MEET BRENDA
 Submitted by Nancy Finley-LTD Human Interest Reporter  

Meet Brenda Backhaus. This multi-skilled lady is a full-time truck driving instructor and part time school bus operator instructor at Central Tech Truck Driver Training in Drumright, Oklahoma. Backhaus's job description includes full-time student instruction and Train the Trainer courses. She also teaches School Bus Certification for the State Department of Education. Backhaus is the first female instructor at Central Tech in 31 years of truck driver training. As of this date we don't know how many other female truck driving instructors there are in the USA.
Backhaus drives part-time shuttling trailers in a local radius on an as-needed basis for Miller Truck Lines in Stroud, Oklahoma. Recently on weekends Backhaus has been driving a 57-passenger coach for Gambler Tours out of Owasso, Oklahoma. Brenda gained her tank experience pulling smooth bore trailers for approximately 3 years for Farm Fresh based in Chandler, Oklahoma, hauling raw milk and loved it. Backhaus says, "I really miss it. I think the challenge of hauling the liquid makes life interesting and it also reminds you not to push the limits."
Early in her career Backhaus was a Driver's License Examiner for the State of Oklahoma and traveled to different locations giving both CDL Class A and Class D written and driving tests. Imagine the book she could write on those experiences alone.

Brenda Backhaus is a newlywed and husband Ron is a full-time Recruiter and part-time driver for Miller Truck Lines. Backhaus has two teenagers, Jason and Kaylyn. She says, " They are really great. If they weren't so much help and such good kids, I wouldn't be able to spend so much of my free time from school doing other driving jobs. I really love working in the trucks with my students and driving whenever I can OTR." 

A big challenge for Backhaus was learning how to drive in a team situation after getting married. " You really have to enjoy someone to spend that much quality time with them in such a confined space.  OTR driving is one of the most challenging professions. At the same time it can be a new adventure everyday if you look for it. The people in this industry are some of the greatest people you will ever meet. I respect the difficult job they do every day. I teach my students to look for the joys in life and always drive with the knowledge that as a professional their first responsibility is safety.
Some of the things I would like to see happen is more education for the non-truck driving population, beginning at the Driver Education class level. We need more advanced training for OTR and local drivers. We all need to continue learning so we can continue to grow on a personal as well as a professional level.

My training and driving experiences allow me to provide a better life for my children and I don't mean just financially. They ride with me whenever possible and have learned to be responsible when they are home. It has given me the opportunity to share life's experiences that a 9-5 job just doesn't offer. I hope that through my teaching and example other women will enjoy the personal and professional satisfaction that is attainable in a career that at one time was dominated and thought to be "male only". I would like for all lady truck drivers to know if you represent yourself as a lady, both male and female will render you the respect deserving of a lady ".

LTD salutes Brenda Backhaus for her achievements in the trucking industry and we look forward to finding more ladies who have reached super star status as Brenda has!

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