A Coffee with Tamara Sanderson from RST Heavy Haul

Join us for a coffee and chat with Tamara Sanderson to hear all about how RST Heavy Haul dealt with the ownership change and challenges of 21st century. Taking over the business after her father's passing, Tamara has stood the test of time moving from municipal government into the trucking industry. Instead of shutting down, she grew the businesses success through partnership and stellar reputations. RST has flourished and continues to grow breaking new records. 

Transcript

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Hey everybody, welcome to another edition of ABA Coffee In The Park, Acheson Business Association Coffee In The Park. My name is Cam Milliken, and I am here with my co-host extraordinaire, Jennifer Herrick, the executive director of the Acheson Business Association. And we are coming to you, from Jennifer. We are coming to you live from the Wall Coffee Roasters, located in beautiful... Downtown Acheson. That's right. And we are very excited today. You know, I say that every podcast, but it's true, because I really am excited about it. And we are excited about our guest today. Jennifer, why don't you introduce our guest? Well, it is my absolute honor to introduce this week's guest. Our guest this week is Tamara Sanderson, who is the president of RST. Welcome. So welcome, Tamara. Thank you for having me. We're excited that you're here, and we've gotten to know you a little bit over the last little while. And man, you're just awesome. You have a great story. We're looking forward to chatting with you today. Thank you. But before we do, we have a question for you. So we know that you share an office with a really famous cat in Acheson. I do. So we're wondering what happened this week. I mean, we saw a little something on his Instagram and there was a little situation. So oh, with the mouse. Oh, yeah. There was a nest found in one of the trailers. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So we recovered actually the receptionist, got a hold of three of them and we sent them to a rescue. We actually, she got some kind of formula and she was feeding them. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I need clarification on that. There is a mouse rescue? There is. Yeah, I forget it. It's a wild, like it's a wildlife rescue. So it's not like a designated mouse rescue. It's not all kinds of animals. It's all wildlife. I don't have the details on it, but you could definitely call Bushell Transport. Well, there you go, folks. If you have wild mice running around and you want to rescue the wild mice, they can go to a wild mice rescue. Just contact us and we'll get the name of the wild mouse rescue for you. Anyway, we should tell everybody that the cat is Felix the cat. Yes. Yeah, you can follow him on social media. He actually has more followers than both trucking companies that operate out of the facility. He gets lots of posts and he provides us so much love and support and character to the building. There's so much employee interaction. He's just a joy. He really is. Yay. I follow Felix. I love following Felix. He's awesome, Felix. And like you say, he's great when you need to laugh or just need to feel good about something you can watch or see Felix the cat. So that's great. And yeah, all the staff take pictures of him and Cheryl's our designated social media manager. So there's a lot of variety and yeah, he's always telling stories and yeah, keeping it real. Awesome. Well, let's move on from Felix. That's not really why we brought you here, but it's a great story to tell. So Tamara. Yes. Tell us a little bit about yourself. I was born and raised in Red Deer to two very hard working blue collared people. There's a third generation, I guess I would be as far as trucking and equipment when it goes all the way back to my grandpa. And even before that, I guess my great grandfather, he was a heavy duty mechanic. So there's lots of family history as far as mechanics and trucking. And then so I got to obviously be part of a trucking company from a pretty early age. I remember doing our IFTA reports, and I remember doing greasing and polishing and cleaning of the interiors. You were doing it all. At a pretty young age, yeah. Were you driving? Not yet. Not yet. No, I still don't actually have my class one, but I do have my air brakes. Yeah, I got too busy running the business. Yeah. So was that your, as you went through school and all that sort of thing, was it your kind of goal or your future was to be in trucking or where did that all go? No. Unfortunately, my dad passed away quite suddenly in 2019. And that's what created the pivot to trucking. Because when I looked at dad's business, it was, you know, we had a good customer base. There was a lot of positives. There was some challenges as well, but there was a lot more positives. And then my background in business and economic development and community development, I felt I had what it took to make it happen. So I did an assessment in 2019 and picked up the pieces and we've carried on and it's worked out well. There's a lot of work to be done still, but we're building the foundation and the structure. And yeah, it's good. So Tamara, that's quite the shift. You were in municipal government and all of a sudden you're switching to a totally different industry and not only a totally different industry, but as a young woman coming into that industry, which is, let's be honest, it's quite heavily male dominated. How did you feel about taking that step and leaving your career to do that? Well, I felt really excited. My dad was an incredible person and he did his job really well and his customers absolutely loved him. But growing up in a trucking family, there's so many sacrifices that are made. And then for him, for his life to be cut short, it was kind of almost like a personal challenge to myself on maybe even an emotional side. Hey, I want to, you know, I want to turn this into something great. So that