OpenLine

February 2025

Leadership Message

Hello and welcome to the February ’25 edition of the OpenLine newsletter.

I’d first like to congratulate our Driver of the Month, Chris, and Rookie of the Month, Chandler. Thank you for setting a great example for all Melton employees.

In this issue, I want to cover a few things that are going on in the Maintenance Department.

Things are starting to heat up in Maintenance with our new truck and trailer order starting to trickle in. We ordered more Freightliners (260) than Kenworth’s (220) this time around, which is something we have not done before. There were a few reasons why we elected to go with more Freightliners. First, the Freightliner has proven to be more durable. The Kenworth has a lot of fancy fairings and panels that tend to get damaged easily and it is very expensive to replace them. The Freightliner has a more durable set up and if its fairings get damaged it is one-third of the cost to replace them. Second, PACCAR parts are extremely expensive. For a like part, PACCAR can be up to five times as expensive as DTNA (Diamler). Third, the Freightliners MPG is .10 better than the Kenworth. This does not sound like much but if you run 750 trucks,100K miles in a year, that .10 equals 481K miles annually.

We also purchased 300 trailers, 225 Utilities, and 75 Great Danes, and they will start rolling in by the middle of March. We elected to go with more Utilities as they hold up better over the long run. We typically keep our trailers for 10 years and the Utilities always look fresher than the Great Danes when it comes time to sell. There were minor spec changes in this order but nothing anyone would notice.

I do not know about everyone else, but I personally smell a hint of economic recovery in the air. I think once we get out of the deep winter freeze, we will see trucking take off. If we work hard and keep a good attitude, we will start killing it again soon. Lastly, I want to thank everyone for the efforts to make Melton Truck Lines, Inc., the nation’s premier flatbed carrier.

Scott Stephan

VP of Maintenance

Driver & Rookie of the Month

December Driver of the Month

Congratulations to our newest Driver of the Month, Chris! Chris is from Nebraska and has been with Melton for three years as his first OTR job. Before he was a truck driver, Chris…see more

December Rookie of the Month

Let’s celebrate this month’s Rookie of the Month, Chandler! Chandler lives in Arizona and has been with Melton for almost a year as his first OTR job. Before driving for Melton…see more

Photos

Every month we receieve lots of amazing photos from our drivers from their time on the road. If you have a photo you’d like to share, send an email to [email protected].

Would you believe us if we said it wasn’t a painting? Such a cool view, Amie!

Some things just make you cold by looking at it. Stay warm out there, Austin!

Feeling jealous of those blue skies that David found out in El Paso.

Doug out in Pennsylvania sharing the snow with the rest of us. Stay warm out there, Doug!

First backing without assistance- fantastic work out there, Jamie!

Mario’s out here with a post-card view. Thanks for sharing, Mario!

New team driver is ready to roll- might have some trouble reaching the pedals, but we’ll get there.

Air so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Thanks for sharing the scene, Osel!

Wellness & Safety Articles

Upcoming Events in Wellness

I hope all of you are staying warm, getting some exercise, and working on a healthy diet! We have a few…see more

All About GeoTab

The Geotab tablets are an essential tool used to track Hours of Service (HOS) and maintain accurate logs…see more

Monthly Poll

See last month’s results: What’s your New Year’s resolution?

Leave us a Review!

We’re always looking for Melton team members to share their opinions with us. If you want to share your experience working for Melton, we encourage you to leave an honest review on your platform of choice. You can visit our Glassdoor page below!

Review Us on Glassdoor

Kudos

Here are some positive messages we receieved about both office staff and drivers for this month! If you’d like to give kudos to a coworker, please send it to [email protected].

I just received a phone call from a former Ambassador, Frank. Had a great conversation with him. He came across Donavan in 15072 who is on his very first solo load. He wanted us to know how well he did with his tarps and securement. I sent a message to Donavan’s tablet thanking him for his hard work.

Shea, Safety Generalist

Sharing a little kudos to Dustin in truck 16632 for providing excellent service. We are gaining some momentum with this customer!

Estee Hanvey, Inside Sales

Extended Coverage is the captain of the Melton ship on nights and weekends. Their posts are covered onsite – no matter the weather or special holiday. Hats off to those women and men who save our bacon every night, every weekend, and cover fleets through the week so we can take time off. If you have a special message of thanks for them, send it over and we will make sure to celebrate them loudly.

Angie, VP of Operations

To the driver that passed us on I-40 West heading into Amarillo, awesome tarp job sir! Always love seeing drivers who take pride in their tarping.

Benjamin, Melton Driver

I’m so grateful for our Extended Coverage team. They constantly impress me with the way they handle all of the different challenges our drivers face, regardless of what department the challenge belongs in. Their broad spectrum of knowledge has definitely been an asset to me and my team!

Benjamin, Melton Driver

My driver never ceases to amaze me with his dedication and willingness to help out fellow Melton drivers. Another driver asked their DM to pass along a shoutout to Richard for his exemplary attitude and never-ending generosity after he helped solve a problem with his load. This set his own load delivery time back, but he didn’t hesitate to help where he was needed.

