D Jim Daws
By Jim haRRiS Contributing Writer
Given the choice between an office or driving, trucking company
owner Jim Daws prefers the roadway. He spent several years early in his career in an office, but these days if one is looking for Daws, it’s best to start with the cab of his truck as he sets out on a run. “I like to get out. It’s a great way to meet my customers,” Daws said
during a rare moment when he was not in his truck or at his desk, but riding while his wife, Lana, drove their car home near Milford, Neb. “Ten I get to do what the drivers are doing, and that helps being on the same page with them. It works out pretty good. “I only drive about 20 percent of what [the other drivers] do. I don’t
drive every day, just when I’ve got time or want to go somewhere. I’m never out more than a night or two at a time.” Daws Trucking Inc., based just outside of Milford and between
Milford and Seward near Interstate 80, celebrated its 20th year in business earlier this summer. Twenty years ago, as the 60-year-old Daws recalled, the company
had two trucks. Now, it has 80. Te anniversary celebration, the way Daws described it, was a bit low-key, with company employees convening in one place Aug. 1 for a safety training seminar before they all enjoyed a celebratory dinner that night. “It’s been a fast 20 years,” Daws said. Daws drove for nine years when he entered the working world
in 1976, but then he moved into the office as a dispatcher for two different companies in Nebraska over the next decade before starting his own firm. Along with the milestone of a 20-year anniversary this year, Jim
Daws’ company also was honored in May by the Nebraska Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve with its Pro Patrina Award. Te
rives His Flatbed Firm to the Top
award, the highest bestowed by the ESGR, a Department of Defense office, is presented annually by each state’s ESGR to one small, one large and one public sector employer that have “demonstrated the greatest support to Guard and Reserve employees through their leadership and practices, including adopting personnel policies that make it easier for the employees to participate in the National Guard or Reserves.” Daws accepted the award May 17 in Omaha from Major Gen.
(Ret.) Walt Zink, the Nebraska ESGR state chairman on behalf of Specialist Wendell “Bryson” Watson IV of the U.S. Army Reserve. In a report in the Milford Times, Watson said in his nominating
later of Jim Daws: “Jim supported and encouraged me to join the Army Reserve,
giving me time off to train with my recruiter before I left for basic training. When I completed my advanced training, Jim paid for my plane ticket from St. Louis to Omaha and then drove to the airport to pick me up and took me home. “I highly respect Jim for his dedication and loyalty to his employees
and to me as a service member. I cannot thank Jim Daws enough for the continued support; he has always made my drill weekends a top priority and ensures I have the time off to be where the Army needs me to be.” Around fall harvest time, there is one other place besides his truck
cab where Daws can be found outside of the running his trucking company. He helps a neighbor with his corn and bean harvests. It’s somewhat in his blood. “My dad worked for a farmer when we came to Nebraska,” Daws
said. “Tat’s kind of my vacation. I enjoy working. I worked for several farmers growing up in my early 20s. So I go help [a friend] every year for a week or so, usually in the middle of September. With the weather we’ve had this year, we’ll be out into the end of October.”
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PhotogRaPhy By caLLie kNaPP of Right eye digitaL NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 4, 2014 —
www.nebtrucking.com
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