FIXTITLE Ray Dawson.docx

TO TRAVEL IS TO LIVE

The Story

Of

Ray Dawson

Those who love to travel have their own destination. Finding a running partner that shares your interests and spontaneity is a gift. Some travel to learn more about the world. To explore. Others want to simply enjoy change. Inevitably, wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow. You get to see what a tiny place you occupy in this world. While also realizing there are many more places to visit. Once you begin to appreciate traveling, the mind can never break away from the journey. There is no known antidote for the traveling bug.

Different cities show us various customs, cultures and personalities. Beauty lies in the simplest things. Everyone should get out and vacation some. Visit in different places. This freedom from home allows you a break from reality. A fresh view. A great author once said, “We live in a wonderful world full of artistry, charm and adventure. There is no end to the experiences available if only we seek them with open eyes.”

Living on the road is fueled by a desire to move. As if, to satisfy a curiosity. You become a stranger to a new area. You get to make new friends. There is a feeling that only comes from traveling that can rejuvenate your being. Heading out on the road to unknown or long awaited surroundings, sparks excitement for the list of possibilities. All travel has its advantages.

Ray Dawson and his wife, Leita have been together for 42 years, married 38 of them. In three years, the couple plan to retire and make traveling the country their full-time jobs. For the last 47 years Ray has been adding the miles to his professional trucking career, now totaling close to 3 million miles. He found his first trucking job with a produce company located in McClure, Ohio. He was born in Belmore, Ohio. His family moved to Grelton when Ray was six. This trucking company was small, but big enough to offer Ray exactly what he was looking for. An opportunity to travel and start his dream job. The first truck he landed in was a 238 GMC Astro, with a 10-speed transmission. He ran over the road, primarily the east coast area until the 80’s. Then he ran the western region in Colorado and the Dakotas. During the last four years, Ray delivered farm machinery from Michigan to Florida and back. For 20 years, Ray remained loyal to the company until they sold out in 1989.

Let’s rewind a bit and let me give you some details on how Ray grew up. That alone will give you an insight to his outstanding work ethic. Ray is the baby of nine children. Five brothers and three sisters. His mother stayed home to tend to the full house and his father worked on the family’s cattle farm. Ray was brought up where everyone in the household worked their share of chores, every day. Manning a farm back then was entirely hands-on. He began feeding the cattle at the same time he started attending school. Two of his older brothers were already in trucking and would take Ray along for long trips. He said, “I can remember when I was seven years old and I’d ride with my oldest brother back and forth from the farm in Ohio to Louisville, hauling cattle. As much as I loved getting to be in the truck, I loved traveling the most!”

By the age of 14, Ray was working the farm after school and on the weekends. When he had extra time, he also hauled grain for the neighbors driving a 6 cylinder 2-speed bubble nose farm truck. Once he reached 16 and licensed, he began hauling grain full-time. With so many hard working individuals in his family before him, he had no doubt that hard work paid off. It was nothing to him to put in a full day’s work after school, five days a week and then labor even harder on the weekends. There was no complaining; work had to be done. When there is a long line of discipline and purpose driven people in your family lineage, it’s only natural to fall in line with their regimen.

Ray earned his chauffeurs license at 18, but didn’t immediately start driving. Instead, he took a position working at a local body shop for a year and a half. Then a friend that was driving for a produce company told him they were looking to hire more drivers. Ray took that as his queue and everything else fell into place.

Two decades later, with a ton of experience under his belt Ray was forced to look at other options when that company closed their doors. A friend of his wanted to venture out and start his own trucking business. Ray made what he states as his big career move, and joined his colleague and started hauling industrial scraps. It was his initial introduction into this type of transportation and it turned out to be the best decision for his career. “For 10 years I drove for him and nearly doubled my wages,” he said.

Another fellow driver that worked alongside Ray branched out on his own and purchased a couple of trucks. After getting his business off the ground and running, he made Ray an offer that he couldn’t resist. 13 years later and with seven trucks on the road today, Ray has proven that big risks are worth taking. As long as you follow through with determination and performance.

Now Ray runs out of Dayton, Ohio through Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. He travels about four days out of the week, but even on them four days he is able to swing by his house due to the route passing near his home.

With a long, successful career in trucking Ray looks forward to traveling with Leita. Then it will only be for fun; not work. Leita has went out on the road with Ray many times. The two love traveling together. So much, that when they retire the plan is to purchase an RV and drive all over the United States. When Leita isn’t keeping Ray company driving, he has their two four-legged companions, Rommal and Scrappy. Rommal is their five year old Chihuahua. Little Scrappy is a Wire Hair Terrier and he is three.

Leita is currently employed at a can company, working full-time. The two met in the early 70’s and have been together ever since. They have three children, two sons and a daughter. And also four grandkids that they enjoy spending the majority of their off time with. All of their family lives in Ohio, which makes visiting easier.

Ray and Leita go camping quite often throughout Ohio and other areas in Michigan or Indiana. They try to take their grandchildren as much as possible. Traveling and camping are their two favorite hobbies, besides hitting up casinos. Ray says that he has no luck. So he usually leaves that area of expertise to Leita. He laughs, “She has all of the good luck! I donate, she wins.” On Ray’s down time, he likes to restore old cars. His current project is a 1965 Mustang GT.

Over the years, what Ray has learned and encourages other drivers to take with them is the understanding of their own worth as a driver. He says, “There will always be ups and downs, no matter who you drive for. Find a good company and stick with it. Gain experience and knowledge, then apply what you’ve learned to your own career and success will come.”