Enjoying Life OTR

#53 Proactive Roadmap to Conquer Challenges, Nurture Relationships and Embrace Adventure with Jess Graham

• Cindy Tunstall, Jess Graham and Dino Grigoriadis • Episode 53

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Jess Graham, a thriving independent owner-operator, shares her inspiring journey of reinvention and success in the trucking industry. Join us as Jess recounts her transformative experiences, from creatively homeschooling her daughter in the cab to masterfully navigating the complexities of life on the open road. With confidence and wisdom, Jess offers invaluable strategies for maintaining strong family connections while managing a demanding career and building a supportive community within the trucking world.

As a vocal advocate for positive change, Jess candidly discusses industry challenges and provides practical, empowering advice for addressing and reporting workplace issues. Her proactive approach and dedication to improving the field serve as a beacon of hope and resilience for drivers at all stages of their careers. Jess's journey to becoming an owner-operator, bolstered by strategic networking and determination, exemplifies the power of seizing opportunities and fostering supportive relationships.

Discover Jess's unique perspective on embracing the joys of trucking life while proactively addressing its hurdles. From maintaining self-care routines to achieving work-life balance, Jess shares innovative solutions for common challenges. Learn how she combats isolation by budgeting for adventures and cultivating meaningful connections on the road. Tune in for practical tips on enhancing your trucking experience, from advocating for improved industry standards to maximizing travel opportunities and achieving personal goals.

This episode promises to inspire and empower listeners, offering a roadmap for finding fulfillment, success, and happiness in the dynamic world of trucking. Whether you're a seasoned driver or considering a career on the road, Jess Graham's story and insights will fuel your journey towards a rewarding life in trucking.

Jess Graham is an active member of Enjoying Life OTR Facebook group and active on social media as RigJess

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Enjoying Life OTR—because LIVING WELL is worth the effort. We’re sparking curiosity, adventure, & resilience while honoring drivers and embracing a healthier trucking life. Discover creative life hacks & practical strategies to make the most of your time on the road. Join the movement!Explore, enjoy the food, snap the pic, and share tips on saving money along the way.

This podcast is for new and veteran drivers looking to stay mentally, physically, and financially strong while embracing the freedom of the road. We bring you real stories, expert advice, & practical tools to help you thrive, not just survive, in the trucking life.

Connect with Us: Join the Enjoying Life OTR Facebook Group – Share your journey, find trip recommendations, & connect with fellow drivers. Follow our Facebook page – Get the latest podcast episodes, trucking tips, & entertaining content. Visit our website – Explore our journey, see community highlights, and access resources for a healthier, more balanced OTR life.

For questions or to be a guest, email our host, Cindy Tunstall at EnjoyingLifeOTR@gmail.com #HealthierTruckers #EnjoyingLifeOTR #TruckerWellness #OTRLife #WorkLifeBalance



Dino Grigoriadis:

Hey there, road warriors, this is Dino, your roadie and guide on the side, coming at you with another fantastic episode of Enjoying Life, otr. Today we've got a special treat for you, whether you're a seasoned veteran or a newbie hitting the asphalt for the first time, we're diving deep into the world of trucking with the amazing Jess Graham. She's going to share some incredible insights on making the most of life on the road, advocating for positive change in our industry and finding your tribe out there. So buckle up and get ready for a ride that'll inspire both the ladies and gents behind the wheel. Let's hammer down.

Announcer:

Enjoying Life OTR conversations that inspire curiosity, adventure and resilience. We're honoring drivers and sharing their adventures and becoming healthier truckers. Stay tuned to discover creative life hacks and practical strategies for enhancing our well-being and making the most of our time on the road. Welcome to Enjoying Life, otr.

Cindy Tunstall:

Welcome to the show, Jess.

Jess Gra:

It is great to be here. I know we've tried to connect for a long time and my schedule has just been crazy.

Cindy Tunstall:

I've been looking forward to having you on the show since the very beginning, so I'm super excited for my audience to meet you. So before we get into the nitty gritty, why don't you do this? Tell me just a little bit about your career, what kind of career you're running, just so everybody can kind of get to know you just a little bit before we dig in.

Jess Gra:

I am a 12 year veteran of the industry. I started in 2012 and I got into trucking as a way to get out of an abusive relationship, so I I got my CDL and then I went home and I picked up my daughter and I homeschooled her on the truck for that first year, while I got my feet underneath me, and we just have been rocking and rolling ever since. I'm now an independent owner operator operating under my own authority out of Georgia, and I haul dry van, but occasionally, like this week and next week, I'll be hauling our reefer trailer for my partner. I've learned to get my um or I've made connections with other drivers and really grown my my friends and my group and I found my tribe. So that's where I'm at. Today is like I found my tribe of women that we all have similarities and you know like I lost my old life when I got into trucking, but I I finally, at at this point, have found my tribe.

Cindy Tunstall:

Yeah, I love that. It's a little bit of a transition, even for me. I think I've been only driving four years and I noticed my friend group at home has, you know, gotten much smaller, as you would expect. You know, because I'm not here as often. But I'm also growing a tribe and it does take a little time. Any advice you have for a driver that's new to making that transition, any tips that would help them to be able to do that as well?

Jess Gra:

My first piece of advice for adjusting from a civilian life, as I call it, to a driver's life is to really be clear with your family and friends, because over the years you'll find that you won't get invited to as much.

Jess Gra:

It's lonely out here. We have a very isolated life and I have, you know, parts of my career where I suffered with like gray days is what I call them, where I'm just like nobody even knows I'm out here or what I'm doing. And so I actually had the the come to Jesus talk with my sister and said we both know I'm not going to be at 90% of the things you're doing, but I need a hundred percent of the invites. I need to know every time you're planning something that you want to include me in it, whether I'm going to be there or not. I'm going to do my best to be there. So that was, that was a realization that when I had that talk with my family, it made sure that they were, they were aware that, yeah, I am changing, I am growing, I'm, I've got a weird schedule, but we still value you and want you to know that your, your connection to us is important.

Cindy Tunstall:

I love that so much. I love that so much. It's so practical and it's so simple and so effective. I think probably drivers that have been driving for years and years could have that conversation, you know, cause the family at home is used to them, and then I think the family at home also may be worrying. You know, I don't want to make you feel bad because you're missing out on the party, you know. So I love this tip, even for drivers that have been on the road for years. Great, great advice.

Jess Gra:

Every holiday that comes up, I get a text from my sister here's our schedule, here's our plans. I'm making reservations like Mother's Day reservation here our schedule, here's our plans. I'm making reservations like mother's day reservation here. Do I need to put a plus one for you? You know like, and I tell her yes or no or like what my scheduler you know she gives me that leeway. So it definitely was one of those things that helped transition me back into like not a nameless, baseless, homeless person barely existing to. I'm back into being active and part of my family.

