GREAT HOPE - Charles Redden
GREAT HOPE
Legend Nominee: Charles Redden
Not born into wealth or easy beginnings, as a young teenager this individual allowed the nurturing guidance of those around him to help shape his skill and abilities to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. Many years later, the first of his family to earn a college degree, with over a decade experience in creative painting, everything he had worked for was aligned. Then tragedy struck, pulling him back into the abyss of struggle.
He suffered the loss of his wife that cast him, along with his ambition to live, into a very dark place. His world went blank and he lost his way. During that state of grief, each bit of his existence began to fade. Reality set in; next, he lost his house. Everything familiar, was gone. Two years of despair and sorrow had run its course, he knew it was time to pick himself up and piece together what was left of his life.
Homeless, with nothing to his name and only a few dollars in his pocket, he found his way into the seat of a semi-truck. The long roads paved a way to escape his place of normalcy. Heartache was all that remained there. It was a bitter-sweet start to a new chapter. Often times, we don’t seek empathy and others are not sure how to extend solace. For many in similar situations, only silence offers the peace needed to heal.
He surrendered his heart to the good Lord and his mind and body to his job -driving a truck. The trucking industry provided this Legend driver a means of restoration. With great hope, he found his place within this giant world again.
This is the life story of Charles Redden.
FINDING HIS WAY
As a professional truck driver, Charles holds the torch for all the underdogs in life, held high and chin up, he runs proudly with the spirit of a lion. Before launching his career as a successful lease operator, his journey resembled a roller coaster ride featuring many ups and downs. Yet his strength and passion to excel prevailed. An Arkansas native and oldest of six children, Charles was destined to out grow his small community years before he found his calling.
At age 5, his eye for photographs and ability to duplicate an image by hand began to surface. A relative gifted Charles his first box of art supplies. Among the typical items were pencils, crayons and markers along with watercolor paints. That same year, in Kindergarten, one of his drawings won first place in the school’s art exhibit. Charles was a natural.
From age 12 to 19, he went to live with his grandmother in Marianna; a rural city further into the country lands about 100 miles from his siblings. Though art was his first love, earning money to purchase school supplies and clothing was his priority. With limited sources of income available in his new hometown, he found work picking peaches and apples for local farmers after school. During the summers he worked the cotton fields for $20 a day. Taught the value of hard work and discipline as a young boy, he developed a sense of purpose: his own potential.
He wasn’t the only person to recognize his efforts. The teachers at the local high school offered their mentorship, aiding Charles with his academics to maintain above average grades. All the while, managing to improve his artistic skills as he balanced work after hours too. His dedication paid off. Charles became the first student of his high school to receive a 2-year scholarship from Remington College; a non-profit college offering courses focused on career-specific training. Afterwards, Charles was accepted into Pratt Institute; a private non-profit university located in Brooklyn, New York, primarily known for its highly ranked programs, such as fine arts.
Pratt Institute is accredited as one of the most prestigious colleges in the northeast. Given the opportunity to receive such a level of education that he had worked so hard to attain as an art major, was a personal goal put in motion during his teenage years as he spent hours in the fields picking cotton during the hottest days of the year. However, obtaining his degree at Pratt Institute falls second in line on Charles’s list of accomplishments. The day he switched from running as a company driver to a lease purchase operator, marks his proudest moment to-date. Though his decision to join the trucking industry was not exactly planned, but rather a strategy to survive financially… and unknowing, for the wellbeing of his health, as well.
“Driving a truck became therapeutic for me. When my first wife passed, I just let everything go. It was an extremely difficult time for me. Then I got to a point in my life when I knew I had to make something happen. I needed a fresh start. I just reached the point in my life where I didn’t have a choice but to face what happened and move on. When I started driving, I went over the road for months and it was everything I never knew I needed.”
THEN & NOW
After graduating from college, Charles understood the challenges stacked against him as an artist pursuing full-time work. Having to rely on artwork sales, coming onto the scene new and unknown, the plan of action was to offer his skills in a career field on high demand. Then, appeal to its finer niche that requires his specific qualifications. In the field of medicine, where science and art combine, a medical illustrator is an artistic professional with knowledge of the human and/or animal anatomy who create detailed images for use of learning. Charles had narrowed down his dream to one set goal.
