On this week’s edition of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with Brad Klepper, president of Driver Legal Plan, a national law firm dedicated to protecting commercial truck drivers and their companies. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: submitting photos for the Oakley calendar (1:47) History of Driver Legal Plan and the states it’s licensed in (6:02) Differences in tickets and citations from local officials and DOT officials (14:32) Most co...
Mar 31, 2021•34 min
On this week’s edition of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with Jeremy Paul and Dustin Barnett from Oakley’s safety department. Together they discuss how much safety violations can cost owner-operators in the long run. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: saving money on the road (1:45) FMCSA rating for Oakley (5:35) Speeding incidents and what it can cost (8:37) Seatbelt violations (15:02) Being proactive with safety training videos (21:39)...
Mar 24, 2021•40 min
On this week’s edition of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with drivers Rupert Deal, Tommy Dean, and John Dawson about undergoing the orientation process at Oakley. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: dry bulk commodities (1:52) Recapping orientation (4:16) What brought our new drivers to Oakley (9:16) Expectations for first month of work (13:52) Physicals, safety training, and more (23:58) Coming back to work at Oakley because of the peopl...
Mar 17, 2021•39 min
On this week’s edition of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett speaks with Jon Slaughter, CEO of Healthy Trucking of America. Healthy Trucking of America provides free health and wellness services for drivers. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: experiencing unsafe driving situations (1:48) What Healthy Trucking of America does to address the unique health concerns for drivers (4:27) How to start the process of living healthier (9:17) Determining the...
Mar 10, 2021•37 min
On this week’s edition of The Oakley Podcast, Mark Steck, heavy duty truck account manager and truck guru, is back on the show for a gearhead conversation with host Jeremy Kellett. They discuss how there’s so much to consider when buying a truck and then maintaining that truck. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: trailer washouts (1:44) Comparing different engines for running heavy and hard (4:42) Automatic transmissions, automated transmissions, and be...
Mar 03, 2021•44 min
On this week’s edition of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by Jeff Amen and Michael Schneider, the vice president and tax manager, respectively, at ATBS, a tax and accounting firm for owner-operator truck drivers. Together they cover a lot of ground related to preparing taxes for 2020, knowing how to avoid tax surprises, and how to maximize deductions. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: celebrating owner-operators reaching 1,000,000 sa...
Feb 24, 2021•1 hr 8 min
In this week’s episode of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett hangs out with Scott Cowden, operations manager, to compare different divisions at Oakley: hopper bottom, end-dump, and pneumatic. They highlight details from each division to help drivers consider which division might be the best fit for them. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: make extra money with driver referrals (1:38) Hopper division concentrates in the south and has the lowest exp...
Feb 17, 2021•38 min
On this week’s episode of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett sits down with Corey Huey and Kent Childers from recruiting and Scott Cowden, operations manager, to discuss the details of Oakley’s referral program. For Oakley, finding new drivers is very important and the referral program rewards owner-operators who can help recruit new members to the team. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: swapping divisions (1:45) Finding the right drivers when th...
Feb 10, 2021•36 min
On this week’s episode of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with Oakley operations manager Colby Foster to take a look at some of the ways that COVID-19 has changed trucking, both positively and negatively. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: planning for handling taxes (1:53) Truck drivers showed they were the backbone of the economy (5:00) Changes that drivers have experienced this year (6:48) Adjustments that dispatch has made (12:40) Rec...
Feb 03, 2021•34 min
On this week’s episode of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by Oakley recruiter Dustin Eagle to discuss the process of becoming an owner-operator with Oakley. Together they identify mistakes that people have made in the past and point out the best steps to take to succeed as an Oakley owner-operator. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: pre-trip inspections (1:44) Financing for your truck and figuring out a down payment (5:02) Picking the...
Jan 27, 2021•42 min
On this week’s episode of The Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett sits down with Lieutenant Doug Lafferty of the Arkansas Highway Police to find out what he looks for when dealing with truck drivers as they come across the scale, avoiding CSA violations, and staying safe on the road. Key topics in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: dashcams play an important role (1:45) Introduction to Lieutenant Lafferty (3:03) Difference between a DOT officer and a state trooper (...