Cindy Tunstall:

I love that so great. Okay, so, jess, you own your own truck now. Is that right? You're not a company driver.

Jess Gra:

No, five years ago I bought the black widow and with the help of my partner it was. It was a scary thing that he's like I promise you I'm not gonna let you fail, and his brother the same thing. We're like, we have got you and they've been true to their word. Um, we work together as a phenomenal team, it's, it's. It's. We operate two MC numbers and two DOT numbers, cause each brother has their own, and then I swing between the two. I'm technically employed by both. So, like on, you know, while my truck is under ABM, I also am on the insurance for GTO so that, like, if Elias can never recover a truck or equipment or things like that, I can, I can step in and easily just grab his equipment and go, or whatever we need, whatever we need to do, to work together as a team. Because when you are an independent owner operator, it's a lonely road and I've watched my friends that have one truck and they don't have a group that can work together like that. It makes it that much harder on them. So we work together, the three of us, to make sure that we're all pretty equal in. You know, no one is going to hire a driver unless all of us have a driver and then we go and hire the next round and so that all the all the companies have the same, so that we're all profitable and and functioning well, because it's all in our best interest to work together, so that we're all like teaming together. You know, stepping out of the company driver position which I was comfortable being a company driver for the rest of my career like I I never.

Jess Gra:

I'm not one of those people like I dream of owning my own truck. No, I did not. I, I hated every minute I it's. You know, when you own a truck, people forget that, that you're married to that truck. If you look at my TikTok it's, you know my vacation and then also me working on my truck. That's literally the only two pieces of content I make is fixing my truck and then going home to take a vacation.

Jess Gra:

Every time I come into the yard I jump in the pickup truck and I drive around Atlanta and I collect parts that you know need to get fixed this week and you know we work together. I'll get, you know, the brothers will be doing the physical labor on the trucks and I'm driving around Atlanta collecting three trucks, parts for three trucks, you know, because they're never all at the same spot. You got to go over here to get this part and over there to get that part. And then you know each state freight liner doesn't know where their parts are and they'll send you all over only for you to go back to the original dealership and get the part because they found it, you know. But chasing mechanics, you know. We don't go to the dealerships because we have old trucks. Mine's going to be 30 years in November.

Jess Gra:

It's a 30-year-old truck. Matthew's is 27. Alliance's is 25. You know. So we run old equipment but it's well-maintained.

Jess Gra:

I just rebuilt my motor for the second time on this truck with. It's got about three million miles on it. Well, but she's a good, solid, solid truck and I've made it comfortable. We've gutted the interior and done a lot of things. I know you've seen the pictures on on some of the groups when they're like what's the inside of your sleeper look like? And then they're like what I know you're so good. Everybody always comes on yours. It's just I.

Jess Gra:

I now have that flexibility, like you know, when you're a company driver, I, I mean I always had things in my truck to make it personalized. When I was a company driver. I you know sticky tape or the double-sided velcro pictures and artwork hanging in my truck. And all of my trucks had a name and a theme. You know one truck was very unicorn centered and you know I had a unicorn, a faux taxidermy stuffed unicorn head that had Mardi Gras beads hanging off of it, just for my travels. And you know one truck I got it was a mermaid theme and it had a very beachy beach house vibe. You know, just the personality of the truck tells me how we're going to do it and what its name is. I love that very creative I love that.

Cindy Tunstall:

That is what a great setup you have there, and it's so great. You have that relationship where y'all trust each other and you have each other's back. How did y'all get to know each other? Were y'all working for the same company at the time, or how did this relationship develop?

Jess Gra:

I met my current business partner in Laredo and we were both delivering at Continental and we both had to drop our trailers and go get money out of an ATM for a cash lump or fee that neither one of us knew we needed. But before I offered to Bob tail over there instead of making him drop his trailer, um, we were standing in the line to check in and he's talking to another driver and I'm listening to his accent and I'm like where are you from? And he goes you're not going to believe me or you won't. You've never heard of it, I think is what he said. And I said it's either Ethiopia or Eritrea. And he kind of was taken aback. He's like you're the first person I've ever met that knew exactly where I was from. I said, well, my daughter's dad is Ethiopian and so I'm used to your accent. So I just, I just don't want to. I I didn't want to call you Ethiopian if you're Eritrean or you know that kind of thing. So, um, we ended up Bob tailing up and he bought me lunch so that you know, thank you for not making me drop my trailer and we could just, you know, head back together. Yeah, you know we, we exchanged numbers and he said if you're ever in Laredo again, we'll meet up for lunch, you know, um.

Jess Gra:

And then he spent the next five years trying to get me to come drive for him. And I said I said no, I liked that. My company, I'm a, I'm a princess here and you know I get shiny new trucks all the time and you know I just I have a lot of good benefits here. So, no, but about five years ago there was a petition that was passed around at a truck show that I was helping pass around to get Ray Martinez to look, who was then the head of the FMCSA. We were wanting him to actually take a step back and look at the condition of these mega training fleets. And so we started a petition and we passed it around and we got the signatures and we presented it to them.

Jess Gra:

Well, the president of the women in trucking organization at the time did not like that and she went and bullied my company into firing me. They didn't fire me, correct, and I have the email chain. So I'm never afraid to say this because I have the email chain. And she is five years later she's talking about it. Nothing's happened. So, um, she knows she was wrong. But they didn't fire me, but they starved me out because they realized she, she, we technically can't fire her, but we can make it impossible for her to want to stay and and I loved that company with my whole heart. So my miles went from 36, 3,800 a week to about 16 to 18. So that is starving. Yeah, right after that, you know that went down.

Cindy Tunstall:

What exactly was the issue that she was having a problem with that wanting to get you fired. What exactly were you doing that was so offensive?

Jess Gra:

I'm a part of Real Women in Trucking and the whole organization was founded to address the sexual harassment and rape of women drivers in the training fleet, like with education information, and we would like policy change federally to protect women drivers that are attempting to enter the industry, because one in six women will make it out of their career or out of their first year and into a career as a truck driver. We only have a 17% success rate, which is really low, you know. So there's no. You know you talk about women recruiting women, because women make great drivers, but we're not, we're not even giving them a fair chance to get out of their training and actually get into the truck and get out here.

Jess Gra:

Um, and that's what the organization does. So her organization has been very quiet on the issues because her corporate sponsors are the biggest offenders. Yeah, Um, you know. Uh, she's testified on behalf of companies against rape victims, and so if you say anything against you know what they're doing then they, you become public enemy number one, and I'm not the only one. Uh, I think every person that is part of real women in trucking has a a story of how they tried to speak up and they were trying to silence them. Wow, and that was just what she did, yeah.

