Jerome excels in the logistics world

After earning his CDLA, this 15-year DB Schenker team member took on a new role as the driver of the Golden Truck in the U.S.

A member of the DB Schenker family for the last 15 years, Jerome is a corporate ambassador, a newly-licensed commercial truck driver, and the person selected to drive the company’s Golden Truck across the U.S. this year.

Jerome started working for DB Schenker in 2006 after learning about the opportunity from a relative who also worked there. He signed on as a warehouse employee at the Wichita, Kan., location, which had recently opened and was handling the logistics and transportation for an aircraft parts maker.

“Parts came in from all over the world, and we would open the boxes, count the parts, receive them, and then store them until they were ready to be sent out,” said Jerome, who received on-the-job training for those and other responsibilities. “When I got here, I didn’t know much about warehousing or logistics.”

Learning the ropes quickly, Jerome would later become the facility’s parts coordinator. In that role, he worked directly with a major airline, ensuring that parts were onsite and ready to ship when that customer needed them. “There was a lot of tracking, meetings, and constant communications,” says Jerome, who today is a full-time truck driver for DB Schenker.

He’s On Top of the World

From a group of potential candidates, Jerome was recently selected to helm an effort that will give his employer a more prominent spot on the domestic trucking map. He got involved with the Golden Truck campaign after being nominated for the position.

While on a trip to DB Schenker’s global headquarters in Essen, Germany, Jerome had his picture taken with the European Golden Truck. The photos were entered into a contest, and he soon learned that he was selected to drive the Golden Truck across the U.S.

“They were showing off the Golden Truck in Europe and I took some pictures with it and we put them up on social media; it was really neat,” says Jerome, who was told that if he were to get his commercial truck driver’s license (CDLA), he could be a candidate to drive a similar truck across the U.S. in 2021.

Back to School

The logistics provider was ready to send Jerome to school to earn his CDLA. “When I got off work that day, I went right to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and learned that I had to sign up for the class to be able to drive a semi-truck,” he recalls. “I called around, found a local class, and started school three weeks later.”

The classes were rigorous, but Jerome says he learned a lot in the process, which was funded by DB Schenker. “The driving part was a little difficult at first, because I was just a little nervous,” says Jerome, who got over that hump pretty quickly thanks to instructors were willing to work with him and share their experience with him.

“The more I got out there and drove,” says Jerome, “the better I got at it.”

People Here Listen to Me

Reflecting on his lengthy career with DB Schenker, Jerome says he enjoys the opportunities for advancement and to take part in special campaigns like the Golden Truck and trips to his employer’s global headquarters. He’s established a rapport with the company’s managers and leaders and feels like they listen to him when he shares thoughts, ideas, and concerns.

“People listen to me here and take into consideration my ideas and thoughts about the job,” says Jerome. As part of a charitable group in Guatemala, for example, Jerome helped raise money for a heart transplant for a child who had a heart condition. “DB Schenker may be a large corporation, but it also has a large heart.”