Cover Story

LeRoy Marsh— Ozark Motor Lines, Inc.

LeRoy Marsh has been earning a good living as a professional driver since 1974. In that year, President Nixon resigned from office, “All in the Family” was the No. 1 television show in the nation and GM introduced the catalytic converter.
“I had been lying around collecting unemployment, and my cousin, a professional driver, invited me to ride with him for one winter,” recalls LeRoy with a laugh. “After getting a chance to see what the trucking lifestyle was all about, I was hooked. Of course, I had been interested in trucks since I was a little boy. I can remember motioning my hand up and down every time I rode by a big rig to get the driver to blow his horn.”

LeRoy drove as a company driver for a handful of different carriers before making the decision in 1983 to purchase his own truck and become an owner operator. Running a business suited LeRoy well, and soon he bought an additional piece of equipment and began operating as a small fleet owner. Early last year he hooked up with Memphis-based Ozark Motor Lines, Inc., and now he is planning to add threemore trucks to his fleet.

“I heard so many good things about Ozark that I had to check them out,” says LeRoy. “I did research into the lanes they run, the types of loads they pull, the ease in which you can communicate with the company and the professional way that they solve problems, and I got on-board. It also helps that everyone over there is so nice.

“The Ozark program works very well for us,” LeRoy continues. “They keep us busy so we can run our business and make it grow. There are quite a few drivers with Ozark who have been there for 15 or 20 years, so you know the company is doing something right.”

LeRoy operates his business out of Lake Wales, FL with Carol, his wife of many years. After the couple’s children had grown, Carol ran with LeRoy for eight years as a team driver. After a back injury, she began working in the office and now manages the books, payroll and inevitable day-to-day headaches that crop up. “If it wasn’t for Carol, I wouldn’t be
where I am today, that’s for sure,” LeRoy says with pride.

As for the future, LeRoy plans to continue running over the road, operating his own business and teaming up with Ozark. “As long as our income surpasses the downside of self-employment, we’ll keep going,” he says. “Carol and I are not materialistic, so it isn’t about making money to buy things. We just enjoy running a company and supplying
steady employment for good people who need the work.”

When he’s not getting the job done for Ozark and his driver team, LeRoy likes to play golf and travel with Carol to visit their children. The Marshes are the proud parents of a son serving in the Marines and a daughter who works as a radiologist.

The staff of Over the Road and Pro Trucker magazines would like to wish LeRoy continued success with Ozark Motor Lines. To learn more about owner operator, small fleet owner and company driver opportunities available now at Ozark see their ad on page ___ of this issue.