Cindy Tunstall:

So that at that point that was five years ago, and so you left your company then and that's when you became an owner operator. That's the timeline, right there.

Jess Gra:

Yeah. So I had to make a decision. I was being starved out of my company. She had made waves and I had to decide do I find another company and just get comfortable and get going and continue to do what I'm doing, advocacy-wise, and have her do it all over again? And that's when I called Matthew and I was like well, I think I'm ready to drive for you. He goes, it's about time and I, you know, explain the situation and he goes. Yeah, well, I would love for somebody to call me and tell me who I can and cannot hire, because I speak four languages and I will cuss them out in all four. And so it has.

Jess Gra:

You know, he's like I bought this truck a while ago and he goes you're the only person I could think of that, I could see driving it. And so I came and he financed my truck for me. I didn't have to do a lease purchase, you know, or anything like that. I just made payments when I had a good week. And you know, if I didn't have a very good week, then I didn't have to make a payment that week. You know, um, it was a, it was a friend's deal, you know, didn't have high interest on it, you know, Um, so, yeah, so now the black widow is mine and, uh, I just, I keep, just keep it here. I don't plan on doing anything else, because at this point I don't ever want to feel bullied by a company or my boss.

Cindy Tunstall:

Okay, jess, what if there is a woman driver and she's experiencing some either verbal abuse or sexual harassment, or even her trainer is making her feel unsafe while she's on the road? What advice would you give to women that have an issue with the big mega carrier? Maybe they just got their CDL, or maybe they just changed companies and they're experiencing some unsafe environment in their trucking company. What advice do you have for those women?

Jess Gra:

This is a question I get asked all the time, and it's important to know that the law is on your side for this. You don't have to accept this behavior and abuse and you, as a woman driver, didn't do anything wrong, and so my advice is always, always, always one document everything. Everything from the first feeling of uncomfortable to the exchange to um, every little thing, whether you think it's significant or not. When you get out of your company's orientation and into your trainer's truck, start a journal, write down dates and times of everything you did. Everything document, screenshot you know, whatever kind of documentation you can for your entire experience from even out of your trainer's truck and when you become a company driver and interactions with other people. Document everything and also report to your company's HR, even though they're not going to really help you they're probably going to look to minimize your claims. Document their response to you.

Jess Gra:

See, you know some companies will take a swift action, some will try and sweep it under the rug or dismiss it. Make sure you file the report with them and document that you filed that report and then document their response. Contact the EEOC and people are like why? And I said because it's their job, it's not your job to determine whether or not you were wronged. It's their job. It is 100% their job to determine whether or not what you encountered was sexual harassment, was rape, was was on discrimination of any form. That's literally the whole point of the organization, um, and it's a federal, so it's documented federally, you know, and the more we report to them, the more they can actually pick up on patterns and actually start going after problem carriers that are having issues within their fleets.

Jess Gra:

The only way to actually get action and I think that's the theme of everything I've said is to be proactive and talk to the people. That can actually make it, make a difference. You got to connect with those people so you reach out to the EEOC, file a claim, get your report number and then realwomenandtruckingorg is the website On. There is a tab for you to get help and it's full of information on. They will help you find an attorney. They will help you navigate.

Jess Gra:

You know Desiree is, like, extremely skilled. She's an expert witness, um for for victims and a victim's right advocate, so, like she will help you process everything and um kind of help you navigate the minefield that is uh HR and discrimination at these companies and get you the right information and connect you with the right people to actually address the situation. And, last but not least, if you are ever, ever assaulted by your trainer not just, not just discrimination, not just harassment, but actually assaulted call the police. Call the police. Don't let the company tell you to come to the terminal. Call the police from where you're at. Also, call RAINN R-A-I-N-N. And that is a federal hotline for victims of abuse and rape, and they will help you with all of the emotional stuff that you are going to face going forward after an assault.

Cindy Tunstall:

Okay, that's great information, jess. I appreciate that they want to miss the opportunity to pick your brain on that, because I know that it happens in real issues with women out there and even other drivers male drivers that hear about things that are happening and hear from you know, hear from another driver that had an issue and, um, there's just good options out there, so I appreciate that.

Jess Gra:

I just want everybody to know, like there are so many, like I've had comments, um, when I do share information like this, well, I don't want to start my career being so happy or no. No, you have to. Actually, we have to hold these people accountable. We have to hold. We're never going to. You might not get resolution, it might not work out for you, but by you speaking up, it means that the driver coming behind you is not going to have to face this issue, and that's the whole point. Yes, yes, is leave the industry better than you came to it, and it's it's broken right now. But I think if we all take the time to share our experiences and share information and be proactive about speaking up for ourselves, we can actually leave the industry better than we found it. That's awesome.

Cindy Tunstall:

Okay, I'm going to shift gears just a little bit, jess, if that's okay. Absolutely. You and I have talked about drivers participating and advocating for changes in our industry and I know that you have some frustration with the truck parking issues To our listening audience, mainly drivers. What would you say to drivers about the truck parking challenges that we face, because everybody struggles with truck parking, having to plan your routes around when you're going to be able to stop and what's the best thing, what solutions do you see out there and what words of advice would you have for our drivers that are listening?

Jess Gra:

I actually have a story about how I really got involved with truck parking and it actually starts out with the whole theme of the show is enjoying life OTR. I was scheduled to meet up with some of my other trucking girlfriends in New Orleans and we had booked a hotel and we were going to park and spend a weekend there close to Mardi Gras. And they didn't make it at the last minute but I was already there, so I'm going to enjoy, you know, walking around the French Quarter and eating good food and listening to music and having my fair share of hurricanes.

Cindy Tunstall:

That's so fun.

Jess Gra:

And just I'm still going to enjoy it, you know. And I'm walking back to my hotel and I'm standing in the parking garage by the benches where everybody congregates and smokes, and there's a group of women that were sitting on the benches smoking and drinking a beer and talking, and I'm just standing around. I'm not trying to involve, Like I am, as Mary from Macon who is leading the story. She's like you, I've never seen somebody drunker in my life. That's funny.

Cindy Tunstall:

Say something New Orleans.

Jess Gra:

Yeah, she's like you walked up and the other ladies they kind of rolled their eyes, but you know I was she goes. I was at a point where I just listened to a seminar about talking to people and asking people about themselves. Stop talking about yourself and ask people about themselves and you'll meet some really interesting people that way. And so she's like I talked to you because I was trying to apply that, what I just learned, and practice those skills and get into the point of engaging people.

Cindy Tunstall:

I love this so much.

Jess Gra:

So her first question was you know what's your name and whatnot, and you know what do you do for a living? And I said well, I'm a truck driver. And she goes, get out. I have dreamed since I was in third grade of being a truck driver. And you know what my daddy said you can do it, but you just own the truck. You don't want to be a driver, you want to be the truck owner. And she didn't end up doing that. But that was her childhood dream and her daddy, who you know is a Southern pecan farmer, it was like go for it, do what you want, live your best life, but anyways.

