Driver of the Month APRIL 2014
BOB LINK Orthman Logistics By JenniFer Barnett reed Contributing Writer
Bob Link remembers the first wreck he
ever had. He was 16 years old, driving on ice and snow in South Dakota. He made it the last wreck he ever had. Now 46 years further down the road, Link has more than 30 years of commercial driving experience and close to two million career safe driving miles. He’s never had an accident as a commercial driver. What is it he does differently to stay safe? “I pay attention,” Link says matter-of-factly. “I watch what I’m doing. I try not to get distracted at all, and I obey the law. Tat always pays in the long run. And there’s a lot of luck involved, too— someone riding on my shoulder.” Link’s childhood family lived in Montana.
His maternal grandmother lived in Williston, North Dakota. Growing up, he and his siblings would take the train to visit that grandmother, and the engineer would let the kids ride with him. “So I wanted to be an engineer on a railroad train,” Link remembers. “It was really cool to ride with the engineer.” Link’s first job was working at a local gas
station for 15 cents an hour. What he learned from that job was “I gotta do something better than this!” He spent several years as a carpenter and house framer. When the housing market went bust, he started hauling equipment for a construction company.
Link Link says he definitely prefers flatbedding
to other types of long haul work. “I haul all kinds of heavy equipment,” he explains. “It’s a type of trucking where the customer is generally happy to see you, there are no big long waits, and strapping and tarping keeps me in shape.” He says he goes wherever Orthman Logistics sends him, generally west of the Mississippi. He’s been with the company nearly six years. “I like seeing the country, especially out west,” Link says. “As long as I pick up on time and get loads there safely, I’m being my own boss.” He also enjoys the company of his
co-pilot, a French Bulldog named Chunk. Link currently lives about 15 miles south
of Kansas City. He and his significant other, Peggy, make frequent summer trips to the Nebraska sandhills where her son is the Crescent Lake Wildlife Refuge manager. Link also has three adult sons and a four-year-old grandson to spend time with. He says if he weren’t driving, he’d probably
retire. A visit to Australia is on his bucket list, but he says he’d have to win the lottery in order to afford the trip! nt
NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 2, 2014 —
www.nebtrucking.com
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