Jan 20, 2021•49 min
The Oakley Podcast is back for its first episode of 2021 as host Jeremy Kellett talks with Randy Rymel, safety manager at Oakley. Randy joins the show to talk about pre-trip inspections and about what’s next for him as he moves into retirement. Key points in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: taking advantage of Oakley fuel discounts (1:47) Making sure equipment is road-ready in the pre-trip inspection (4:54) Is there a list that drivers should go through? (10:00) T...
Jan 13, 2021•35 min
*From time to time we’ll re-air a previous episode of the show that our newer audience may have missed.* Our pilot episode of the show is an interview with Justin Oakley, one of the leaders of our family business. On this episode, we talk to Justin about his view on the family legacy and what he sees coming in the future for family-owned trucking companies like ours. Oakley Trucking is a family-owned and operated trucking company headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. For more information...
Jan 06, 2021•38 min
2020 has been one heck of a year. Host Jeremy Kellett encourages our listeners to think back to good holiday memories and make some new ones this year as he wishes a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. The Oakley Podcast will be back in January. Oakley Trucking is a family-owned and operated trucking company headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. For more information, check out our show website: podcast.bruceoakley.com
Dec 23, 2020•4 min
On this week’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by Sherry Eads and Laura Floyd, wives of Oakley owner-operators to find out what life is like from their perspective as they manage their own jobs, being moms and keeping in touch with their husbands while they’re on the road. Key points in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: good driving manners (2:29) Background on Laura Floyd (4:28) Background on Sherry Eads (5:52) Traveling with their hus...
Dec 16, 2020•37 min
On this week’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by operations manager Nick Dulaney to discuss how much owner-operators can net after calculating base pay, expenses, and bonuses. Key points in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: the driver lifestyle (1:39) Hopper division pay breakdown (6:10) Explaining the anniversary bonus (11:58) End-dump division pay breakdown (15:01) Pneumatics division pay breakdown (20:05) Getting paid for deadhead m...
Dec 09, 2020•39 min
On this week’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett sits down with Peyton Clark and Alex Kin, dispatchers from the end-dump division. With 80 drivers between them, Peyton and Alex help make sure their owner-operators are taken care of, getting miles, and getting to spend time at home. Key points in the conversation: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Submit photos for the Oakley calendar (1:10) Meeting Peyton Clark (2:49) Getting to know Alex Kin (6:33) Day-to-day role of a dispatc...
Dec 02, 2020•41 min
On this week’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett sits down with Kell Shenep and Austin Allen, dispatchers from the end-dump division. Kell and Austin are responsible for nearly 100 owner-operators and they share their behind the scenes stories of dispatching. Key points in the conversation: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Staying healthy mentally and physically (1:22) Austin’s background with Oakley (3:01) Kell’s background with the company (7:54) Their day-to-day work dispat...
Nov 25, 2020•38 min
On today’s special edition of the podcast, Jeremy and Corey host the Oakley Owner-Operators of the Year award show where dispatchers from each division announce their honorees. Each dispatcher has in the ballpark of 50-60 owner-operators and they have to choose an honoree who has excelled in on-time pickups and deliveries, customer service, safety, having a positive attitude, good communication, and keeping up with paperwork among other positive traits. As Owner-Operator of the Year, the winners...
Nov 18, 2020•27 min
Jeremy Kellett provides an important update on this additional episode of the Oakley Podcast and is joined by dispatchers Randy Caldwell and Clayton Smith and owner-operators David Carothers and Donnie Williams for the discussion. The announcement highlights the importance of preventing contamination to customer products. Key points in the conversation: Introducing this episode’s panel (1:32) Examples of contamination (6:00) Owner-operator feedback on the situation (9:27) Washouts and keeping th...
