FIXTITLE Ingrid Brown.docx

SHATTERPROOF

The Story

Of

Ingrid Brown

You can learn a lot about a person in two simple ways. One, from their background. How they were taught to think, what was expected of them and who or what triggered their emotions. The building blocks of life are different in every case and cater specifically to each individual in molding their personality. As we age, the more life allows us to develop.

The other way you’re given an insight is by how a person honestly views their self. For instance, let’s take an individual that suffers from the ‘victim’ personality, or as I refer to it, P.P.M.S. They never do anything wrong. The world is so hard on them; the Poor-Pitiful-Me Syndrome. You won’t catch this type first in line helping another because they’re too busy thinking about themselves. “Why should I help them?” “Nobody ever helps me!” They play that role and most of the time to the extreme. We all know a few.

Now you take a person that considers them self a ‘helper’ then the sky is the limit. You can be on either end of the spectrum. An extrovert; the life of the party or shy, quiet and the most subtle of the group and still completely affect another with a positive demeanor. As long as the ‘giving factor’ remains present, you can’t go wrong. You can turn any situation, even a life time of struggle around by training yourself to love others. While lifting others around you, in turn, you’re strengthening yourself within. When you have the confidence to do mighty things, not only do you share your energy, you become unshakeable. Only then are you content with your life. No excess amount of money or lack of relationships taunt you. When a person is complete on the inside, it results in the overflow of joy. With joy comes happiness and peace of mind. In some cases, it consumes you. It becomes who you are and exactly how people identify you. You’re infectious with positivity and tough as nails at the same time.

It’s human nature to want to gravitate to those that you can relate with. When you’re punching life back with every grit possible, you don’t have time to take a step back. As it’s said, misery loves company. So we learn to weed out the negatives. To live a positive life, you have to surround yourself with just that. Ingrid Brown found her common ground within a club known as, Chi Town Large Cars. Sometimes you don’t notice that something is missing from your life until you realize that you finally have it. Complete, unconditional love as an equal is what came pouring into Ingrid’s life when she became a part of the CTLC family. The horns were sounded and the flood gates were opened! Once Ingrid was welcomed and accepted for being herself, all of her strong points came to the surface. Her fire that was dim shined bright again. Not that she was broken or lost, instead she had been revived.

Ingrid is from a very close-knit family, with one older brother whom she immediately praises. “He’s about five and a half years older than me, but he is my world. Growing up, he always took care of me the way a brother should,” she says. The two grew up in the country, raised on an apple orchard in Boone, North Carolina. She returned to her family farm in 1995 and still resides in the house she grew up in. The apple orchard is now a Christmas tree farm, but Ingrid’s memories are as clear as yesterday. Their parents met as young teenagers and together they strived to provide a good upbringing for them. Both were business owners for many, many years. Her mother was a florist for 27 years. While her father owned a road construction company, partnered with her uncle where he later retired. In order to be closer to her father’s plant, the family relocated to town. With her dad in charge of operations, Ingrid had access to most of his equipment. By 14, she was running his asphalt truck like a pro.

Determined to follow in her dad’s footsteps, her family still gave her ample opportunities to explore her talents. I hear her jubilant laugh, as she admits that she was a little tomboy the whole time and can remember her mom telling her to get out of the dirt and put on a dress. She had the best of both worlds. With a very involved family, including her grandparents, she was always being taught new and fun things at an early age. Starting from the industry of construction work, to helping on the orchard and a handful of other activities such as; clogging, skiing, ice skating and horseback riding. All in which she excelled. When she was in third grade, she joined the Grandfather Mountain Cloggers and traveled the country performing for seven years. The group entertained during pageants, half time shows, even inaugural balls. Before that, as young as three years old they had her on a pair of skis. By high school she was competing on a national level. Her eleventh grade year she won first place in the Junior Ski Patrol for the Southern Division. Then moved up as a contender for the National Title and finished 11th overall, out of 217. She was scouted by a number of colleges in hopes of landing a scholarship to race, but unfortunately during her senior year she severely damaged her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). For a number of years, between all of her hobbies and the family businesses, she spent the majority of her time during the winters at the ski slopes. If she wasn’t skiing, she was teaching others. To add to the level of difficulty, they added ice skating to her packed schedule. When her skis weren’t on her feet, they were replaced by ice skates. On her off season, she rode horses. Reminiscing, you can hear the gratitude in Ingrid’s voice. “My family worked hard to be able to give me the fortunate life that I had growing up. But my fondest memories go back to sitting on my dad’s lap while we pushed snow off the roads at night.” Entering competitions, clogging, all of it combined could never pull her away from the obvious.

Ingrid paid close attention to what was right in front of her. “I learned to run every piece of equipment that we had! Whatever it was, I hauled it… I pulled asphalt tankers, ran dozers and motor graders, you name it. They put so many options in our life that allowed us to try things and kept us constantly learning.” Right after graduating high school, Ingrid enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. She left for Parris Island located in South Carolina and served for two years. The self-discipline, respect and comradery from serving in the military impacted her life even more. She states, “I learned so much during that time. It was the challenge, knowing that men do ‘this’ so I’m going to do it. It’s the same way with trucking.”

