in the motor carrier industry. In the mid-1980s, he served as president of what was then the Nebraska Motor Carriers Association, and he also once served as president of the Regular Common Carriers Conference, now called the Distribution and LTL Carriers Association. Nebraska Trucking Association President
Larry Johnson said Brown Transfer has been an example of the NTA’s slogan, “Trucking Moves Nebraska Forward” since its founding. “It’s been 90 years of helping homegrown
Nebraska businesses in towns small and large all across our state to connect with their customers with what is now a worldwide supply chain,” he said. “Teir expertise in delivering their customers’ goods on time and damage free has enabled thousands of businesses in rural Nebraska to grow and prosper by being their partner in buying or selling products to or from markets all around the world. Reliable transportation services like Brown Transfer are the foundation of economic development for all communities in Nebraska. I’m sure Alvin would be amazed and very proud that his little ol’ company in Kearney, Nebraska, has become such an integral link in getting products
from Broken Bow to Beijing in just days. Well played, Alvin, well played.” Could the company grow bigger? Brown says
there’s talk of expansion into a couple of areas. “Once you start going, it’s pretty tough to stop,” he said. It’s not clear what Brown’s role will be in that
expansion. Tere are no imminent transfer plans, but he is thinking about the future. He and his wife, Margaret, have two daughters, Jennifer Fellers of Parker, Colorado, and Lori Schievelbein of Omaha. Tey and their husbands have given Butch and Margaret five grandchildren ages 7 to 16. Tey enjoy going to their grandchildren’s sporting events and being involved in their lives. Tey have a second home in Indian Wells, California, where they spend three months a year. He plays a lot of golf, and they enjoy the city’s restaurants, taking the grandkids to the zoo, and attending the professional tennis tournament that brings most of the biggest stars to town every year. At 68, he’s older than his dad was when he passed away, but he’s not afraid of dying young. His mother, Edna, lived to be 86. But he does say that the time is coming “to maybe pass the baton
on down the line.” When he’s in Kearney, however, Brown does
what he’s always done – work seven days a week. He likes playing golf, but he also likes working. “Trucking kind of gets in your blood,” he said.
“It’s kind of an appeal. It’s a business that really you get there and you fight it a little bit, and then all of a sudden, it just kind of pops, and you say, ‘Jeez, this is great industry.’ Which it is, and there’s a lot of good people in it not only that work for you but also that compete with you and also sell you different softwares and that type of thing. Tere’s a lot of good people in the industry.” While eventually somebody else may be in
charge of the company’s day-to-day operations, Brown doesn’t plan on ever getting out of trucking completely. How could he? He’s been doing it since he was in the sixth grade being paid 25 cents an hour. “I don’t think I’ll ever retire,” he said. “I love
going down there. I don’t think I’ll ever go away from it.. ... (I’ve) got a lot of good people down there. I want to make sure everybody is happy and ... everything’s taken care of. But yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever just say, ‘Hey, I’ll retire.’” NT
Cornhusker International
www.cornhuskerinternational.com
4502 So. 110th Street Omaha, NE 68137 402-331-8801
3131 Cornhusker Hwy Lincoln, NE 68504 402-466-8461
2601 East Omaha Ave Norfolk, NE 68702 402-371-1440
NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 1, 2015 —
www.nebtrucking.com
2601 Bridgeport Drive Sioux City, IA 51111 712-252-3637
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