Driver achieves dream of business ownership with his own truck

(Omaha, NE) February 16, 2004 – After 10 years as a professional driver, Dwight Ackley of Lincoln, Montana, began driving for Merit Transportation, based in Omaha, where it only took 13 months achieve his dream of running his own driving business.

“I’ve always wanted my own truck but I wasn’t able to do it until I took advantage of Merit’s Lease Purchase Program,” says Ackley, who leases a 1999 Freightliner Classic. “Now I’m enjoying driving more than ever.”

Ackley runs all lower 48 states pulling refrigerated freight. “I prefer to stay out for three and half to four weeks at a time, then be at home for a week,” he says. “I make more money, have more flexibility and better home time.”

According to Ackley, he appreciates Merit’s family atmosphere. “It’s a rarity in the trucking industry to get along so well with dispatch and company executives,” says Ackley. “But when you’re sitting down and eating barbeque with the president of the company and he knows what it’s like to be in your shoes, it really makes you feel comfortable.”

Merit’s president, Gary Wills, and vice president, Bill Harris both come from trucking families and had been owner operators for 20 years before partnering to establish Merit Transportation in 1999.

For Ackley, the support of the Merit organization has meant all the difference in his career. “Without Merit, I would not have been able to become an owner operator,” he says. “I know they appreciate me and I truly appreciate them.”

For more information on Merit Transportation, call 877-225-0284.

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