Her first trucking company with no ties to the family operation was a refrigeration company out of North Carolina in the mid-90’s, pulling freight on the west coast. Initially, Ingrid’s first truck was a 1979 needle nose Diamond Reo dump truck that she still owns today. Next she purchased a 1999 379 Peterbilt. About two years later she bought a flatbed and switched companies. She wasn’t the biggest fan of pulling a flatbed in the cold and opted to buy a dry van. A few years later in 2003, she picked up another truck and also a 2004 reefer. After that, she went out on her own authority and in 2007 she bought herself a brand new stainless steel spread axil reefer. Her goal was to build her customer freight. With that as her focus, she took to the road on a mission traveling all 48 states, plus Canada. She obtained her Broker Certificate in 2008. By 2010, she had reached over 3 million safe miles. To date, Ingrid is now pushing four million.

After entering her first truck show in 2003, she’s been hooked and bringing home multiple awards ever since. Stepping on the scene as the first woman to present a show truck, she has paved the way for many women in trucking today. She walked away with a trophy, unknowingly aware of the barriers that she just broke. But one of her proudest contests stemmed from a conversation over heard on the radio back in 2004. Long story short, she challenged a gentleman to a driving rodeo at the Dallas Truck Show and all of the proceeds were to be donated to the Special Olympics. The idea caught national attention and it was deemed, Battle of the genders. That year they raised $12,700 AND she won the race! The fun benefit continued for another two years. Also in 2006, Ingrid was appointed by the board of Women In Trucking to be a part of the Driver Advisory Committee. She is still an active member.

April 2013, Ingrid went to work for Randall Miller Company, owned by a couple from her home town of Boone. She leaves out to the west coast pulling reefer and returns with produce. She initially started as a company driver for Randall and his wife, Angela driving a 2006 Peterbilt 379. “They’re good people to work with! I know that nobody is perfect, but these two are as close to perfect as you can get,” she says. For her birthday this past year in November she bought her most prized possession, her sidekick on the road; the beautiful Miss Daisy. Which was originally driven by a team running for the Randall Miller Company. When the opportunity became available to get her dream truck, Ingrid didn’t hesitate. She immediately made arrangements and Miss Daisy was paid in full. She then reactivated her authority on November 28th. Miss Daisy is her 2007 Peterbilt 379 Model show truck. 18-speed transmission with 342 rears and a 550 Caterpillar engine.

Along with a successful career of 35 years in the trucking industry as a professional driver, she also continues to give back to the younger generation as a Trucker Buddy ambassador. Being a member for over 10 years, she has her road trips down to a science and has mentored a variety of classes. She’s had students in deaf classes and autism classes. “Right now I have two. My 5th grade group is located in Ohio and I have a class with 22 students that are in 9th and 10th grade in Neynee, France.” She’s known for her pizza parties and when she can, she stops by the schools to let the children meet Miss Daisy. Each year she delivers a big bundle of birthday cards while she is away on the road. She has yet to make her way overseas, but she is shooting for this year.

With all of the miles under her belt and the awards and recognition tied to her name, her moment of redemption didn’t come in the form of a fancy ribbon or a title. For Ingrid, the truth hit her when she realized that she was acknowledged and accepted as a woman driver, totally equal to her club brothers. “I have never felt appreciated and loved like this. The way my Chi Town family treats me, brings out the absolute best in me. And together we all make a difference!” The timing couldn’t have been more perfect for Ingrid. She was at a point in her life where she holding back and not letting anyone in close to her. By keeping everyone at a distance, trying to play things safe was actually hurting her more than helping. With determination of being unbreakable, she retreated. Then one day she let down her walls… and since then, she hasn’t been the same. Chi Town Large Cars is an international, non-profit organization based out of Chicago, with over 140 members throughout 3 countries. CTLC was originally formed over 10 years ago by two men that shared the same dream of starting a club in the trucking industry with the core base of old school values as their main principles: HONOR, LOYALTY AND RESPECT. By truly displaying these three simple attributes with each member, the club transformed into a brotherhood. They all stand proud as a strong family united in helping others. Not only do they take care of each member, their spouses and children, but CTLC makes it a point to reach out beyond the trucking realm. Every Chi Town Large Car member is involved. I’m not talking about participating in truck shows for prizes. I mean, the behind the scenes magic. The men, women and kids of the club do charity events year round. They also host an annual benefit to raise money for the AshleyCan Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Any type of venue to bring awareness to a specific need, Chi Town Large Cars is front and center. Ingrid said it best, “Nothing makes me prouder than to be a part of such a beautiful family and being able to make a difference in this world. It’s priceless.”

Every trip out, she is able to return home each night and credits Randall and Angela. “I’m so blessed to have them! I love my job and they’re extremely good to me,” she says. She also enjoys visiting with her two daughters and three grandbabies. Her oldest daughter, Tiffanie is the mother of one year old, Kennedy and 4 year old Hayleigh. Lacie, Ingrid’s youngest has a little boy named, Layton who will be turning two in March. Both families reside in Georgia and like their mother, growing up they took an interest in competing. Ingrid tried to provide her children with the same opportunities as she was given. With the apple not falling far from the tree, both girls began riding horses early on and competed for a number of world titles.

However, we all know the picture to be painted does not always show rainbows and butterflies 24-7. Everyone’s story is like a canvas and starts out blank. With time, we’re given more dimension to add to the texture of our image. Meaning, we hit our bumps along the way but you pick yourself up, grow thicker skin and learn from it. Everything, bad or good helps shape who we are. Ingrid has reached a humble point in her life where the happiness of others is the only importance needed. Her picture is complete, with little attention in the dark areas. Imagine if we can all strive to be at that same place in our own lives…