Jess Gra:

So she actually went to college and became a civil engineer and she's actually the person that writes the state's freight plan for freight movement, truck parking, people movement. So she is literally the person in every state, one of the people who determines where we park our trucks, how we move through communities stop signs, roadways, intersections, pedestrian crossing that is literally her job. Oh, wow, and I, I met her in a marriott parking structure and we ended up sitting on that bench for about six hours drinking and smoking and talking, and we, you know, we did the exchange numbers and here's the facebook and you know, over the course of that time I talked to her. I said, well, I'm a truck driver and I, you know, I really do want to be involved. Like I know that we have an issue with truck parking, so like, if you ever have like a question about truckers and what we're looking for and what we need, call me.

Jess Gra:

And it's kind of taken off from there. Every time she's working on a new community. She's like okay, what is your experience in this area and do you know other people that drive through there regularly? And so you know I've been able to really teach her. You know different things that she never thought of. When we're approaching something, it's different than when a passenger or a pedestrian approaches an intersection and the things we're looking for. And so, yeah, that's how I really started getting active in my state and that is always my advice to other drivers is reach out to your state's MPO. You just Google your state and the words MPO and what does.

Jess Gra:

MPO stand for Metropolitan Planning Office. I believe it's just. It's the people that plan the movement and they're the ones that do the federal freight plans. To get you know, to tell you like, right now we're working on Columbus, georgia and that regional area and she's done other areas and she's got others coming up in the you know. And she called me and said okay, what is your experience in this area? What intersections do you hate? You know what? What? How do you move around in this area? And I told her and you know my experiences and I've gotten some other people to do it we we have to understand as drivers that we can talk about lack of parking on the internet, but we actually have to go to the people with the money that make the decisions and talk to them about it. So, calling your you know, getting in touch with your states, you know planning and you know parking and your MPO.

Cindy Tunstall:

Give me an idea how that conversation would begin, like if I say, hey, I'm going to call you know, in Texas, I'm going to look at on Google and find the MPO near me. And what, what would I? How would I start that conversation? And you know, to be able to be like this person that you have a relationship with, now you can, you know she's calling and giving you, you know, asking you questions, you can give her specific feedback. But for me, like some Joe Schmo, you know, just in in Texas, I'm going to call this person randomly they don't have a relationship with. Like what would I say when I make those calls? Like, what am I looking to? You know, how do I start that conversation?

Jess Gra:

Always just call them, email them, introduce yourself, saying I'm a truck driver, I live in this area and I would like to participate in the truck parking discussion, you know, so please notify me of upcoming truck parking meetings. And a lot of those are digital now because of COVID. They went to zoom and so we don't have to actually like go into the auditorium that they're holding it in there. A lot of them are online now so you can attend it from wherever in the country you are at the moment. That's great. And just keep reaching out to them. If you're in an area and there's a struggle, call and say hey, I'm a truck driver, I live in this area.

Jess Gra:

This intersection is difficult for me to navigate, or I don't have. You know, like this is the problem. I have Always just keep reaching out to them and saying you know, like this is, this is the problem. I have always just just keep reaching out to them and saying you know, just give them information, say, hey, are you working on this area right now? Are you working on Houston right now? Because when I go through Houston, I have this problem in this area and this is this. This really affects my day. Or, you know, I mean little things, like there's a place down in Columbus where I have to pick up, where the only way to back into their docks is they stop traffic and you have to jump over the center median with your truck, which I don't want to do, but that's the only way to get into the dock because it's so old and you know she's like. I need that information because now in our next planning we're going to actually look at a way of removing that center median and making it a pass-through so that the trucks can easily you know, like those are the things they do so it could be that there's poles on a curb on a regular turn.

Jess Gra:

You have to make, anytime you encounter, like just take notes of your travels and reach out to them and say when I'm in this area, this is what I deal with, and sooner or later you'll start to. You know, just be yourself. You know, let them know like you're really interested in helping out and weighing in, and that's invaluable to them, because the states you know one of the parts of federal funding and state funding getting allotted to projects like truck parking is they have to take a survey, and so they put them out on the internet. They publish them in some of these trucking publications and they announce you know, you'll see, on my page and I try and post them everywhere I can remember to post them, like Nevada is doing a truck parking survey and if you don't run through Nevada you don't have information.

Jess Gra:

But if you do click on it they usually take five to 10 minutes and it is. Some of them have the pinpoint maps where you can go in and say this is the intersection that I struggle with, or here's where I normally deliver, like these are the problem areas for me, or that'll ask you questions. Then you can give feedback and it's so important because if we don't take those surveys then they're like oh well, I guess there's not a, and then they move on to the people that did take the survey and address those issues.

Cindy Tunstall:

So, yeah, squeaky wheel gets the grease. Is that how this always goes? Yeah, well, you know, I guess I really love this because you know, I mean I'm a lot of groups and a lot of social things and you know there's always people complaining about truck parking and I also hear this, you know a trucker voice that will, you know, say you know, nobody cares about us, nobody's listening, nobody's really doing anything about the problems that we face, and this is just a really practical way to make sure we're doing all that we can to improve the system. So I'm so grateful that you shared this with me. This was nowhere on my radar, so, and I know that that will be true for many drivers hearing this, so I'm very grateful.

Cindy Tunstall:

I actually learned about the surveys. I saw you had posted one in the Enjoying Life OTR Facebook group and, you know, actually led to us, you know, wanting to talk about this topic on the show because I think it's an important issue and it's a way for drivers to have a voice and to be heard. And you know, similarly, I think, that the FMCSA will put out questionnaires and surveys, and you know.

Jess Gra:

Anytime they have a public comment. And anytime they ask for a public comment, write your comment. There are some times where they're asking for a policy change at the FMCSA level and they get like three responses. No, there should be 10,000 responses.

Cindy Tunstall:

And how do we find out about the FMCSA? Usually I find on Facebook groups somebody will post and I'll stay on there. But is there a way for me to directly find out about surveys and things that are coming from the FMCSA?

Jess Gra:

Just follow their social medias, because every time a survey comes out or a request for comments comes out, they post it on their Facebook and their Twitter, and so they post a direct link. So all you have to do is click the link and it takes you right to the page and you can leave your comments. And, it's important, even if your issue doesn't get answered in that meeting, by posting your comments and participating in these surveys, they actually become part of a federal document that is now searchable, so when somebody in another area is looking for information, they can literally go into their federal database and type in the keywords, and if your comment pops up, then I mean you, the public. It publishes your comments in a place where it is going to be effective, whether it's now or later or however. It's written in stone, essentially.

