Ponca City UPS driver retires after 3.5 decades behind the wheel with a spotless record proving we do need more women in trucking.

Hometown: Ponca City, OK

Joined UPS: 1984

Driving: 38 years

First Route: Ponca City Down Town, then Blackwell

Career Miles: 890,000

Favorite Safety Tip: Stay back and make sure you see it all. “Awareness of your surroundings and others gives you time to adjust to conditions,” says Kathleen.

What brought you to UPS?

Like many others, another driver is what brought Kathleen to UPS. At the time, she owned a Ken’s Pizza Parlor franchise in Ponca City. She recollected thinking, “Every time I saw the UPS driver, Rick Nelson, he looked happy. I remember thinking UPS must be a good job. Then one day, I applied. I’m glad I did.”

What do you like best about your job?

Over 3.5 decades the job has changed. “Back then, our day would start at 7 AM loading our own truck. We were gone by 8:30 AM and done by 4:30 PM.”

The trucks have come a long way. “We used to call it steering by arm strong,” says Kathleen. Most earlier trucks did not have power steering, but that didn’t dampen her love of the UPS truck. “It’s a great view, being up high, and I like the control of driving a fivespeed.”

While driving around Ponca City, Kathleen became embedded in the community and remembered when Conoco-Phillips moved its R&D to Bartlesville. “We lost many jobs, but then Tyson moved in.”

Kathleen says she misses the relationships with co-workers and customers alike. “Head Country BBQ Sauce originated here,” says Kathleen. “I would see the owners every morning. They treat you like you’re a part of the business.”

What are the biggest challenges of your job when it comes to driving on the road?

Kathleen says ice storms, by far, were the most difficult. “The streets get slick, and you have to slow down to 40 mph on the freeway and take it slow if you want to make it back safe. Adjust how you drive to the conditions of the road.”

What was your fondest memory with a customer?

“I always carry dog treats, always Pedigree Marrow Bone,” Kathleen says she has many memories of the dogs that would greet her. One that stuck out was Benson the Golden Doodle from Gose Jewelers. “He would sit in the front window waiting for me. His owner told me he knew what time of day I would stop by, and he would head to the window about 15 minutes before I arrived.”

How do you feel about the Circle of Honor?

“You take care of the vehicle, and the company recognizes it,” says Kathleen. She remembers receiving her leather jacket at 25 years, and the embroidered hat her manager Dustin MacKenzie gave the drivers in the Circle of Honor.

Has UPS been a good career?

“When you go to college, you pay for it. UPS paid me to go to school, taught me my job, and gave me good pay and a great benefits package,” says Kathleen.

Why should other women consider being truck drivers?

“It’s a great career, and you’re active, you get to serve and build relationships, you get to be outside. And it’s a job that will challenge you,” says Kathleen. She says it took her two years to develop the muscles she needed to do the job. “You must be smarter than the box and use your tools and power zone.”

She remembers delivering a 196 lb. mattress. Pushing it out of the back of her car and maneuvering it end over end to the customer’s door. “Often, my customers would help me unload heavy items.”

A safety co-chair (driver trainer) for ten years, Kathleen says the job keeps her healthy. “I’m lifting boxes. You get your exercise on the job.” She averaged about 7 miles in steps daily.

Now that she’s retired, Kathleen gets on her bicycle for exercise. “I still do my daily stretches to warm up the muscles.”

Behind the wheel until age 67, Kathleen is a testament that following the safety methods will give you a long healthy career. “I always looked forward to coming to work,” says Kathleen.

“Using three points of contact methodically over the years saved my knees. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Pay attention to the safety methods.”

What’s next?

A student of Landscape Architecture at Oklahoma State University before coming to UPS, “I use plants like some people use paint,” says Kathleen. For years she’s maintained the grounds at her church, First Lutheran Church & School. Since retiring, she planted a milkweed garden with the students.