SPOTLight


MAINTENANCE AWARD Paul Culpepper


BY TODD TRAUB Contributing Writer


Out of necessity came a career for


Paul Culpepper. As fleet maintenance manager at


Walmart in Sanger, Texas, Culpepper has a diverse set of duties that includes, but is not limited to, troubleshooting. That could mean troubleshooting equipment or issues affecting the 35 technicians and four man- agers he supervises at the Walmart shop and three off-site facilities. “I guess probably just the interaction


with the drivers and the technicians on a daily basis,” said Culpepper, winner of the Texas Trucking Association’s Distinguished Award for Excellence in Maintenance, about his favorite aspect of the job. “It’s something I enjoy doing and being able to resolve issues that the drivers are having.” While growing up in a small town


and on his family's small farm in Neches, Culpepper learned the value of being able to diagnose and fix a mechanical problem using his smarts and his own two hands. “I’ve always had an interest in work-


ing on equipment and trucks and trailers and I kind of grew up in that background,” said Culpepper, 48. Keeping the tractors and trucks run-


ning quickly got into Culpepper’s blood, and he pursued his interests further, earn- ing a degree in Diesel Technology at Texas State Technical Institute (now Texas State Technical College) in Waco. “I think it was a good experience to


go through,” Culpepper said. “I really believe that real, live, on-the-job training,


26 Summer 2016


there’s nothing better.” But Culpepper


appreciated the more for- mal aspects of classroom instruction, which broad- ened his knowledge of troubleshooting, various materials and the use of technical manuals. “Actively working on


the stuff is where you learn the most … but I guess it does help when you start looking for a job to show you attended school,” Culpepper said. Finding a job to utilize his talents


hasn’t been much of a problem for Culpepper, who has been with Walmart close to 30 years in the maintenance field, moving around the region and working his way up from mechanic’s helper to service manager and helping to open new facilities in places like Phoenix and Sanger, his cur- rent location where has been since 2001. “It’s just something that’s always


interested me and I kind of worked my way up,” Culpepper said. Culpepper, who has also managed


shops in Plainview and Douglas, Ga., as well as working in Palestine, is responsible for maintaining a fleet of 175 tractors and 1,850 trailers. His diverse responsibilities include driver training, evaluations and education programs; compliance; hiring; conducting meetings; some product testing and helping to arrange technician competi- tions locally, regionally and nationally. He enjoys the feeling of accomplish- ment that comes with the job and can’t


Photo: Jon D. Kennedy


imagine doing anything else. “It’s pretty much all I’ve done since I


graduated tech school,” Culpepper said. However when he’s not working,


Culpepper, a married father of four grown children, enjoys hunting and fishing and a little golf. “I don’t get to do near as much as I’d


like to,” he said. Culpepper is chairman of the TXTA


Fleet Maintenance Council, volunteers for Meals on Wheels, is active at First Baptist Church in nearby Justin, is ASE certified and still holds a CDL all while his shops have frequently placed in the top five for Shop of the Year. Of the Distinguished Award for


Excellence in Maintenance, Culpepper couldn’t help thinking of all those he has worked with and those who showed him the ropes, hands-on, whether in a class- room or a shop. “It was just looking at people that


kind of brought me along,” he said. “And me applying myself that got me to this level and it was an honor to be selected for it.” R


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