Joanna, DM

Sometimes our ‘behind the scenes’ team members are unsung heroes. Today, I am celebrating Jonathan.

We never want loads to sit on our trailers, but when they do, we want to get paid. With the improved processes and technology that he and the Laredo/MX team masterminded, Jona was able to turn his attention away from unnecessary processes to working with customers to get their freight moving. It resulted in fewer disputes over detention because of his personal touch. Jona made sure he was notifying the correct people — which couldn’t be done without the Sales team’s participation.

The Summer Steel Tariff crisis increased Jona’s workload and detention billing. Sales’ success in updating accessorial for a couple of key accounts contributed to this massive increase.

Let’s pray for fewer holdups at the border, but know Jona will be on top of our pennies!

Angie, VP of Operations

Get Involved

We’re excited to share all of the activities that have been happening at Melton during the month!

See what's happening

Anniversaries

Be sure to congratulate these staff members who have hit tenure milestones with Melton!

Let's Celebrate

New Hires & Movement

Congratulations to all of the new hires and movement this month! Meet the newest members of the team here.

say hello

Top Fleets

It’s time to recognize and congratulate the top fleets for the month!

Check it out

December Driver of the Month: Chris

Congratulations to our newest Driver of the Month, Chris! Chris is from Nebraska and has been with Melton for three years as his first OTR job. Before he was a truck driver, Chris was in IT for 28 years. His favorite place to drive is in the Pacific Northwest, and when he’s not driving, Chris likes to travel, hike, and practice photography. His best advice for new drivers is to set a long-term goal for your career, and have situational awareness at all times. Chris would like to recognize his wife for supporting him while he’s on the road, the Safety department for always being available when he needs help, as well as his DM, Carolyn.

Carolyn had this to say about Chris: “Great choice! Chris represents Melton and Operations very well.” Keep up the great work!

December Rookie of the Month: Chandler

Let’s celebrate this month’s Rookie of the Month, Chandler! Chandler lives in Arizona and has been with Melton for almost a year as his first OTR job. Before driving for Melton, Chandler worked at Apple as a tech specialist. He chose Melton because he was interested in flatbed, and was drawn in by our training program. When he’s not driving, Chandler works towards earning his private pilot license, and plays piano and guitar in his spare time. He would like to recognize his mother and father for being extremely supportive, as well as his road trainer.

Chandler’s DM, Lou, wanted to congratulate him: “A great guy. Very conscientious about everything he does. A good, consistent driver. I never have a problem with him. Congrats Chandler!”

A Message from Our Wellness Manager

I hope all of you are staying warm, getting some exercise and working on a healthy diet! We have a few upcoming events that I want to make you aware of!

New Fitness App Challenge: Spring Shred Vol. 2025

Earn some Melton Torque Swag and sign up today for the Spring Shred physical activity challenge – using our Melton Fitness Tracking App!

What: Spring Shred Vol. 2025!

When: Sign up NOW – Challenge runs March 1, 2025 thru May 31, 2025

Details: Use our Fitness Tracking App and aim to log 40 workouts on or before midnight on May 31,2025

Prize: Be one of the first 50 employees to complete the challenge and you will receive a coooool custom Torque T-Shirt & water bottle!

How to Sign Up for the Spring Shred Vol. 2025!

Log into your Melton Fitness Tracking app.
Click on Community then click on Spring Shred logo.
Click on “JOIN CHALLENGE” and start MOVING! (workouts logged beginning 3/1/25 will count towards the challenge)

How to Log Your Activity:

Click on “Workouts”
Click on the + sign in the top right corner.
Click “Track Workout”
Select your activity type (or something close to it) and enter your duration. Keep it simple – save your workout as a template….then simply add templates when you work out.
Click “Start” at the bottom of the page, then “Complete Workout” then “Save Workout” – That’s it!!
***You may also sync your wearable to this challenge – please note: double-check to make sure your activity is logging. If not, manually log them.

National Wear Red Day: February 7, 2025

Friday, February 7th is the annual American Heart Association’s National Wear Red Day! We encourage all employees and their families to WEAR RED that Friday!

Why wear red? The day is a way to raise awareness of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death for Americans and the number one killer of women.

What: National Wear Red Day

Day: Friday – 2/7/25

Action: Wear something RED to support the fight against heart disease.

Photos: Not in Tulsa? Post your pictures on our Facebook group “Melton Torqued”. If you are in Tulsa, we will schedule a group photo on the morning of February 7th.

Stay Healthy!

