“IT’S ALL ABOUT, TO ME, BUILDING MEMBERSHIP, PROVIDING SERVICES TO THE MEMBERS SO THAT THEY’RE ACTIVELY
INVOLVED AND THEY HAVE MEMBER BENEFITS. THAT’S HOW YOU RECRUIT PEOPLE.”
—RUSSELL JURK, VICE PRESIDENT, BOBBY LEHMANN TRUCKING
began paying dividends. His duties as a dispatcher had involved hiring and firing people, and he had learned there were holes in the system. He knew the company need- ed to improve its driver qualification files and drug and alcohol screening process. After Jurk had joined the company,
Lehmann insisted he become involved in the Texas Motor Transportation Association, what is now the Texas Trucking Association (TXTA). This also helped prepare him for company leader- ship. In about 1998, he attended a seminar on surviving a Department of
Transportation safety audit. It was an eye- opening experience. When he became Lehmann Brothers’
general manager, one of the first things he did was hire Don Backen as safety director. Through the years, Jurk has made sure the company takes advantage of TXTA’s resources and training opportunities. An early involvement was Leadership 2001, a yearlong program that trained young man- agers in leadership skills. “For small companies like us, as
you’re growing, they provide those resourc- es for training,” Jurk said. “And some of it
is basic, but, you know what, it’s a start, and it gets you compliant and where you need to be. And there’s just not a whole lot of information out there unless you’re involved with something like TXTA.” The company has grown slowly but
steadily to 32 power units. It now is an interstate carrier specializing in heavy hauls and heavy lifts. Whereas before it focused on hauling production equipment, about 80 percent of its business now involves drilling rigs – a move that started about 10 years ago. In 2009, it bought its first mobile hydraulic crane when it decid- ed using third party providers wasn’t get- ting the job done. Today it owns two crawl- er cranes. Since 2010, business has been very good, but Jurk has been in trucking long enough not to get comfortable. “It’s not a smooth road all the time in
the oil and gas business. It cycles, and it cycles a lot,” he said. Leadership 2001 set the stage for his
further involvement. In 2004, he was asked to attend a TXTA planning retreat even though he wasn’t a voting member. The
FREIGHTLINER
SPRINTER VANS
WESTERN STAR
Houston Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star 9550 North Loop East Houston, TX 77029
Phone (713) 672-4115 Fax (713) 672-9449
Beaumont Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star 6975 South Major Dr. Beaumont, TX 77705
Phone (409) 951-8300 Fax (409) 951-8399
Corpus Christi Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star 8001 IH 37
Corpus Christi, TX 78409 Phone (361) 694-8400 Fax (361) 694-8499
36 Winter 2015
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