Trainer of the Month:

on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 in Awards & Recognition

Jeremy King, who served 20 years in the U.S. Army, is TMC’s April Trainer of the Month! King has trained 10 drivers this year and all have successfully made it into their own trucks. King understands how important the training process is as drivers start their flat bedding careers. Training is nothing new to King. He was able to train in the military for 16 years. 

After King’s long U.S. Army career, he desired a job that could support his family. Searching for options, King found TMC and knew that his values aligned with the same ones that TMC demonstrates. King was asked early in his driving career if training would be something he would be interested in. He at first said “no” because he wanted to drive solo for a while and just get a better grasp of the industry. After seeing his success on the road and being asked again, King agreed to be a trainer and now knows he made the right decision.

“Crawl, walk, run. That’s what they taught me while I was in the military and that’s exactly how I go about training my drivers,” King explained. “I enjoy getting to a point I can take more of a supervisor role instead of training, I can sit back and watch how much they have improved.” Jeff Geist, Kings’ Training Coordinator had this to say, “Jeremy admits that you cannot train everyone the same way. He learned while training in the military that most people are trainable once you understand their learning style. He adapts very well to each new driver.” 

King’s biggest piece of advice he offers to new drivers is: communicate well with your fleet manager. King encourages inexperienced drivers to develop a relationship with their fleet manager, “They really can set you up for success and help you out a lot when you are out on the road,” said King. TMC runs a five-week on-the-road training program and King says that the fifth and final week is “bittersweet.” King looks forward to the fifth week of the training program to watch new drivers finish something they started and finally getting their own truck, but understands he shortly has to start over training a new driver and work them towards that rewarding fifth week in the truck. 

Congratulations, Jeremy King, on this impressive accomplishment of being named TMC’s Trainer of the Month for April 2021!

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Driver Trainers are vital to the TMC Training Department, and each month a trainer is chosen who demonstrates the outstanding qualities TMC looks for in one who prepares new drivers for their career in trucking. The Trainer of the Month recipient is chosen based on their safety record and the safety performance of their trainees, the number of drivers trained, and the retention percentage of those drivers.