Cindy Tunstall:

Well, thanks for adding that, because I think a lot of times drivers will say, well, I made a comment on that last thing and it didn't matter, it didn't make a change, change.

Jess Gra:

But yeah, you can comment on their twitter and and tweet them all the day, but that doesn't get federally recorded and published in stone, you know, because every federal document and every comment is is is locked in once it's you hit, send. It's now written in stone great tip, jess.

Cindy Tunstall:

thank you for that really really very helpful, very helpful. I just think this would bring to the forefront more of the reasons that we need to get involved and also kind of downplay the thing where our voice is not really being heard anyway. So I love the things that you're sharing Very, very helpful.

Jess Gra:

And it's because my friends and I we'd want to meet up somewhere and go have an adventure and we'd look and say like, oh well, san Antonio really doesn't have any truck parking. So you know, it makes it a little bit harder. But if we can get involved and participate, then I think it's really going to help us to be able to have more adventures.

Cindy Tunstall:

Okay, I got one more thing I want to talk about, jess. Okay, um, I heard a rumor that you were in a documentary. Is that true? What? What's that about?

Jess Gra:

yes, so real women in trucking.

Jess Gra:

You know, I've been a part of that organization since 2017, 2018, somewhere in there, and I was at the great american truck show and they there was a documentary filmmaker who started following Desiree Wood, the president of Real Women in Trucking, and her rad tag group of rebel women that she's assembled to take on the trucking industry, which I'm a part of that group, and so they spent five years following us around to different events and on the road and, um, just kind of documenting the, the unique challenges and the what it's like out here and it's an it's a full-length feature documentary called driver and it's at the film festival circuit.

Jess Gra:

So they just had the premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. I wasn't able to attend that premiere, but I was at the DC Docs Film Festival and at that showing there were people in the audience watching this documentary from the FMCSA, the Department of Labor, women's Bureau, and the White House showed up to watch this documentary about women truck drivers and the things that we talked about, the things that don't get talked about, like not having a bathroom or you know how we're treated by people and things like that, and just the isolation and the loneliness and, you know, like eating your meal balanced on your knees, you're driving down the road and it's a really insightful look into the really mysterious and unknown world of what it's like to be a driver, and especially a woman driver out here.

Cindy Tunstall:

And is there a way that we could watch the documentary at this stage, or is there a way that we could?

Jess Gra:

we could check it out, we could watch the documentary at this stage or is there a way that we could? We could check it out, keep an eye on the streaming services and I definitely will announce when it gets released. Right now I think there's a couple of bids that from the big streaming services as to who's going to get the rights to premiere it on their platforms. So but yeah, right now there's a couple more film festivals and then once the film festival circuit clears up and opens up, then it'll be available for the streaming services to pick up.

Cindy Tunstall:

I love that. That's so fun. Okay, Jess, do you have anything else you want to share before we wrap up?

Jess Gra:

I definitely think that on top of the chair that I carry. One other thing that I think, as a woman driver, is so important, because we don't want to end up feeling like a man in a man's world as we drive daily, we've got our ball cap and our jeans or sweatpants on, on our jeans or in, you know, sweatpants on. One thing that I've always been good about carrying is a little black dress and a pair of sandals so that anytime I want, I can get dressed up and go out. Love that. That's one of the keys to the happiness.

Jess Gra:

You know, I'm a girly girl and I I like to do my hair and makeup and wear dresses and I drive in dresses. Um, they, they tease me that I carry a ball gown in my dress and I said, no, it's just a prom dress, it's not, it's not a full formal regalia, it's just for prom. Um, you know, but that you know like, because I have friends that were, you know, uh, they've got their flip flops and then they got their dress flip flops and you know, you know, if it's a special occasion, she might put on a button up shirt, but then there's me and I'm I'm showing up in T length cocktail dress and high heels, you know. So it it just it shows that you know. Um, there's such a diverse population of women Like we're not all the same, you know, and uh, I don't want to lose my femininity just because I'm in an industry that's dominated by males Like I.

Jess Gra:

I still want to be true to who I am and myself, and get my grandma told me early on you know, when you're having a bad day, that's the day you need to get up and fix your face and hair the most. So do it. You know. If you're, if you're struggling with something, if you're struggling with your isolation or your depression or just being out in the truck or you're frustrated, go take your shower. Like, give yourself that moment of normalcy, give yourself that moment of treating yourself to just being, humanizing yourself and being a person. Get up, fix your hair, put on your nicest outfit and charge through your day and it works.

Cindy Tunstall:

I really love this idea because, even if you know like, think about for men or whatever your thing is at home, like try to think outside the box about way you can still have some of your normalcy of your life while doing this road, I heard a driver just the other day say, you know, looking at the sacrifices that I'm making, I'm just constantly driving away from my home and family and you know he's feeling very stuck, like it's not worth the money. But there are really practical ways that we can find to still live a happy, whole, fulfilled life where it doesn't feel like. You know people that work a nine to five. You know they don't feel like all they do is ever work. And, granted, our hours are much longer we are actually working much longer hours but there's still ways to find joy out here and to enjoy the lifestyle and make the most of the opportunity. Because this is, you know, there's potential for really good money, so a really great way to provide for our families or save for our futures or do the fun things, whatever our priorities are.

Cindy Tunstall:

But it does take intentionality, and I hear that throughout your whole episode, jess, honestly just talking about intentionality and being really proactive, and I love the way that your mindset is about what can I do? What can I do to improve my situation? What can I do? You know, what can I do to improve my situation? What can I do to plan for this next time and to overlook. I really love the intentional way that you're living and you're having a great life out here, and there's reasons because you've done those things. You've been intentional and you've taken power and control over issues that you care about. So I love it. I love every bit of it.

Jess Gra:

It's taken 12 years for me to get to this point but, like I said, I have a really good group of friends and it's really important for drivers starting in the industry to try and find their tribe and being part of groups like yours that are encouraging. You know, sharing these hot little secrets and these these ways of just incorporating being a human and not just a faceless robot passing through you know that definitely. I think, more so than a lot of the other groups that I'm in is actually addressing the issue of how to actually learn to live this lifestyle, because it is a lifestyle. This is not a job, and trucking has never been a job. It has always been a lifestyle. So you can either let it consume you or you can take charge and you can rule it.

Cindy Tunstall:

I once was driving and I stopped by to talk to people when I'm out, like you, and I met a driver and he said you said I don't truck like you do. I had just shown him pictures of places that I was in his area. I was out west. I don't usually go out there, so there's so much I wanted to see and do. When I was out there and I was showing him some pictures, he's like this is my area, you're in my territory, this is the region that I run and I I don't take time to do those things. And I was just really curious. I was like well, why don't you? And he said you know, honestly, I'm, I have, I have little kids at home and a wife and, um, I feel bad, I feel guilty, like going out and doing those things that you know my family wished they could be doing with them.

