Julia Rood (Image Courtesy of C.R. England/Facebook)After serving in the U.S. Army for 10 years and driving a truck for the military, there’s not much that fazes C.R. England company driver Julia Rood.
Now, as a driver trainer, she shares her experience and knowledge with her students. Her willingness to help teach others and her clean driving record helped earn Rood a spot as one of C.R. England’s Drivers of the Year recently.
“She takes safety and the well-being of her students to heart. Students that graduate from her truck receive excellent training and have a head start on their career,” said Rood’s Driver Manager Steve Hart.
Rood, from Boise, Idaho, hauls Sorrento cheese products on a dedicated route from Nampa, Idaho to Buffalo, New York. She was caught off guard when she found out she was one of the Drivers of the Year.
“I was so surprised. I had no idea. That was cool,” Rood says.
She enjoys helping other drivers be successful in their careers. For her, the people are the best part of the job.
She appreciates the emphasis she says C.R. England puts on safety.
“We have a lot of safety officers and we just practice the safety part of it so much. It’s my maturity now that I appreciate that so much more than I probably would have as a kid. They give you a lot of latitude to be as safe as possible. That means a lot to me,” Rood said.
While she’s only had one female trainee in her almost 15 months as a driver trainer, Rood said she does see more women in the industry these days. Trucking is an equal opportunity job for women, she said.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity. You certainly can make as much as a man in this industry. That’s not always the case in other jobs,” Rood said.