was a big driver for me. And like I said, it had the building blocks. So I just, I felt excited. And I think when you take certain things on in life, big things, you have your idea of what it's going to be, a picture of what it's going to be in your mind. But then when you actually do it, it's very different. So that picture and that vision that I had in my mind was kind of a protector at first because the reality of the industry and being a female in the industry is extremely tough sometimes. So it was those things that help get through some of the tough times, but it's ultimately any challenges we go through in life. It only makes us better, it helps us to improve, you know, we can always turn a bad situation into a good one if we're able to take the lessons. So I can tell by listening to you that your dad was a pretty special guy. And I can tell that he had a huge, huge impact in your life. Tell me about that. What are the things that you take away from your dad? That today are things that you would say, these are the things that kind of keep me going in business and in life? Well, it's funny. I think that he put all the hard work in so that I could do what I'm doing now. And I have a great amount of gratitude for that. Obviously, I could not be doing what I'm doing now without the building blocks that he set up for me. And also, some of the relationships that I've been able to build was from the relationships he already had in place, whether that's customers or even my business partner. So that was very important, or that's a driver, right? And then obviously, some of the principles of how he did business and how he cared for people, like customer service was absolutely number one, honesty, doing it right and doing it well. There's lots of things that, you know, obviously, he taught me growing up and being hardworking both parents that have given me kind of the tenacity or the grit that I've needed to be able to do what I've had to do at times. So you talked a little bit about your business partner, tell us a little bit about how that came to be and who helped you along the way with some of this. So 2019, let's go back. Everybody can kind of remember COVID was just hitting then. Yeah, this is very challenging time. RST accessed all of the available grants that you could get. So there was the CEBA loan, I had a background in grant applications, which was really good for me. That was kind of on the economic development side for municipalities. So there was the CEBA loans and then there was also wage top ups and stuff like that. So I accessed all of those programs because what happened is the phone rang all the time to the phone not ringing. And then the competition got so high for any of the available freight that it was really hard. So I started losing employees. I was looking at my equipment, which was a lot of it was really old and tired. Dad was very mechanically inclined, obviously, I'm not, I am but not to the level that he was. So the business ultimately needed a complete makeover for it to run in a more modern way. Can I just ask you something during that time, and we've, it's been interesting in a lot of the interviews we've done so far, the role that, or the impact, let me say that, that COVID played on business. During that time, did you ever think this isn't worth it? I can't do this. Or, I mean, none of us knew how long it was going to last or even if it was going to end. And so just what you've explained to us today, did you ever just think this isn't worth it? I can't do this. I'm not going to lie and say that those thoughts didn't pass through my mind because I think just being a human and going through high degrees of stress and difficulty, they're going to make us ask those intrinsic questions to ourself and really reflect, is this something that I want to do, right? Because of how difficult it is, right? Or the stress level, you've got to be able to manage that and be okay with that, right? And then when you think of being in a leadership position in any company, like a lot of the energy or direction or that all has to come, a lot of it comes from you, you kind of set the tone. So, yeah, you have to, yeah, absolutely. I thought about that a lot. I thought about giving up, right? What kept you going? I would say the vision, right? The possibilities, yeah, just having like an innate feeling in your gut of knowing, I can do this or I can make it happen. I just got to keep going. I have to not quit. Yeah. So we talked a little bit about Felix the cat over at Bushell. So tell us how that work that you ended up over in the Bushell building and what the connection is there. So Grant and Cheryl Glattacker, they own Bushell Transport. And Grant and my dad had crossed paths before. And sometimes Bushell would hire Ross Anderson Trucking or RST as a subcontractor. And my dad prior to starting or even actually when he first started as an owner operator, he worked for Mullen. And Mullen is kind of like a core trucking company that set the standard or set the stage in the market for a lot of good other companies or good people that work there that then went on and started their own companies. If you're in trucking, it's a very small world and there's so many connections. So I always, my dad and I always spoke regularly. So whether it was like a safety concern or sometimes they would be talking about employee issues or we talk about finance company, all of those kinds of business dealings, dad and I were always in pretty close contact. So he always talked about Grant and Murray Trailers. And my mom tells this incredible story about when she went to the US with my dad and they toured the Murray facility and what they're doing down there and how they make trailers. It's a very special and that was always a really big highlight. So you hear your parents talk about things and they kind of get solidified in your memory and you remember. So when I took over the company, I had my dad's phone, I had all these contacts. So I