The Oakley Podcast

*From time to time we’ll re-air a previous episode of the show that our newer audience may have missed.* Our pilot episode of the show is an interview with Justin Oakley, one of the leaders of our family business. On this episode, we talk to Justin about his view on the family legacy and what he sees coming in the future for family-owned trucking companies like ours. Oakley Trucking is a family-ow...

2020 has been one heck of a year. Host Jeremy Kellett encourages our listeners to think back to good holiday memories and make some new ones this year as he wishes a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.  The Oakley Podcast will be back in January.  Oakley Trucking is a family-owned and operated trucking company headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. For more information, check...

On this week’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by Sherry Eads and Laura Floyd, wives of Oakley owner-operators to find out what life is like from their perspective as they manage their own jobs, being moms and keeping in touch with their husbands while they’re on the road. Key points in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: good driving manne...

On this week’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by operations manager Nick Dulaney to discuss how much owner-operators can net after calculating base pay, expenses, and bonuses. Key points in today’s conversation include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: the driver lifestyle (1:39) Hopper division pay breakdown (6:10) Explaining the anniversary bonus (11:58) End-dump...

On this week’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett sits down with Peyton Clark and Alex Kin, dispatchers from the end-dump division. With 80 drivers between them, Peyton and Alex help make sure their owner-operators are taken care of, getting miles, and getting to spend time at home.  Key points in the conversation: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Submit photos for the Oakley cal...

On this week’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett sits down with Kell Shenep and Austin Allen, dispatchers from the end-dump division. Kell and Austin are responsible for nearly 100 owner-operators and they share their behind the scenes stories of dispatching.  Key points in the conversation: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Staying healthy mentally and physically (1:22) Austin’s...

On today’s special edition of the podcast, Jeremy and Corey host the Oakley Owner-Operators of the Year award show where dispatchers from each division announce their honorees. Each dispatcher has in the ballpark of 50-60 owner-operators and they have to choose an honoree who has excelled in on-time pickups and deliveries, customer service, safety, having a positive attitude, good communication, a...

Jeremy Kellett provides an important update on this additional episode of the Oakley Podcast and is joined by dispatchers Randy Caldwell and Clayton Smith and owner-operators David Carothers and Donnie Williams for the discussion. The announcement highlights the importance of preventing contamination to customer products. Key points in the conversation: Introducing this episode’s panel (1:32) Exam...

On today’s Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with Bradley Simpson and Hunter Horton from the pneumatic division. Bradley and Hunter share inside information about the pneumatic division—freight, customer service, retention, and more. Highlights from this episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Keeping your paperwork up-to-date (2:11) Introducing Bradley and Hunter (3:33) Foster...

In today’s episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellet is joined by Jared Flinn, co-founder of BulkLoads.com . BulkLoads.com connects shippers, carriers, and brokers together and has a network of more than 10,000 members that moved approximately $7 billion in commodities in 2019. Together they discuss the outlook on the dry bulk industry. Highlights from the episode include: Need to Know wit...

In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, Corey Huey fills in as host and leads a roundtable discussion with Kent Childers, Dustin Eagle and Jeremy Paul from the recruiting department. This team has decades of experience and has heard just about every question there is about working at Oakley.  Highlights from the episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Anniversary Bonuses (2:02) Discussi...

In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by Oakley safety manager Randy Rymel to discuss avoiding distractions on the road. With 71 percent of truck accidents happening as a result of distracted driving, it’s important to make a plan to keep your head in the game while on the road.  Highlights from the episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Planning ahead t...

On this week’s Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett is joined by a special guest, Al Robertson, the oldest son in the Duck Dynasty family. Jeremy and Al go way back, and they catch up on old times and bring us up to speed on what the Duck Commander crew has been up to since their show ended. Their conversation focuses on new adventures, faith, and family. Highlights from the episode include: Need t...

In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett goes over updates from Oakley departments and talks with Bryan Walden about capitalizing on tire discounts. With tires costing several hundred dollars a pop, it’s important to take advantage of the different discount programs that are available. Highlights from the episode include: Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Submitting recruiting c...