Cindy Tunstall:

And I'm like you know, because of course, their family, his family, misses them and you know wishes, you know he wasn't doing a reset out of state, but you know he does, though, so he's not doing it I'm like going. You know I was thinking well, you need to fix that. You have those conversations with your family and find a way to make it work, and you know whether you're FaceTiming with them while you're doing these things or, you know, just find some way to make it work, because it's really not a life that you want to look back and go. All I did was drive and send my money home and you know I didn't get to experience the beautiful things that we have in this beautiful country.

Cindy Tunstall:

And whatever your passions are whether you like to hike or go to waterfalls or museums or find dining or restaurants and just trying different kind of barbecue places all over, whatever your thing is you know we don't have to miss out and the work is hard. Like you said. You know we're working on the truck and having to do paperwork and also long drive hours, so I don't even get to go do some big fun adventure every month. Sometimes I don't. I'm just like, okay, I've been really all about the work but but when I can, I really treasure those moments and they're real important to me and even the memories of them. I'll look back on my camera roll and I'm like that was a great weekend and even just remembering and looking back at my pictures, it's very, very helpful for me.

Jess Gra:

I used to mail my daughter little packages from my adventures and things I collected or, you know, there's experiencing the different regions that are outside of your home.

Jess Gra:

Like there's a cereal that when I was teaming, when I first started, her daughters liked and you could only get it now in Oklahoma, and they lived in Washington, and so every time we passed through Oklahoma she'd stop and pick up a couple of boxes of it and I tried it and I brought it home to my kids one, you know, one time and so that became the thing that every time I was out on the road doing things I would find something that is specific to that region that I was at, whether it's a candy bar or cereal or something that they can't get at home, to incorporate them into my adventures and travels.

Jess Gra:

Um, sending postcards home, you know, um, it's harder and harder to mail, but I think collecting little things, you know, whatever your kid is into, um finding a way to incorporate that. Um, I know my neighbor she really she got sick and she loved, you know, hearing my stories from the road and she had a garden gnome on her front porch and I one day I was heading out, I swiped her garden gnome and I was going from Washington down to Florida and I stopped everywhere I could and I took pictures with that garden gnome and when I got home I printed them off and put them in a book for her.

Cindy Tunstall:

Oh, I, love that so much.

Jess Gra:

So that was a fun trip. You know, we went all the way down to Florida and we went to the beach and you know, and then I brought the gnome back and put it on her porch. I don't even know if she realized her gnome was gone, but on her porch was this book and the gnome was back. And her gnome was gone but on her porch was this book and the gnome was back. And you know, a note that said sorry we missed you on the adventure. And you know that was just one little special thing that I was able to incorporate. So if you've got kids at home and you're out here, grab one of their stuffies and and take pictures with them and let them know that everything I do out here on the road, I'm thinking of you.

Cindy Tunstall:

I love that. So great, so fun.

Jess Gra:

About four years into my career, my best friend who I met in truck driving school and today is still my best friend. She and I were like you know, we've been out here for like four years now and we've seen the whole country but we've never experienced it. So one day we had a load and we were passing through, actually, new orleans, which is one of my favorite stopping spots, um, and we parked at a truck stop and we took a taxi into the french quarter and we walked around for about five hours, listened to some music, ate some food, and then we took a taxi back to the truck and we're like, okay, we have to have to come back for a longer. And that's what led me to the, the other meeting of Mary and, uh, but it was that trip because we were both kind of, you know, struggling financially. As truckers we have highs and lows and you know, you know, it's feast or famine out here.

Jess Gra:

Um, we actually decided that, like that day, as we're walking through the french quarter, we need to be proactive about making sure that anytime we want to meet up and stop, or anytime we call each other and say, hey, we need to meet somewhere, we need to take a 30-40 get out of the truck.

Jess Gra:

I just need my sister best friend time. Anytime we want to be able to do that, we have the money available. So we both got a prepaid Walmart card and the green dot and because we were again both financially unstable at the time, that was the only one we could get and it gave you the routing number and we had payroll deductions where you could split your payroll up and every payroll $25 out of that check went to that prepaid Walmart card and it stacks up. You're not paying attention. It stacks up so that anytime we called each other and said, oh hey, we're running by each other, we both have time on our loads, let's stop here or let's stop there, let's get a hotel room, let's get dinner, let's. So we we made a plan to like be conscious about making sure that anytime we want to go enjoy life out here and see something or do something, the money's always there I love this idea so much.

Cindy Tunstall:

You're being proactive about the things that you need while you're out there to be social, to be able to get out and enjoy, and you had a simple plan that will make those funds still available and in small increments it's automatically payroll deducted. I love this so much.

Jess Gra:

I now have a credit card Capital One Venture card because I can get airline miles and such on it and it saves me booking on hotels and such when I book through it. And that card is literally just for adventures and I use it when I stop to go. You know, um, like my budget weekly in my when I plan my budget for how much I'm going to spend out here on the road every week. I include the cost of a hotel room in my budget every week. Whether I use it or not is up for debate, because I don't always get one, but sometimes I'm just driving, it's hot.

Jess Gra:

My a you can see in this almost 30 year old truck is never the greatest sometimes, um, or I just I'm tired of looking at my four walls and I just I just need to get out, maybe. I see I want, I got extra time on my load and I want to pool. So I factored into my weekly budget one hotel room and I have that card that I use it and then I pay it off. So it's, I always have the funds available Anytime I want to stop, take an Uber, go, go do something, and that's just. That's more from my $25 a week budgeting to include enjoying life. To now, I'm stable enough that I can. You know, I've got it. I've got my system in place where I'm never going to go through a place and be like, oh, I don't know, I just can't afford to stop.

Cindy Tunstall:

Yeah, so great. I love this so much. What are some other fun things? You mentioned New Orleans. What are some other fun things that you've been able to do while you're not driving? Any other adventures or must-see places that you might recommend to other drivers that have been a little more hesitant to get out of the truck.

Jess Gra:

San Antonio is always great. You know, we booked a hotel there. We met up one day for like a four-day weekend because it was one summer. She had her granddaughter and I had my niece riding with me and they were the same age and they were friends and um, so we met up and we went to Schlitterbahn, which is that amazing water park there in San Antonio, new Brown Fells, and you know, you know it was. It was great doing all the water slides and floating in the lazy river, just so much fun, um. And then we did the river walk, and you know, much fun, um, and then we did the river walk and you know, just just experienced San Antonio.

Jess Gra:

We've we've met up in Chicago and you know that's where my broker I use one broker for myself, um, and she plans me out for the week, um, that's my way of getting around having a dispatch services.