would basically Google search in the contacts for things that I had remember that he had said to me or he had spoke to me about. And Bushell Transport as far as the oversized overweight world, they're kind of, they provide the gold standard in a lot of regards. They're known for really high safety standards. They're known for their efficient hauling, exceptional trailer systems being kind of cutting edge when it comes to the industry and myself, you know, and anybody, if you're going to get into something, obviously, you want to do it really well. You know, you want to do it right and you want to do it well. So it was pretty natural for me to contact and reach out to Grant. And obviously, he knew that my dad had passed away. So our relationship just started through conversation. And then eventually I kind of like, you know, posed him, hey, you know, would you be interested in possibly buying shares in RST? And then, you know, we opened discussions from there. So yeah. Fantastic. What, what is your niche? Because trucking is a huge industry. It's very diversified. What is what is RST's niche, what are you? So obviously, we'll haul all types of freight, but oversize and overweight, or things that are you could say, not standard, not legal, I guess not legal loads as far as their dimensions and weight. So everything that has to be permitted, that's what we're into. Yeah. Because it takes, you know, it's not just, there's a lot of thought, there's a there's process that goes into that. So there is knowledge and expertise that's required. You often act as an advisor to a client, they're like, hey, we have, you know, this large machine, how are we going to haul it? And you're able to provide that technical advice, and you're obviously able to price it for them, and then you make a deal and you make it happen. What's the most kind of unique place or unique item that you've had to haul to date? Unique, I can think of lots of different trips that were unique. It wasn't necessarily maybe what we were hauling, but maybe it's where we went. So one trip that comes to mind, we got to go to Ahousaht on Vancouver Island. So we actually... Ahousaht, so that's a place? That is, yeah, yeah. So a lot of people have a vacation. How was that? Good guy. Yeah, absolutely. Beautiful community. Yeah, so we got to drive to Tofino, and that highway is very like kind of jagged, if you can kind of think. I think there's big rock surfaces, and it was a very wide shack that was the brainchild of a wastewater plant. So once a community gets to a certain population, the government requires you to up your standards. So this was a shack that had obviously a lot of special technology in it to run a wastewater facility for an indigenous community. Yeah, so we hauled it, and I actually was piloting on this load, so we had to travel at night, and radio contact, and shining the light to make sure we weren't touching the side. And then when we finally got to Tofino, we actually got to barge. And then we spent the whole day on the island, shuttling stuff back and forth. And yeah, it was incredible. I believe I posted some pictures on our TikTok. Yeah, but it was an incredible... Yeah, so it wasn't necessarily, it was wide, but it wasn't heavy, right? But it was a very unique location. Interesting. It is. It's such a unique world, right? And all of the things, like you said, Cam, it's so diversified and the things that you do. We talked a little bit about when you walked in today, that there was something different and something you were excited about that was heading up to Fort McMurray. Yeah, so we actually picked up a really large unit from Fort McMurray. And I'll put a plug to check our social media in the next couple of days because we'll post about it. But it would be a record haul for size and weight for RST, so pretty exciting. Yeah, now that we're in summer and you can actually buy weight on your axle groupings. Yeah, so on your wheeler, you can get 32, so we were able to haul something that was... So tell us your social media so everyone can go there right now. So it's RST Heavy Haul. Yeah, we're on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok as well. And you're hauling all the way from Fort McMurray to... Just to Edmonton. Yeah, it's not a long... Just Edmonton. That's a long way. It's not that short a haul. Wow, that's fantastic. So let's go back a little bit, because I'm kind of curious and forgive me for maybe asking this question. I don't want it to sound sexist in any way, but as a young woman coming into the trucking industry, and I think most people, when they think trucking, they think men. I mean, let's, you know, I guess that's the way it is. I don't know if that's a stereotype, but I think that's just the way it is. And so here's a young woman, comes into the industry with all these men. What was that like? Was it really tough? Were they embracing? How did that go at first? I would say, yeah, I would still, I would say you would just get mixed reactions based on the person, right? So some people are sexist, so they're like, you know, ultimately sometimes underestimating you, but sometimes that can work in your favor, right? But it can be challenging to the human level, like your own psyche, because it can make you question yourself. But all of that, as tough as it can be, obviously, as far as meeting the challenges, it can create growth inside of a person. So that's what I've taken away from it, but ultimately sometimes underestimated, or maybe even pushed aside. But, you know, Grant and Cheryl didn't do that to me. Grant never thought that way. He was like, you know, he obviously saw the potential and obviously what was there. So anybody that I've been able to forge, a lot of the salesmen that I work with, other people, they're just proud of me. They've elevated me. They've given me opportunities. Yeah, so that's a lot of times, you know, you do get mixed reactions, but as much as there is maybe tough or difficult, there is so much