“We didn’t have a lot of benefits
for our drivers,” Erin said. “Just being exposed to that from where I had worked, I thought, ‘They have fami- lies, they need benefits.’ It wasn’t that Hugh’s dad didn’t want to offer that, but at that time probably nobody had been doing it.” Hugh added, “We always had
health insurance, but as for retire- ment or pension, we didn’t have those things.” “Most of the trucking compa-
nies weren’t doing that when [Ed McConnell] was working back then,” Erin continued. “At the time they were probably starting to do it, but that’s not what he was used to. Getting him to switch over, it was a lot of conversa- tions, we discussed it a lot, and he was OK with it and came around.” Erin also convinced her father-in-
law that the days of handling all the office bookkeeping by hand had passed as well. “I had this old printer,” she said with a laugh. “He didn’t want to
buy one and didn’t understand why we couldn’t do it by hand. It would take them hours, HOURS, and you could do it so simply with Excel. Now we have accounting software, and it’s all com- puterized.” Hugh McConnell learned every job
at the McConnell shop while growing up there. To supplement his meager earnings, he worked other side jobs, at a grocery store or cutting grass, “anything to make money.” Eventually, after meet- ing Erin, Hugh began driving for the company, too. “I think you made minimum wage
when we got married,” Erin said, grin- ning to her husband. “I know I did,” he answered. “You did, and I remember having
that conversation with your dad about how he might need to give you a little bit more.” Meanwhile, Erin, the novice to
trucking, began learning everything she could about the business. Her biggest realization? “Truck
drivers have a hard job. They’re gone. Ours are not long hauls so they are home most nights of the week. They can come by the house. But it’s still a hard job if they have a family.” The McConnells understand fully
about family coming first. “It’s very important,” Erin said. “When we were talking about our drivers and our fami- lies, they are like our family.” Family considerations through-
out the company, with 26 drivers and another owner operator, are at the forefront when the McConnells discuss future growth. “There is potential there, but we have to do it right,” Erin says, and Hugh chimes in, “There is a bal- ance you have to strive for. Everything has a cost associated with it. We’ll just see where the Lord takes us. I’d never say I’d shut the door to something, but everything has a price to it. “Everything costs something. I’m
not saying I have all the answers, but we’re awfully careful. It only takes one bad year. Like in ’08, we hadn’t planned
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30 ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 5 2014
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