Jess Gra:

I use my, I use one broker and she just sets me up with freight and love that broker, and she just sets me up with freight and love that. Yeah, and I'll tell you why I use her in a minute. But you know, one of the biggest regrets that she and I have is we were running out to Washington together and we both had time on our load and we were going you know we go. We don't go up through Utah, we would cut up to US 30, 30 through Kenimer, like you know, and around, and you'd go through um the hot Springs and hot lava Springs and I think Idaho or Oregon, one of the I can't remember exactly, but one of these times where we're like we should stop and float down the river and we didn't, and to this day we still regret it. So, like that's one of those things that like, if you feel like you want to stop somewhere, even if it's just for an hour or two, do it.

Cindy Tunstall:

That's a great tip right there because you circle back around. You think I'll do it next time, but it's like, if you have time, like make it happen.

Jess Gra:

I love that yeah, like work, like work on building your trip planning skills up so that you can include extra stopping time somewhere. Like I, I trip plan based, like I set my ETA with my broker based on you know what I can run. And then I also add in a nap. Like, literally, my trip plan every day has me taking a one hour nap, whether I use it or not. If I don't use it, I'm ahead of schedule. If I do, if I need it, it was built in and I'm not gonna set myself up for failure.

Jess Gra:

Yeah, yeah. So it's like you have to. You have to actually like be conscious about planning. You know, like, if you know up ahead, you've got a little bit of time, don't dilly dally, put the, put the metal down, don't get the stopsies and you know, stop at every truck, stop along the way, get there so that you can can actually get out and see what you want to see. One of the places that I don't go to anymore but I really want to is that statue in South Dakota of the native woman with the blanket. You know what I'm? Talking about.

Jess Gra:

I can't remember her name, but it's just some of those bucket lists. You know, one time I had a load that took me up and I was running, uh, back roads up to Hurricane Utah, um, and I was passing right by the Grand Canyon. You know, I stopped, um, I built it in my, I knew I was going that way and I routed myself that way just so that I could stop. And in Williams, and I took the train up, saw the Grand Canyon, took the train back to Williams and then continued on my way. You know, if you see a roadside attraction, stop. I follow Stephanie Stuckey, who's rebuilding the Stuckey's brand, and I love her because she stops at any, any anything. You know, and that's my thing, when I see a sign for world's largest whatever, even if I can't stop, it's on the road, so at least that's, I can get off the highway and take the road that it is on. I can at least slow down a little bit and be like that's pretty cool.

Cindy Tunstall:

Yeah, I love that. You know. One of the things, jess, that I love about our Enjoying Life OTR Facebook group is because people can, you know, sometimes we just stumble across something great that has truck parking. It's right off the highway, it wasn't planned, it's just a random thing. We can share these stops, like if you're passing through.

Cindy Tunstall:

And now, like the community is growing, so you know, you can search.

Cindy Tunstall:

You know South Dakota and see, is there something you know that people have posted about? And you know South Dakota and see, is there something you know that people have posted about and it happens to be, you might find something that's just right on your route. So I guess a way we could incorporate it into our trip planning, because you know, finding these places and overcoming the challenge of what am I going to do with the truck and you know how far off the road is it. You know it's like it's it's an added burden to try to do all that leg work. So when we do stumble across something fun to do and there's truck parking and you know, or it's, you know, easily accessible to truck parking, you know a short Uber ride or there's a restaurant that'll deliver to the truck stop or whatever the little tip is that we could share with each other, it just makes taking some of that extra labor out of finding fun things to do and sharing them with the community. So I love all of these things that you've shared.

Jess Gra:

So many of us are. I mean, it makes me sad when I see drivers and you can see them they're stuck in a truck stop for the whole weekend and you know, yeah, I haven't felt like sometimes I've been parked in a random place and haven't felt like exploring, I'm just tired or I've got paperwork to do, because, you know, as an owner operator, it's up to me to do my paperwork, um, you know, but, uh, making yourself comfortable even in your own space, like I said, my truck is set up with, I rotated my bed so it runs along the passenger side. I don't have a passenger seat. That's where my toolbox fits. And then I actually have a table with a desk and a chair in my truck so that I can pull out my paperwork and sit at it, because up until then I was trying to balance my laptop on my steering wheel, and you know that's exhausting, eating every meal, because I don't like eating on my bed.

Jess Gra:

Eating every meal on my steering wheel, that's not fun. Right, you know I want to paint my nails. I'm trying to do that at the steering wheel or on my bed. That's like none of this is fun. Yeah, you know, but you know things I carry just for even times where I don't feel like exploring, is like my camp chair and my umbrella. I have a little umbrella that I can pop up on my camp chair and I can just get out, open the chair up and sit in front of my truck. Or if there's a grassy knoll in the wherever I'm at, I can go sit in the shade. Or rest areas are my favorite because they tend to have some space and I just I have my camp chair and I'll I'll be reading my book or doing whatever I'm doing, just getting out like getting out of the box.

Cindy Tunstall:

You know, sometimes staring at the walls will make you crazy. I love that and even if I'm like too tired to go out, like I don't feel like going on a hike or I've got some other work to do, but even just sitting an hour outside and you know, at a rest stop or something, fresh air yeah, take my shoes off, run my feet through the grass.

Jess Gra:

Yes, you know um that like feeling that connection with the earth. You know that's my favorite thing is I hate shoes, so I will. I will find a rest area like. Ohio is great. They have great rest areas with like beautiful grass. My friend, michelle, calls it dog grass because he loves to go tromping through the grass. Um, so she's always on that quest to find the best dog grass. And ohio, the rest area, is like I will take my shoes off and just walk through the grass and then go back to my truck and carry on, but it's just, it's a moment, it's getting away from the hustle and bustle and giving myself a moment of peace or reflection or quiet or normalcy. You know that it's the most important thing out here.

Cindy Tunstall:

Yes, so refreshing for your soul, especially as an owner-operator, because you always are thinking about the trucking company and the business and the thing, and you know even the maintenance and taking care of your truck. I mean, it's so all-consuming. So those little moments like I even think that, as much as I love to adventure, you know joy in life OTR is my thing, and you know enjoying life OTR is my thing, and you know. But even for me sometimes it's like I can't, I need to just have some downtime, I need to sleep in and you know I want to. I'm going to binge some Netflix, I just got to chill. But just great, even just for an hour to get outside and enjoy some fresh air.

Jess Gra:

Yeah, I know, matthew, he end of the quarter for us is always a that first week after the end of the quarter is a difficult week because we have to like close out our, our quarters, paperwork across the board and do all of that stuff. And I'm like God, why are you giving me your hardest battles? And Matthew's like literally just do your IFTA. It's not that hard. Like I, he goes it would be easier if he did it every week. I said it would.

Cindy Tunstall:

I'm not gonna, but it would be easier. That sounds good in theory, yeah, like.