good, right? And good people always connect you with other good people. So that's helped out in the tough times. So you've done all these amazing things. What's the next step for you? Where do you want to take it? What do you want to do? I just want to grow and scale. So obviously, right now, we're really working on the structure of RST. There's a lot of growth. There's a lot of work to do there, I guess you could say. Safety is extremely important. We all have to be vigilant of that. We are a C-Core carrier qualification, so that's through Alberta Motor Transportation Association. So RST holds that. It has to do with all of our documentation. We're really working on our processes and procedures, and then there's the HR side of it, so that's your employee handbook. So we're really working on all of that first. And ultimately, when you're doing oversize overweight, you need an experienced driver. So you need someone with minimum, say, three to four years experience, at least one year in heavy haul. And then even from there, you need lots of checks and balances to keep drivers on the straight and narrow, I guess you could say, or progressing as professionals in their own career. So we just want to really be able to set up all the supports and training in place to help people. If you're going to come work for us, we're going to have the building blocks so you can reach your full potential as an individual. So we're really... Five. Five trucks. How many drivers do you have? Five. Is it tough finding drivers in this job market? So the market's had a little bit of upheaval recently. Alberta's economy recently has maybe been... We've had a little bit more of a depression, and we've seen certain companies closing down. So I think that there's been an upheaval, so it's kind of loosened up maybe some good candidates currently. But trucking is a very market-driven business, so that's always going to be kind of like a flex and flow. Obviously, good drivers are going to attract other good drivers, and then they have to be okay with having a female boss as well. Sure. Yeah. But I have, honestly, I'm so proud. I'm so proud of my team, and they've, in many regards, sometimes they were training me when it comes to permits or rules. They've been extremely supportive. There's no way I could do what I have done without my team. I love that, especially coming from a leader of an organization, because I think we can all learn, no matter where we're at in a business or in our personal lives. I think people that are willing to learn from others, it just goes so much further. Did you almost check the ego at the door? And to be able to learn and grow. I'm going to say we, Tamara, a while back, all three of us sat down and had a conversation. And I think Jennifer will attest to this. I walked away going, wow. I was so impressed. And then right away, had to do the usual thing and follow you on all the social media, because what we had talked about impressed me so much. And one of the things that really impresses me about you is you really have a desire to grow as a person. And your core values are, that impressed me. We talked about those a little bit. And you have such a desire to just keep growing and developing. I got the sense not just from a business perspective, but as a person as well. And that's really impressive. I think that's, for a young woman in the trucking industry, I think that that's really incredible. Yeah, I've had some hard lessons. It's hard being a leader. You have to meet yourself, so to speak. We have an idea of who we are as an individual. But how are we speaking to others? What is our tone of voice? What impacts are we making? And then you truly have the idea of yourself, and then there is who you actually are. So I think I've done a lot of personal learning about that. Tell us about that a little bit. What is it that you do to develop that in yourself and in your leadership skills as a person again, but also within your business? So I get really excited about stuff. You guys will have known that about me. So as soon as I can get on to something, I'm like, oh my goodness, right away I'm seeing everything that it could be. But there's a cautionary in that as far as my personality, because you need to make sure you've got all your checks and balances. Does it meet code? What are the regulations that come into play? What tools and my resources am I going to need to have access to? All of those, right? So you get kind of an idea or a vision or in your mind, you get really excited about it. And then the conversation is just bubbling forth. But now I actually have to go and do this. So one thing I've learned to calm down in my personality is I still get excited, but I'm not necessarily going to verbalize and bubble forth everything. I'm going to kind of keep the cards a little bit closer to the chest. I'm going to look at all the processes and everything that need to happen before. And then I'm going to say, Hey, who do I need to engage on my team to make this happen? Who do I need to talk to? Who do I need to run this by? What are all the different steps? Because we can get a little, we can put the horse before the cart, so to speak, in life. And that's a, you know, yeah, Cam's putting his hand up. I can attest to that. Yeah. Yeah. So that's something that, and I think when you realize who you are as a person, it's like, kind of like, like you said, check the ego, like let's actually check our ego. Let's leave it at the door. And who am I? How am I showing up? What impact am I having? What actually needs to happen to produce the result, create the service, create the win, make the vision happen? Because there's a lot of discipline, there's a lot of planning. It's a lot of hard work that's required to actually make that happen. It's easy to get excited about things. It's completely different to actually do them, execute it and do it well. Yeah, absolutely. It's a bit, it's a long process, and those checks and balances, like you said, I