G’DAY from… Blake Wurmnest

G’Day From…

5 Sept

From Heyworth in central Illinois, Blake has been behind the wheel for almost forty years, and as an owner/operator for the past ten. Trucking blood must have run through the veins he inherited from his dad – also a truckie (sorry Blake, you’ll have to adjust to Aussie-speak).

**15 years old with 1.6 million miles (2.6 mill km) on the clock. Looking good!**

A freight hauler, his father was a member of the Teamsters Union for 29 years before freight deregulation (the Motor Carrier Act) took his job in 1980.

(Editor’s note: The Act appeared to have two major effects: 1. Goods and services became cheaper in big towns and cities, although the reverse applied in some smaller towns. 2. A price war between carriers hurt the small operator the most.)

“My father then ran over the road for several years pulling a refer (refrigerated trailer). He was the original ‘Old School Trucker’. Dad never owned his own but always dreamed about it. He and my mother bought me my first truck right out of high school, but my mother and I couldn’t get along so that didn’t last.

**A grainy image of Blake’s first truck - what we might call a Boomerang gift**

“Tomorrow marks 10 years that my father has been gone. He drove up until he was 80 and probably would still be at it if cancer and a failing heart didn’t get him. I have 4 trucks with 3 drivers and I still drive one myself.

“We haul mainly Ag products and mostly run the Mid-West: Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri and Nebraska. My daughter, Amber, is Operations Supervisor and runs dispatch. My 19 year old son, Eric, helps with the maintenance and runs errands for us.”

From Blake’s communication, he tells us that Eric’s desired future is not in trucking, but rather in professional 10-pin bowling. To many that would be similar, we imagine, to the young feller announcing that he is going to be a world famous rock artist.

Eric however, has Blake’s support, given the lad has been bowling since age 2 and has many 300 perfect games to his credit. “He’s good enough to go pro,” said Blake. “In fact his bowling hero is Belmo.”

“Belmo?”

“Your guy from Down-Under.”

I apologised for my ignorance of one of my own countrymen, explaining that outside AFL, Rugby and Cricket – no doubt foreign words to Blake – plus a sprinkling of surfing, we don’t get to hear much about our other international sporting stars.

Thank God for Google: Jason Belmonte is an Australian professional ten-pin bowler. He plays on the PBA Tour in the United States and in world events. He is known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the two handed approach style to deliver his shot.

**Aussie champion bowler, Jason Belmonti with Eric and Blake**

From being given a truck by one hand and then having it taken away with the other, plus forging his way in a newly deregulated market where it appears many smaller operators fell by the wayside, Blake has done well – as a mere look at his fleet of four superb Peterbilt’s can attest. We wish you well into the future, Blake, and welcome you into the world of Australian trucking and Truckies via Truckin with Kermie.