The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Mona Chisum as its December 2020 Member of the Month. She is the driver supervisor for TP Trucking. Chisum’s story began in 1988 when she drove her first truck. Teri and Amzel Butler owned a small logging company that Chisum’s husband at the time worked for as a log hauler. They lived on the job and Chisum’s husband watered the road at night with their 1956 Peterbilt water truck so it wouldn’t be as dusty the next day. One evening, Chisum tried driving the rig herself. “The minute I got my hands on the wheel, it felt like I was home,” said Chisum. Driving a water truck off-highway in the evening hours was a far cry from being a truck driver, but she loved it. In 1990, with two small children to support, she got her CDL and then learned how to drive a logging truck. FV Martin Trucking hired Chisum, where she said it was like having 29 big brothers to learn from every day. While employed with FV Martin, she drove log trucks, flatbeds, dump trucks, and water trucks. In 2002, Chisum became the safety director at FV Martin. She enjoyed this role because she wanted to help the drivers be the best they could be. In 2004, after 14 years, she left FV Martin to work as the safety director for a growing refrigerated freight company called Cross Creek Trucking. “While there I learned even more, but this time, about life over the road. During that 11-year span, I traveled cross country and learned to navigate big cities, manage my time to the best advantage, learned to live in a sleeper for several weeks at a time, and saw some of the most beautiful sights in North America,” said Chisum. In 2015, Chisum joined TP Trucking as a flatbed driver, and is now the driver supervisor. For anyone, especially women, who are thinking about venturing into the trucking world, Chisum advises to remove the word “can’t” from your vocabulary. “When I started in this industry, there weren’t many women, and it’s so nice to see more and more out on the roads. Just because you haven’t tried it doesn’t mean you can’t do it,” said Chisum. Women In Trucking, Inc. is a nonprofit association established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments, and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry. Membership is not limited to women, as 17 percent of its members are men who support the mission. Women In Trucking is supported not only by its members, but also the generosity of its business partners. For more information, visit www.womenintrucking.org or call 888-464-9482.
