As we celebrate our 60th year in business I find myself reflecting on my relatively short tenure here at Ross Neely.  I started out washing trucks and trailers during my teenage years in the early 90’s.  As a teenager, not being sure of what I wanted to do when I “grew up,” I did not see a future for myself in the trucking business.  I spent the remaining summers of my high school years working at a lumber company.

After high school, I followed what seem to be the most logical and common path as I left for college and continued to work part time.  After a brief stint one summer dividing my time between ski instruction at Callaway Gardens and working for a carpet cleaning company, I ended up back in the trucking business where I found work

with a small delivery company based in Auburn, Alabama.  I was 21 years old with a commercial driver’s license and soon found myself behind the wheel of a “big” truck.  To the layman out there, it probably looks like driving one of these big trucks is a lot of fun.  The truth is … it is!  I was hooked.  My career path soon became a road – literally – and I left college to join my father, grandfather, and several other families members at our family trucking business.

I’ve seen many changes in this business over the years, both internally and externally.  And it hasn’t always been easy.  I’m celebrating 20 years at Ross Neely during a time that the company is celebrating 60 years in business.  I still love being around this business and I still look forward to taking a turn behind the wheel of a “big” truck.  I’m still still learning.  My soon to be 91 year old grandfather, Ross Neely, Jr, who started this business in 1958, is still showing me on a daily basis how much I still have to learn.  This man has forgotten more about trucking and business in general than I will ever know.  I hope to still be learning from him on his 100th birthday!

-Tommy Neely, President

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