Two Truck Country technician training program students come from opposite ends of the age spectrum. Diesel, 19, entered the training program fresh after graduating high school. Meanwhile, Chris, 53, took a detour on his way to the program, initially pursuing a career as an airplane pilot and other opportunities before making his way to the Truck Country team.  In this episode, host Ray Clark visits with the men about the similarities — and differences —they learn coming from different age perspectives.  ..read more

Ray, along with his colleague Jolene, celebrated National Apprenticeship Week by welcoming a members of Truck Country's apprenticeship program. Trey H., from our Dubuque dealership, and Cesar H., from our Hampshire location, talk about their experiences as part of the program.  ..read more

Truck Country's Technical Training Program's newest class members have come from far and wide to join the company. Class members range in age from 18 to 52 and come from all walks of life with diverse backgrounds. The students have done everything from completing maintenance work on U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters to fixing scuba diving equipment in Guam and flying airplanes. One class member didn't even apply to work for the company but still has found his way to the apprenticeship program.  Get to know our new training group and learn about their early impressions of the program in the ..read more

Ray's not pulling any punches! As diesel repair shops struggle to fill technician positions, it is not a good time to take a passive approach when recruiting future staff members, podcast host Ray Clark says.  Ray, joined by guest Jay Goninen, co-founder and president of WrenchWay, puts out a call to shops everywhere to be more proactive in engaging with students enrolled in tech programs but also local high schools and middle schools.  ..read more

The recruiting season is always open in the trucking and transportation industry! Recently, Truck Country and Stoops training programs welcomed newcomers to their diesel tech training classes with cool events at their facilities. The programs welcomed new "recruits" by hosting Apprentice Signing Day events, where newcomers to the three-year program were invited to ink their contracts in a similar style to how often college athletes sign their letters of intent.  The latest episode of "More Than Just Trucks" provides an overview of the training programs and talks about the hoopla surround ..read more

Following up on last month's discussion about making diesel careers appealing for ladies, Ray visits with a panel of women who have found careers in the shop.  Our panel discusses what attracted them to become technicians, their personal experiences in the shop, and how they are perceived by their coworkers.  Panelists for this episode are:  • Melissa Petersmann, aka The Diesel Queen, is a social media influencer who previously was a heavy equipment technician for John Deere.  • Courtney Sturman joined the Truck Country - North Chicago team in March 2021. A proud new parent ..read more

As competition continues to recruit more diesel technicians to the trucking industry, many companies are looking to appeal to an untapped pool of talent in women. Surveys indicate that women make up just 1-3% of technicians currently in the industry. In this episode, host Ray Clark, visits with Jay Goninen, of WrenchWay, and Jenny DeArmond, a corporate recruiter for Stoops Freightliner-Quality Trailer, about what can be done to make technician positions more appealing to women.   ..read more

In this episode of More Than Just Trucks, Josh Jorgenson and Drew Hepler discuss a pair of exciting customer events that are planned to showcase Freightliner's new electric-powered trucks, the eCascadia and eM2, at Stoops' Lima, Ohio, and Truck Country's Hampshire, Ill. dealerships. Josh and Drew go over plans for the events and outline what attendees can expect to learn. For more info or to register to attend, please visit truckcountry.com ..read more

In the latest episode of "More Than Just Trucks," Ray flips roles with McCoy Group Marketing Director Jim Connely, as they mark the podcast's 1,000th download. Jim asks Ray about how the podcast got started, and the guys preview some exciting upcoming events at Truck Country, Stoops and McCoy Group.  ..read more

This month, host Ray Clark is joined by Drew Hepler, Truck Country's on-highway sustainability solutions manager, to provide all you need to know about the emergence of Freightliner's new electric-powered trucks. Learn about the current state of the electric vehicles market, as well as the direction they could lead the transportation industry in the future.  ..read more