think, especially in your industry, are so important to not skip some of those steps. Yes. Yeah, exactly. So we got just a few minutes left, Tamara. So here's my question. I know nothing about trucking, other than I get stuck behind them on the highway, and it's a little frustrating at times. But just tell us, what's a bad day at the office, and what's a good day at the office? Just what's a bad day? And then when you go home at night, what's a really great day? I would say a bad day is when one of your drivers gets a moving violation. Okay. Like a speeding ticket? Could be a speeding ticket, could be a permit violation, could be anything. I don't think you'll be hiring me. You're not experienced enough, Cam. He's got far too many tickets. You don't want his driving record, no. And what's a really great day at the office? I would say a day like today. Right. Yeah. So you can think of taking on a challenging job and then seeing a driver have success in that. And they're communicating, they're taking all the pictures, they're doing all the checks and balances, you're working together. We follow code when it comes to securement. A lot of people will look at our loads and they'll be like, well, that is securement on steroids. So, you know, every driver that you get, if you think of it as pro quo or say how everybody else is doing it versus the right way, and that's something that is kind of like a personal challenge to the driver. It's like, do you want to do it how everybody else is doing it, or do you actually want to do it to what the code is? So, it's a personal challenge to achieve excellence or, like I always say, it's in the details. You're only as good as your last job. You need to really step things out and do it well. So, when you see your guys clicking in to those processes and those procedures, and then you actually see the success that they're having and that the company is achieving, it is, you walk out the office, obviously. It's a good day. It's a good day. Wow. Well, this has been great. It really has. And you really impress me. And I mean that sincerely. I love following you. I love sitting and have conversation with you. And I love that you're in Acheson. I love that you're a part of the Acheson Business Association. And I could, I just, again, I just love listening to you, because I think you just really, you know where it's going and trying to figure it out. And that really impresses me. And I like that a lot. Yeah, I agree. I think that you are really inspiring and will be continued to be inspiring to so many in the industry, male or female. Yeah, I'm going to say like all you male truckers, if you're listening to this, like you need to listen to Tamara. She knows what's going on here. Like this is really good. Like don't just, you know, get off your high cab there and get down and listen to her because she's impressive. I really like that. So anyway, Tamara, thank you so much for taking the time today. We are so glad that you came. I look forward to this podcast going out. And Jennifer, that's another one under the belt right there. You want to give us any announcements or? We're just going to remind everybody, like we'll do until the gala happens on September 28th, and nominations are open. So nominate a business or an individual that you feel deserves recognition. Like I said, the gala is September 28th. Tickets are on sale. They'll also go fast. Don't miss this opportunity to come meet the fantastic people like Tamara here in Acheson. That's right. www.Achesonbusiness.com That's where you can go to find out not only more information about the ABA, but also about the gala. You can also download this podcast on that link as well. And you'll find this podcast where everybody finds podcasts on Apple and Spotify and all those other channels that I know nothing about. But we're so glad that you joined us. Jennifer, tell us about our sponsors. We got some great sponsors of the ABA. Yes, absolutely. We want to give a big shout out to our gold corporate sponsors, the Myshak Group of Companies, Genics, and of course Parkland County. They are big supporters of the Acheson Business Association, and we are so appreciative of their support. Yes, and we want to thank all of you for listening. Our numbers are growing. This is number five. And Cam, numbers from across North America. That's right. We have people listening to us in like Texas. Are you serious? Yeah, and we didn't even phone them and ask them to listen. I think it just shows you how impactful Acheson is. Like this area is a hotspot for economic activity as far as industry. So is it ever? I'm not surprised. So our numbers have literally doubled every time. And here's what I'm going to say. Listen, here's how you can help us. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your neighbors, tell your enemies, tell whoever you want. Share it on your social media. Share it on your social media. ABA Coffee In The Park, that's the handle for it. And our stories have been amazing so far. Every one of them, I'm not disappointing one bit. And they're only going to continue. And so thanks for listening, everybody. We hope you have a great day. Thanks, everybody. You will not want to miss this year's 2024 Acheson Business Awards Gala. Over 300 guests from the area's industry and government leaders will join to recognize businesses of all sizes that demonstrate diversity and excellence in our community. We will recognize the Business of the Year, the Community Award, the Women in Leadership Award, and the Associate Member of the Year. This year's presentation of the Acheson Business Association Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Wes Wall, the co-founder and CEO of Genics, and will be the highlight of the event. The Gala is a fantastic dining experience with exceptional networking. Saturday, September 28th, at the DoubleTree by Hilton West Edmonton, you will not want to miss this sold out event. Get your tickets today by going to Achesonbusiness.com.