Bret Bringham

Wellness Manager

A Message from Our safety department

The Geotab tablets are an essential tool used to track Hours of Service (HOS) and maintain accurate logs. With that said, we have continued to see a trend of intermittent issues that can result in HOS violations across our fleet. Whether it is something that can be fixed directly by the driver or is something that has to be fixed at a terminal, please keep an eye out for these occasional problems:

Location Not Tracking
Sometimes, logs may inaccurately label where you are located due to connection issues. This can look like your location is stuck in one place, even though you have traveled to a different city or state. If this happens and the tablet does not correct itself once you are in a better service area, please reach out to Safety to fix your logs and to verify your tablet is still working correctly.
Drive Time Not Logging
A few drivers have experienced drive time not logging, even though they have driven for a period of time. If you notice your drive clocks are not counting down or that a drive log is missing, find a safe place to park and reach out to Safety as soon as possible. Catching this early is the goal, so keep a close eye on your logbook!
Logging Out for the Shop
When taking your truck to the shop, detach your truck from your tablet and log out of Geotab. Go to HOS > Dashboard, tap your truck number, and click the ‘X’ to delete it. After that, log out of the tablet. Failing to complete these steps can result in inaccurate drive times and on-duty statuses added onto your logs!
Logging Sleeper Berth
We often see a handful of drivers receiving violations when they split log and fail to log sleeper berth. Logging sleeper berth during each 10-hour break not only most accurately reflects rest times, but it also ensures you are not unintentionally getting a violation. The best way to avoid these violations and keep logs as correct as possible is to get in the habit of logging sleeper berth during each 10-hour reset.

By keeping a close eye on your logs, you can avoid compliance issues and keep operations running smoothly. If you encounter problems, don’t hesitate to contact the Safety team at 800-656-2167. We are happy to help!

February Anniversaries

30 Dennise Franklin

29 Joseph Barlow

25 Michael Darnell

24 Kenneth Buchanan

22 Raul Munoz

20 David Sharp

19 Immael Magessa

19 Tamie Barnard

17 Nancy Smith

17 Ronald Harrison

16 Juan Delgado

15 Daniel Worm

15 Eduardo Reyes

15 Edwin Watkins

15 Ramon Evangelista

13 Jason Daigler

13 Roger Miller

13 Thomas Radon

13 Thomas Nassif

12 Norberto Gonzalez

12 Stacy Huggins

11 Christopher Spann

11 Martin Olvey

11 Matt Kennedy

10 Leon Wert

10 Thomas Love

10 Tracy Schroeder

9 Hendric Turner

9 Michael Hibben

8 Erica Ty

8 Jarrett Vines

8 Walter Zamarripa

7 Antoine Jones

7 Banner Partain

7 Guillermo Rojas

7 John Sabal

7 Mack Williams

7 Sean Latham

6 Auriel Drink

6 Danielle McLain

6 Jerald Staggs

6 Jose Ruiz

6 Mathew Feltner

6 Matthew McClatchey

6 Miriam Sams

6 Nicole Lofton

5 Dwayne Bowen

5 Jose Garcia

5 Robert Ransom

4 Brandon Darnell

4 George Frazho

4 Kenneth Johnston

4 Robert Olson

4 Steven Heiberger

3 Charles Dyson

3 Devon Collins

3 James Thomas

3 Logan Treece

3 Mario Carrasco

3 Mimisha Wilkins

3 Thomas Cartwright

2 Anthony Williams

2 Codi Towle

2 Cordearl Marshall

2 Isaac Abanga

2 Jeffery Origas

2 Johnathan Maye

2 Katom Naylor

2 Montrell Thompson

2 Sabastian Whipple

2 Thomas Merket

2 Tyler Risenhoover

1 Alonzo Gears

1 Benjamin Roberts

1 Benjamin Scherr

1 Brianna Masingale

1 Calvin James

1 Charles Shaw

1 Cordell Cash

1 Diego Morin

1 Fabian Valladolid Reynoso

1 Frances Sanders

1 Gary Williams

1 Jacob Stokes

1 Joel Serrano

1 Jose Hurtado Zuniga

1 Joseph Dowell

1 Joshua Duke

1 Justin Kirk

1 Kylie Scoggins

1 Lamarr Algee

1 Latreal Taylor

1 Lawrence Green

1 Lee Ashby

1 Malcolm Thigpen

1 Martinus Downs

1 Michael Quebedeaux

1 Paul Johnson

1 Ramiro Garcia

1 Raul Bazaldua

1 Seth Redmon

1 Sneider Baptiste

1 Stephen Hargis

1 Terrence Sellers

1 Theron Freas

1 Thomas Patterson

1 Vernon Harrell

1 William Funes Hernandez

Monthly Celebration: Happy new Year!

Each month, we gather in our Tulsa headquarters atrium to have our monthly celebration to celebrate anniversaries, new hires, promotions, and birthdays. Thank you for everyone who attended in person or online!

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Celebrating Joseph S.

After 15 years with Melton, we celebrated Joseph S.’s retirement this January. Joseph was an exemplary driver, being recognized as a Top 100 Driver, Blue Knight, Ambassador, and Road Trainer. We appreciate all the hard work you’ve put in over the past 15 years. Enjoy your well-earned retirement, Joseph!

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December Top Fleets

Each month, we have our best fleets in MPG and fuel compliance. Below you will see the top three fleets in each category. Congratulations to each fleet. Keep up the great work.