Linda Caffee, an owner-operator team driver leased to Landstar Express America, has been named Women In Trucking’s July Member of the Month.
Caffee was always fascinated by trucks and after her youngest daughter left for college, both she and her husband began researching trucking and pursued becoming an owner-operator. In 2004, after spending many hours reading the forums of Expediters Online, Linda and her husband, Bob, decided that expediting was the field for them.
“Expediting excited both of us as we liked the challenge of not knowing where we were going next or what we would be picking up. We bought our first Freightliner straight truck in 2005, and over fourteen years and three Freightliners later we are still just as excited to be doing what we’re doing,” Linda said. “You might notice I use a lot of ‘we’s’ and I want to stress that I am in a team operation. When you get to know us, you will find that I like to come up with ideas and Bob is the one that figures out how to make it work or support me in something I want to do or something I think ‘we’ should do.”
At a truck show early on in her career, Linda met WIT’s President, Ellen Voie, and became one of the Association’s first members. In 2011, she joined the WIT Board of Directors.
“As a woman in the trucking industry, I have witnessed many positive changes for women truck drivers,” she said. “Much of that, I believe, is due to the hard work of Ellen and Women In Trucking.”
“My philosophy is to have a good attitude, dress and drive as a professional, be open to new opportunities, and follow through with promises. Being a mentor to others that are entering this profession is an honour and something I take very seriously. I am often asked when we plan to retire, and our answer is, ‘when we quit having fun.’ So far, we both still look forward to getting into our truck and driving off into the sunset for another adventure,” Linda said.