In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with “Peterbilt Steve” Steve Carbone from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has one of the best 389 Peterbilt inventories in the country. Their discussion highlights how he manages his business, how he prepares a truck to sell and how he’s built up his inventory. Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: Swapping divisions to change jobs without leaving...

In this episode of the Oakley Podcast, host Jeremy Kellett talks with operations manager Nick Dulaney about all the ways daily life is impacted by truck drivers in light of Driver Appreciation Week. Points in the conversation worth noting:  Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: saying thank-you to drivers for making America a better place to live (1:28) Interesting facts about drivers (3:50) Breaking...

Jason Webb and Scotty Crisco, load coordinators on the end-dump division, sit down with host Jeremy Kellett to discuss retention and driver turnover in the latest episode of the Oakley Podcast. Topics talked about include:  Need to Know with Vickie Chastain: avoiding distracted driving (1:21) Primary causes of driver turnover and how Oakley keeps turnover low (6:47) Benefits of referrals from our...

In the second part of our roundtable discussion, Jerry Dunbar, Robert Tennie and Freddie Baker join host Jeremy Kellett, director of recruiting at Oakley Trucking, to discuss the state of truck driving in 2020. The roundtable guests have more than 110 years of driving experience combined. The three owner-operators represent different segments of Oakley. Jerry comes from the hopper division, Robert...

Jerry Dunbar, Robert Tennie and Freddie Baker join host Jeremy Kellett, director of recruiting at Oakley Trucking, to discuss the state of truck driving in 2020. The roundtable guests have more than 110 years of driving experience combined. The three owner-operators represent different segments of Oakley. Jerry comes from the hopper division, Robert from the end-dump division, and Freddie from the...

Hopper dispatchers and coordinators Russell Vallance and Bryan Hill join host Jeremy Kellett, director of recruiting at Oakley Trucking, to discuss several topics regarding the hopper division.  Need To Know: Fuel Savings (1:23) Important Announcements for Drivers (2:30) Introducing Russell and Bryan (4:45) Hopper Division Check-in (6:50) Need guys willing to work weekends to account for increased...

In this episode, Jeremy Kellett, Director of Recruiting at Oakley Trucking, is joined by Mark Steck who is the Heavy Duty Account Manager at Corpus Christi Freightliner/Western Star. Jeremy and Mark discuss a number of topics, including:  Important Announcements for Drivers (2:16) Need to Know: Staying Healthy (6:00) Riding through Mark’s history in the trucking industry (8:38) Knowing the best ti...

In this episode, Jeremy Kellett, Director of Recruiting at Oakley Trucking, is joined by Roger Carson and Dustin Barnett from the Safety Department here at Oakley.  “Need to Know” with Vickie Chastain: Accidents (2:32) What to do first when you have an accident (5:00) Ensuring your camera is functioning correctly (14:09) How the Safety team deals with filing claims (23:43) Distracted driving due t...

The conversation covers:  “Need to Know” with Vickie Chastain: Getting the Oakley Discount (1:32) Describing Port 33 (7:00) Driving business to Oakley from the port (15:00) How the Terminal coordinates with Dispatch (27:13) The Oakley acquisition of  Port 33 has been an exciting opportunity for growth within the Oakley family. Thanks to Justin and Justin for joining the show!  Oakley Trucking is a...

Nick and Clayton explain how dispatchers are trained to be the best communicators for our Owner Operators:  “Need to Know” with Vicky Chastain: Preventing Contaminations (2:00) How we hire dispatchers at Oakley (4:30) Training on the road with Owner Operators (16:13) Communicating & 24/7 access for our drivers (29:00) Clayton and Nick are vital to the experience we’re able to provide for our Owner...

The duo discusses how they began working with Oakley and all the unique features of the Oakley Trailer products:  This Week’s “Need to Know” (1:30) Overview of MAC Trailers (4:00) How MAC and Oakley Starting Working Together (6:13) Unique Features for Oakley Trailers (15:52) The MAC Trailer Quality Difference (25:00) Mike and David are valuable partners in what we do at Oakley. Thanks for joining...