In this week’s Overdrive Radio podcast edition we’ll hear more of my talk with August Trucker of the Month Alan Kitzhaber, and a good bit about one particular subject near and dear to the 4-million-mile owner of a 1995 Kenworth T600 he’s piloted since it was new.
“I’ve been very religious about investing my money instead of spending it, and it’s put me in a position where I can feel comfortable retiring.” –Oakridge Transport owner-operator Alan Kitzhaber
I detailed some of his long-term retirement investment strategy in the Trucker of the Month profile that ran right at the tail end of August. Suffice it to say, Kitzhaber’s well-positioned for an exit, making good on his view of his truck and the trucking business itself. As he notes in today’s podcast, trucking’s always been a vehicle, a tool to “get me somewhere else,” he said. “I want to generate profit from it.”
After squandering retirement savings from his work in 1980s, mostly in his 20s running a Radio Shack store, he’s managed multiple qualified retirement accounts and other investments soundly. Nearing the end of a nearly 35-year run of consistently putting aside 15%-20% of his income, he’s nearly gotten to that “somewhere else,” where he truly wants to go — that’s retirement, setting out on a variety of projects, including building a house on his property in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; pursuit of photography and videography hobbies; taxidermy; and more.
As some of you heard in the podcast last week, Kitzhaber achieved a significant milestone in May this year, he’s passed 4 million miles behind the wheel of a Cat-powered truck, his 1995 Oakridge Transport Kenworth T600, pulling since 2010 for a single shipper.
Enter your business in Overdrive‘s Trucker of the Year competition for a chance to win a seat from program sponsor Bostrom Seating, among other perks and prizes.
Yet respond the company did, with this bit of a tribute to their long-running partner in Kitzhaber. What follows is Schmidley’s testament to Kitzhaber’s success:
Alan Kitzhaber began his driving career with Menard Inc. as an owner-operator under the company name Oakridge Transport. Kitzhaber did his homework researching the opportunity as an owner-operator before signing on to work with Menards, and believed it would be financially beneficial. And it has been.
He logged his first trip on November 10, 2010. In the nearly 14 years since that first load, Alan has safely logged 1,852,059 miles and counting, providing service to Menards. He’s enjoyed delivering loads to the Menards retail stores and to the Menards Distribution Centers throughout the Midwest, where he is now well acquainted with Menards team members at the stores and DCs, as well as within the Eau Claire Transportation Department where he considers that team part of his family.
One of the features that makes working with Menards attractive to the owner-operator is the drop and hook pickups and deliveries, ensuring that he is keeping his wheels moving and avoiding downtime. Alan also enjoys that serving locations in the Midwest allows him to be home often, maintaining a good work-life balance.
“It’s close to home, and I soon discovered you made more money with consistent freight,” Alan has shared. “It was certainly a pleasant surprise.”
His dedicated commitment to safety, reliability and communication have made him a valued team player within the Menards Owner/Operator program. His flexibility and abilities as a problem solver have served him well in that capacity and he looks forward to continuing his successful driving career in the future.
Hear more from Kitzhaber about all of this, including the importance of that partnership, in the podcast, likewise about his approach to business analysis, and maintenance, both of which are absolute lynchpins in his successful shepherding of his equipment through 4 million-plus miles of profitable hauling. Take a listen:
We’re at the final sprint for the Trucker of the Year award program for 2024. Nominations will close at the end of September, and we’ve got just two semi-finalist slots left for a chance to win a brand-new seat, up to a $2,500 value, from Trucker of the Year award sponsor Bostrom Seating, a trip to and recognition at the Mid-America Trucking Show, various other prizes, and more. Put your own or another deserving business (up to three trucks) in the running via this link today.