Andre Troy, a trucker out of Columbus, Ohio, starts his day at 3:00 in the morning when he heads out to pick up his first load for the day. He delivers grain to multiple farms in Ohio, usually dropping loads two or three times to each farm every week.
“I got older and wanted a job,” he said, “I started off delivering food to restaurants; that hustle and bustle didn’t have me in the truck much, then I switched over to delivering grain to farms.”
We connected with Andre to learn more about his journey into trucking and what he loves about being on the road delivering grain. A regular at Pilot, Andre visits our store off Route 36 in Sunbury, Ohio, between early deliveries for a hot breakfast. “Five or six times a week, if not every day, I’m stopping at a Pilot,” he said, “it’s a good feeling when you walk in there, and you hear not just driver but your name.” He often stops to restock his work clothes, relying on Pilot Flying J’s Buffalo Outdoors clothing line.”
“On Wednesday night, it was 50 degrees. The next morning, we were at a level 2 snow emergency, and I didn’t bring my heavy jacket. But I knew if I stopped at a Pilot, they’d have one there I could purchase – and that’s exactly what I did. It did the job for the snow and the wind I experienced that day, and it even does well in the rain, too.” – Andre Troy
With his job, he is in and out of the cab several times throughout the day, so it’s vital to have work clothes that are comfortable to drive in and hold up against the rough and gritty grain.
Safety and visibility are essential in this industry. “There’s not much lighting that early, so I needed brighter clothing to make sure I could be seen,” Andre relayed, “without brighter clothing, tractors and bulldozers that are running can’t see me, posing a danger. I didn’t know where to get them from but slowly started to notice all of the lighter sweatshirts and stuff you guys have at your stores for any kind of weather.”
Andre’s favorite pieces are the Buffalo sweatshirts with reflector stripes on the hood and sleeves, durable, long-sleeve shirts for the summertime, and the recently added heavy, bright yellow jacket he had to purchase during the unexpected snowstorm. After seeing the bright jacket, his two sons, aged ten and eleven, wanted a coat just like their dads. By the following week, Andre had gotten them all matching jackets. “You have no idea how important Pilot is to me,” Andre said.
We’re so glad that we can be the stop you can count on with friendly faces to greet you, the gear to get you through your day and the hot foods to fuel your journeys. To Andre and all the professional truck drivers out there hauling goods, you have no idea how important you are to Pilot Flying J!
Learn more about Buffalo Outdoors by clicking here or stop by the nearest Pilot Flying J to gear up.
