Brenda Wallace recounts an early memory from her 18-year truck driving career. One time when things weren’t going well, she stood in the back of her trailer crying.
“‘What am I doing?’ I said to myself,” recalls Wallace, who lives and works in Ogden, Utah.
“I went from being a wife and not knowing anything, to driving truck,” says Wallace.
Saia Freight city driver Brenda WallaceBut, that rugged start didn’t last long, and Wallace has gone on to a successful and enjoyable career in the trucking industry. Today she is a city driver for Saia Freight, an LTL company based in suburban Atlanta, and has two children who also drive truck; a son who hauls coal, a daughter who drives for a paper company, and a daughter who moves freight.
Wallace also has 10 grandchildren, and helps care for a disabled veteran friend.
In her time behind the wheel, Wallace has:
- Delivered coal
- Hauled hogs to Los Angeles for four and a half years, her favorite job
- Delivered produced to Montana for nine years
Wallace has been with Saia for more than a year and a half. She says she likes being with the company because she is “treated like one of the guys.”
Being a city driver involves doing pick-ups and deliveries, and that’s not necessarily easy. Wallace says she just sees it as part of the job.
Still, when her daughter said she wanted to get into truck driving, Wallace tried to dissuade her.
“The trucking industry is a tough industry for women,” she said.
But, Wallace says she has “no regrets” about being part of it.
