Destinations From PodWheels

In our first episode following the announcement of the finalists for the 2026 Transition Trucking Driving For Excellence Award, our special series brings you the immediate thoughts of the five professionals behind the wheel who advanced in the search for America’s top rookie military veteran driver.

Recorded within the first 30 minutes following the announcement that, for the first time in the program’s history, five of the semifinalists would be moving forward (due to ties in the scoring), Destinations talks with Monica Brooks Buck and Brandon Ward from Werner Enterprises. We’ll also be joined by Daniel Doss of Melton Truck Lines and Gary Williams of Stevens Transport. Mo Arzola with Patriot Group International caps off our conversations that capture each of the finalists’ immediate reaction that they are moving forward in this year’s edition of the program. The winner of the Driving For Excellence Award will receive a new Kenworth T680 truck.

As you’ll hear, a great sense of humility is the theme running throughout this series of brief interviews. Each of the finalists noted that they were surprised to hear their names called, especially after having the opportunity to meet and spend time with the fellow members of the Elite 11. This year’s semifinalists had the opportunity to spend parts of two days together during their time onsite at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio, and during the tour of the Kenworth plant in Chillicothe. To read more about the events in Columbus and Chillicothe as well as the view from the ground during the finalists’ announcement, we invite you to read the story by PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson in TheTrucker.com by clicking here.

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Daryus Jones is the lone local driver to be selected for the Elite 11 in the 2026 Transition Trucking: Driving For Excellence Award program. DJ also has the honor of being the final member of the Elite 11 to be featured as part of our special Destinations series that is continuing to cover this year’s Driving For Excellence Award.

As you will hear in this episode, DJ’s transition to trucking actually began during his four years of military service in the Army, where he worked in logistics handling recovery missions and moving supplies in the field. It was in the Army that DJ developed a passion for trucking while working in Poland and traveling on the road through Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Germany and other countries.

When considering his options with trucking after the military, DJ wanted to stay close to home. DJ and his wife, Vanessa, have four children who range in age from 11 through two years ago. DJ also serves as the head coach for the youth football team, and his oldest son, Aiden, is a standout offensive lineman on the team.

Securing his CDL through Tulsa Tech’s Driver Professional Driver Program, DJ landed a local job with Anheuser-Busch, running routes throughout the Tulsa and Broken Arrow area of Oklahoma. As he shares with us, DJ’s days start well before dawn, arriving at the distribution center most days between 5:00 to 6:00 a.m. The early start allows him to be ready to lead football practice in the afternoons during the Fall.

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Michael Bivens from Stevens Transport is our featured guest as we continue our special series sharing the personal stories of the Elite 11 from Transition Trucking’s Driving For Excellence Award. Our conversation looks back at Michael’s life, including his 13 years of military service in the Marine Corps and the career turn that brought him into the trucking industry.

As you’ll hear, Michael shares how his years as a Marine shaped his sense of discipline and how his family, especially his wife, children, grandson, and late father, continue to inspire his path in life. One of the highlights of the conversation takes place when Michael tells us about his time at the Tennessee Truck Driving School in Knoxville, where he secured his CDL.

Michael notes that the instructors were highly impressed with his backing skills and asked him if he had previous driving experience. As you’ll hear, Michael credits his father for teaching how to properly back vehicles, even those attached to trailers, when he was younger. Entering the trucking industry has become a bit of a full-circle moment for Michael, whose father drove professionally for a brief time before focusing on farming and a career in telecommunications.

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With this episode of our special series featuring the Elite 11 from Transition Trucking’s Driving For Excellence Award, Juan Rosado Lozada reflects on how his service with the Marines paved the way for him to be behind the wheel at Roehl Transport. Juan was seeking to make some positive changes in his life when he enlisted in the Marines after working in a series of unfulfilling jobs after high school.

As he shares with us, the Marines not only offered Juan what became the life-changing opportunity to get behind the wheel as a motor transport operator, but the daily structure he embraced while a part of the Corps reshaped his sense of responsibility and time management. The Marines also provided Juan with other skills that have translated quite well and made his transition to trucking a smooth ride.