Jess Gra:

I, I do it the first week of the quarter, the new quarter, and then the second week. I've completely forgot about it. And then you know you're happy, it's over. Yeah, yeah, like then I'm over it. And he's like I don't call you crazy for nothing and I'm like correct.

Cindy Tunstall:

Okay. So, um, before we wrap up. You said you homeschooled for a while on the truck, could you? Can we talk about that before we wrap up? I feel like I don't want to miss this opportunity. How long did you homeschool?

Jess Gra:

We did it for fifth grade and then she was struggling in ninth grade so I went and picked her up and we did it for ninth grade. My first adventure with her was, you know, I was doing it at homeschool. That was back when we picked up the workbooks and she worked through the workbooks and we have some fun times. She's sitting in the. Having a kid in the truck with you full-time, part-time you really have to kind of push them into your schedule because we have crazy schedules. But if your kid's sleeping all day while you're driving all, or sleeping all night while you're driving all night, then they're gonna be bouncing around when you're trying to sleep and that's not safe for anybody. So you know, the rule was she had 30 minutes from when I got up and started moving the truck to be up in the passenger seat. You didn't have to be awake, you didn't have to be functioning, you had to be in the passenger seat though. Great tip love that, and you know managing space in the truck. She had one of those footlocker size totes from Walmart that was at the end of the top bunk strapped in, and that was when she was packing for the truck. Everything had to fit in there because they will take over and you do not want to get hit with a shoe and a book and a laptop in the face when you're trying to sleep, because it falls down from the top bunk, because they roll around and knock their stuff off. And I promise you a laptop to the face at three in the morning is not as fun as it sounds. No, it doesn't sound fun at all, but you know.

Jess Gra:

So we would be driving down the road and she'd come up on a math problem and then be like I don't understand this. So she'd get out her dry math problem and then be like I don't understand this. So she'd get out her dry erase markers and she would write it on the side window or on the windshield and so that I can drive and I can glance over and we can walk through the problem like actively teaching as I'm rolling down the road. And her spelling test was, you know, dry erase marker on the windshield and I'm I'm saying the words and she's got to write them out on the windshield and then when I stop I'll look them over and grade it. Um, that's awesome. A little like dry erase markers as a kid in a truck is fun. There's, you know she's just drawing on the window writing notes to other trucks. You know hon's just drawing on the window writing notes to other trucks. You know, honk your horn. She asked her how to write backwards so that they could read it.

Jess Gra:

You know, um, that's great drawing pictures. And you know, sometimes she'd draw like funny faces and, you know, like a mustache, and then they'd look over at her and she'd line up with the mustache so it looked like she had a mustache. It was funny, so fun. And you know we're sitting in a dock and she's like covered my whole windshield in flowers and hearts. And then, you know it's easy, it's a giant dry erase board is what your windshield is, and you know it takes up a little bit of space. It doesn't take up a lot of space. You know, for you to draw a picture and color it and occupy your time, um, and you know little things that we did. You know we carried softball gloves and softball and you know we'd be playing catch or she'd have a soccer ball, um, and we'd kick it around in the grass somewhere. You know, um, it was not uncommon for us to back into a dock at a place and then she put on her roller skates and we go off to the side outside of the truck traffic or you know where we could still be available and present if they needed to talk to us about the load or whatever. But you know, and she'd be out there. Uh, roller skating, you know little things like that just really helped us bond and develop our relationship and it gave her some experiences that other kids didn't have.

Jess Gra:

We were out over Halloween and we weren't sure if she was going to get to trick-or-treat that year at fifth grade. You want to trick-or-treat? That's prime trick-or-treating time. You are sturdy enough to walk six blocks and get candy from six. You're going to hit half the town and we weren't sure that year if she was going to get to go trick-or-treating.

Jess Gra:

So I had a costume. I had a bag of, you know, mixed candy that I picked up tucked away, that she didn't know about in case we didn't make it somewhere. But my dispatcher, who is also a former driver and a dad himself, knew the importance of that holiday coming up and the load that I delivered on October 31st was to a Hershey candy plant. Are you serious? We were delivering ingredients. Oh my gosh.

Jess Gra:

And if you know about Hershey and they don't do it as much anymore, but back then it was common that when you pulled up at the Hershey gate they gave you a candy bar. Oh, I love that. We pulled up to the Hershey gate, I got my bills, I'm out, and she hops out and she's in her costume and she's got her pillowcase and she walks up to the guard shack with me and goes trick or treat. He opened his desk drawer and emptied the entire desk drawer of candy for drivers into her bag. Oh, my gosh, I love one stop half a pillowcase. And the second stop was the loves that gave her candy as well. Um, so two stops and she got more candy than any of her cousins and she got the good candy because it was hershey's. Yeah, um, and so that's. That's one of those memories that you know stay with you forever of you know you have you've trick-or-treated, but have you ever trick-or-treated at a hershey plant?

Cindy Tunstall:

oh my gosh, so great. Well, thanks for coming on the show, Jess, I sure appreciate you so many great topics that you shared and so much wisdom and really just love your proactive approach to life. Honestly, you just have so much to offer and I want to tell the audience how to get in touch with you. I know you're an active part of Enjoying Life OTR Facebook group so they can connect with you there, but are there other ways your socials or things where they can find you and connect with you if they want to follow your story or get in touch somehow?

Jess Gra:

Absolutely All my socials are R-I-G-J-E-S-S rigged. Yes, you know, and so I'm on TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook. Cash app. If you want to send me a cash I mean, I'm always looking for money for adventures, but I'm just kidding. Um, definitely, I love sharing stories and if, if people do actually just reach out to me if they have a question about, like some of the harder topics that we talked about, always reach out to me and I will help get you pointed in the right direction or who to talk to sounds great.

Cindy Tunstall:

Thanks so much for coming on. It honored me. I'm happy to get to share your story. Thanks for coming on the show, absolutely all right truckers.

Dino Grigoriadis:

This is dino wrapping up another awesome episode of enjoying life, otr. Wow j. Jess really dropped some knowledge bombs on us today. From advocating for better truck parking to finding creative ways to stay connected with family, she's given us some fantastic strategies to enhance our lives on the road. Remember, it's all about being proactive, whether that's planning for adventures, budgeting for fun or speaking up to improve our industry. If you want to connect with Jess and learn more, you can find her in the Enjoying Life OTR Facebook group or check out her socials under the handle Rig Jess. That's R-I-G-J-E-S-S. She's on TikTok, linkedin, twitter and Facebook, linkedin, twitter and Facebook. And hey, don't forget to tune in next week when Melinda Fox Wellington brings us another inspiring guest to help us become healthier and better truckers. Until then, this is Dino, your roadie and guide on the side, reminding you to keep on trucking while enjoying life OTR.

People on this episode

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Cindy Tunstall

Host