Nov 11, 2020•37 min
On today’s Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with Bradley Simpson and Hunter Horton from the pneumatic division. Bradley and Hunter share inside information about the pneumatic division—freight, customer service, retention, and more. Highlights from this episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Keeping your paperwork up-to-date (2:11) Introducing Bradley and Hunter (3:33) Fostering teamwork in the pneumatic division (13:33) The state of the pneumatic division, increased busyne...
Nov 04, 2020•40 min
In today’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellet is joined by Jared Flinn, co-founder of BulkLoads.com . BulkLoads.com connects shippers, carriers, and brokers together and has a network of more than 10,000 members that moved approximately $7 billion in commodities in 2019. Together they discuss the outlook on the dry bulk industry. Highlights from the episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Driving tips for winter (2:52) Jared’s backstory and the history of BulkLoads.com...
Oct 28, 2020•32 min
In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, Corey Huey fills in as host and leads a roundtable discussion with Kent Childers, Dustin Eagle and Jeremy Paul from the recruiting department. This team has decades of experience and has heard just about every question there is about working at Oakley. Highlights from the episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Anniversary Bonuses (2:02) Discussing the commonly asked questions for recruiters like mileage vs. percentage (5:30) Now is a great time...
Oct 21, 2020•30 min
In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by Oakley safety manager Randy Rymel to discuss avoiding distractions on the road. With 71 percent of truck accidents happening as a result of distracted driving, it’s important to make a plan to keep your head in the game while on the road. Highlights from the episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Planning ahead to save money on the road (1:46) Talking about distractions with Randy (3:12) How home life and mental...
Oct 14, 2020•43 min
On this week’s Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by a special guest, Al Robertson, the oldest son in the Duck Dynasty family. Jeremy and Al go way back, and they catch up on old times and bring us up to speed on what the Duck Commander crew has been up to since their show ended. Their conversation focuses on new adventures, faith, and family. Highlights from the episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Staying cautious and safe on the road (2:45) Introducing Al Robertson (...
Oct 07, 2020•39 min
In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett goes over updates from Oakley departments and talks with Bryan Walden about capitalizing on tire discounts. With tires costing several hundred dollars a pop, it’s important to take advantage of the different discount programs that are available. Highlights from the episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Submitting recruiting cards and getting paid for referrals (1:36) Internal updates from safety (3:15), dispatch (9:18), and...
Sep 30, 2020•35 min
In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with “Peterbilt Steve” Steve Carbone from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has one of the best 389 Peterbilt inventories in the country. Their discussion highlights how he manages his business, how he prepares a truck to sell and how he’s built up his inventory. Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Swapping divisions to change jobs without leaving the company (1:20) Negotiating fuel discount for drivers and breaking down the different discounts ...
Sep 23, 2020•38 min
In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with operations manager Nick Dulaney about all the ways daily life is impacted by truck drivers in light of Driver Appreciation Week. Points in the conversation worth noting: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: saying thank-you to drivers for making America a better place to live (1:28) Interesting facts about drivers (3:50) Breaking down each part of the daily routine that’s impacted by products Oakley hauls (6:06) Encountering Oak...
Sep 16, 2020•34 min
Jason Webb and Scotty Crisco, load coordinators on the end-dump division, sit down with host Jeremy Kellett to discuss retention and driver turnover in the latest episode of the Oakley Podcast. Topics talked about include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: avoiding distracted driving (1:21) Primary causes of driver turnover and how Oakley keeps turnover low (6:47) Benefits of referrals from our drivers for new recruits (18:46) How talking with dispatch in person can help with retention (30:25) ...
Sep 09, 2020•49 min
In the second part of our roundtable discussion, Jerry Dunbar, Robert Tennie and Freddie Baker join host Jeremy Kellett, director of recruiting at Oakley Trucking, to discuss the state of truck driving in 2020. The roundtable guests have more than 110 years of driving experience combined. The three owner-operators represent different segments of Oakley. Jerry comes from the hopper division, Robert from the end-dump division, and Freddie from the pneumatic division. If you missed part one of the ...
Sep 02, 2020•35 min
