, but, uh, Scott, our producer, Mike, our editor, um, and
801
01:15:57,649 --> 01:16:04,569
Tyler, our web guy. Arie is on graphics. Lurie is on graphics, Hanna is working in the background.
802
01:16:04,569 --> 01:16:09,410
And that's not all of them. You know, you heard Tim say, I don't want to do shout outs because I feel
803
01:16:09,410 --> 01:16:14,929
like I'm gonna forget somebody's brother. I'm under that pressure all the time because there is
804
01:16:14,930 --> 01:16:20,689
a sea of people that helped me make this podcast. In fact, I can't even say it like that. There's a
805
01:16:20,730 --> 01:16:26,769
sea of people that I help make this podcast. They do phenomenal work. Without them, we would not be
806
01:16:26,810 --> 01:16:32,049
able to produce the content and have it sound as good as it does. That's why we're here. That's our
807
01:16:32,049 --> 01:16:38,769
job. Your guys's job. Move the country, our job, entertain you, educate you, inform you
808
01:16:38,810 --> 01:16:45,169
while you do so. I think today's episode made a lot of hay for us in that barn. Thank you all so
809
01:16:45,170 --> 01:16:51,009
much for being here today. We will talk to you next week, 5 a.m. local time on Wednesday with
810
01:16:51,009 --> 01:16:57,409
another great episode from the Cypress Truck Lines podcast. Randy, Ken, Tim, Camren, thank you for
811
01:16:57,410 --> 01:17:01,369
everything today I've been Marcas you've all been great. We'll see you next week.