Again, fate has a way of interrupting our lives, no matter how meticulous we are when planning the future. Upon the tragic passing of his mother, Charles relocated closer to his family, as his plans fell to the wayside. Not completely steering away from painting, he found a lane in the advertising business as a production artist designing and painting billboards.
“I did that for nine years and the whole learning experience is beyond words. The guy that hired me became my mentor, I discovered a lot about myself as an artist during that time period. Since I was young, I’ve never been one to back down from hard work, but in that line of business I put in plenty of long hours. That was before everything became digital. I painted those massive-size billboards by hand, I was able to showcase my work, but as the times changed, the demand for graphic reproduction took over and the need for hand-painting artists in the billboard business became a thing of the past.”
In order to place his finished billboards in position up high to assimilate the most exposure, Charles obtained a Class B license to operate a crane truck. He recalls being advised to get his Class A license also, that way if business ever slowed down, he could always rely on a job driving a commercial truck. Referring to his early training as an artist pursuing a profession within the workforce, securing a job in a permanent career field, such as the trucking industry meant long-term employment, but instead he opted to push the invitation to the side for the time being. Nine years later, his role as a painter was no longer necessary in the advertising business.
In 2000, Charles found work at a concrete company as a machine operator. For 7 years he was able to avoid the obvious, then eventually gave in. He got his CDL and began filling in as a driver running local work, pulling flatbed when needed. After a break of solitude in dealing with the loss of his wife, his refuge came in the means of 18 wheels and a reefer trailer. Just shy of a year, Charles stayed on with his first trucking company traveling all 48 states. Each day, mending his soul; slowly returning to the vibrant, energetic man we know today.
He then switched companies, continuing to run long haul as a company driver. He finished his last three years there as a driver trainer. As a mentor to new drivers, he enjoyed helping them find their identity as professional truck drivers. He says, “When I first started out, it was like a fresh start. Just being able to get away and work at the same time. Then, I began to really love what I do! People spend good money on getting degrees to the highest level possible, which is great because that’s what was engrained in us at college: be unique, embrace authenticity, know your talent, share your art… but I had no clue the money that was possible doing what I do now. I’m still doing all of the above, except in another beautiful form. My one regret is not getting into trucking sooner!”
His days as a driver trainer, Charles laid emphasis on the need to teach safe, fundamental driving. Also, the importance of eliminating stress before taking hold of a steering wheel. Adding, “I tried to keep everything positive when training. I explained that in doing so, you can make life as great as you want it to be. Believe me, I know the difference. I’ve said many times, driving a truck is an adventure and if you’re lucky enough, you’ll have a good time doing it.” July 2017, Charles joined the driving force of Navajo Express, Inc. based out of Denver, Colorado. In light of searching for an established trucking company that was large enough to support his plans of becoming an owner operator, he discovered the well-known company as the place where he could flourish as a driver and not be known as just another number.
Initially coming on as a company driver, he made the transition to lease operator two months later. Charles drives a 2006 KW T680 from coast to coast, stays out one month at a time and returns home for up to five days. Just shy of reaching his million-mile mark, his favorite places to travel are Las Vegas, Nevada and the east coast, especially further up north and over the George Washington bridge. During his time off, he enjoys painting the many different scenic views he witnesses from all over the country. He says, “A lot of my previous work came as requests from athletes and entertainers wanting self-portraits, which I’m very fond of because of the uniqueness and beauty is never the same. Each person has their own distinct features, but it’s in their eyes -I don’t just see their appearance, my artwork is an interpretation of who they are- In their eyes I imagine their feelings; what brings them joy and laughter, sadness or worry. Their face is raw, honest and exposed. Everything we embody as a person. As an artist, every detail is personal. That’s why painting is so beautiful, and art should be appreciated, but is so easily overlooked. For my most recent work, I take photographs of stunning scenery settings that I plan to paint and add to my art collection for purchase.” You can view some of Charles’ artwork on his Facebook page, The Art of Charles Redden.
He has nicely fused his passion of artistry with his trucking career, and also found love again. Charles married his longtime friend, Jacqueline. Together, they share a beautiful family with Jacqueline’s 5 children and 3 grandbabies. With great hope, Charles was reawakened to life through trucking. I love how his story proves that we all have our own obstacles in life, our own personal journey to experience.
“All you can do is take it one day at a time. The good and the bad, just take it all in, filter it, keep the positive and let the rest go. Keep pushing forward, or as I like to do -drive a truck.”
-Charles Redden