GIRARD, Ohio – Amanda DeMartinis spent more than eight years on the open road as a CDL truck driver for Aim Transportation Solutions.
She drove in a territory mostly in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Indiana. She crossed interesting bridges, saw wild rivers and animals, as well as many places she might never have seen.
“When I started driving, I was just loving being in the truck. … It was just so much fun to see everything,” DeMartinis said. “You don’t always have money to go on a road trip, but if you’re in the truck, you get to see cities that you might not necessarily drive through.”
DeMartinis shared her story at an Aim and Women in Trucking Association event Tuesday, which gave both girls and boys, including a local Girl Scout troop, a chance to learn more about the industry. Held at Aim’s maintenance shop, the children got to climb into the cab of a big rig, drive in the Women in Trucking simulator and talk to professionals in the industry.
“We are so incredibly excited to be hosting this event today,” said Jessica Bochy Deane, Aim vice president of marketing. “Aim is deeply involved in the Valley and the Youngstown community and economic development within those regions. We’ve really seen an opportunity to open the eyes of children within the community as to careers that are out there that they might not be considering and might have never been mentioned to them.”
Bochy Deane said there are many lucrative and rewarding jobs in the trucking industry, jobs experts say will be harder for AI to replace. While only 15% of trucking professionals are female, she said she hopes by exposing children ages 8 to 10 to some options that are not taught in school, the idea that trucking is for both girls and boys might stick.
“So we thought this was a great opportunity to bring in the Women in Trucking simulator trailer and let them see what it’s like to drive a CDL truck, be out on a big rig and feel, you know, the wind in their hair, and be independent in that way,” Bochy Deane said. “And hear about what the job opportunities are like here at Aim and within all of the trade professions, because there’s so much opportunity out there.”
Scott Fleming, president of Aim, said the simulator trailer first offers computers that teach the basics of how to drive the truck before the children get to the simulator.
“Then there’s the big simulator where they can really feel it rock and roll, and the feeling of what a big truck feels like to go down the road,” Fleming said.
The Women in Trucking Association has a mission to encourage more women to get into the trucking industry, which has been male dominated.
“Women in Trucking has come in, made a real push for the opportunities of women to get into the transportation market, whether it’s logistics, hiring, driving a truck, dispatching, all these different opportunities that aren’t really the traditional route of school,” Fleming said.
With about 12,000 vehicles at about 150 operations and 1,100 employees throughout the U.S., Aim Transportation Solutions is pushing to make sure they have the best class of employees and skills for the company, including training programs and workforce initiatives.
Fleming said Aim is looking for the best candidate, whether they are male or female. He is more interested in how they act and treat other people, as well as their work ethic and how they fit into the company culture. As a family company, he was happy to see so many of the employees’ children come out for the event as well.
DeMartinis was recently promoted to assistant safety director at Aim, which she said is due to how family oriented the company is and how much it values training its employees and promoting them.
DeMartinis said all the children she spoke to seemed excited to try out the simulator, including her own daughter who was in attendance.
DeMartinis’ message to the kids: “Not only can you do anything you want to – don’t let anything stop you – but that it can be a heck of a lot of fun.”
Pictured at top: Adora Kaleugher and Jenny Fall, director of driver engagement for the Women in Trucking Association.
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