During the conversation, Juan also credits the support he has received from his wife, Mayumi Kawashiro, who he met while he was deployed with the Marines in Japan.

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Daniel Doss of Melton Truck Lines is our guest as we continue to feature the members of the Elite 11 from Transition Trucking’s Driving For Excellence Award. Catching up with Daniel just days before his first anniversary on the road with Melton, we look back at his rookie year as a professional driver following his retirement from the Air Force. Getting the call that Melton wanted to nominate Daniel for the Driving For Excellence Award came as a bit of surprise in what has been a seemingly very fast year. 

Daniel talks to us about how he found his path to service in the Air Force – following in a long family tradition of military service across generations in and multiple branches of the military. One of the highlights of Daniel’s look back at his time in the Air Force is hearing his memories of leading the Honor Guard at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington.

In discussing his transition to trucking, Daniel places a good deal of credit on the success he has seen in his first year on the road to his wife, Brandy. You’ll hear the role that Brandy has played in being a supportive resource on the phone as well as her efforts on the homefront with their three children. Speaking of family, Daniel’s big blue Melton truck was an instant hit with his seven-year-old son.

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In this episode of our special series, we’ll get to know Brandon Ward, a driver for Werner Enterprises who is a member of the Elite 11 group that is in the running for Transition Trucking’s 2026 Driving for Excellence Award.

Our conversation looks back at Brandon’s amazing career path that saw him excel in leadership roles with the Navy, in military law enforcement and in federal law enforcement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). We also talk to Brandon about how he found his initial path to trucking with Werner in 1996 before reenlisting in the Navy and continuing to serve his country until his retirement from DHS this past January.

As you will hear, it was his year on the road with Werner that kept the flame burning for Brandon’s desire to return to trucking. After securing his CDL earlier this year, Brandon returned to Werner, where he is once again stepping to demonstrate his extensive leadership skills in mentoring drivers in the company’s placement program.

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In this edition of our special series honoring the Elite 11 from Transition Trucking’s Driving For Excellence Award, you’ll meet Prime Inc. driver Jeff Barber, who entered the industry after 19 years of service in the U.S. Army and subsequent career as a deployed military consultant.

Jeff talks to us about what inspired him to enlist in the Army at age 16, and he looks back on the discipline and structure of the military that served as foundational building blocks for his success in life. Jeff tells us that he was drawn to Prime because the company’s terminal structure reminded him of military operations.

Entering the trucking industry in his early 60s, Jeff always held a curiosity about getting behind the wheel of a big rig, especially after working in logistics as a tank commander in the Army and then as a consultant during his initial post-military career. As he shares with us, one of the goals that Jeff is seeking to accomplish with every mile that he drives is to put back a portion of his earnings into the college funds of his four grandchildren.

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Our Special Series spotlighting each member of the Elite 11 from Transition Trucking’s Driving For Excellence Award continues with an in-depth interview featuring HEB Grocery driver Mohammad “Mo” Arzola, a 27-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who rose to the rank of Sergeant Major.

Over the course of our conversation, Mo talks to us about his military career, which included multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. It was on the battlefield in Iraq where he was wounded by an IED, suffering a concussion and perforated eardrums, and was awarded the Purple Heart.

Mo’s transition out of the military was marked by significant personal challenges. He faced a divorce, a serious knee injury and an initial civilian job that was not a fit for what he needed at the time. Struggling with a collection of stressors, Mo reached out to his brother, Mac, who was an established driver with HEB. Mo then got the opportunity to earn his CDL and join the HEB fleet.

As you will hear, Mo credits truck driving as a turning point in his new life as a civilian, describing the open road as a form of therapy that helped him heal and regain a positive outlook on life. Through HEB, Mo notes that he found a workplace culture that reminded him of the brotherhood and high standards of the Marine Corps.

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Monica Brooks-Buck is center stage for the next installment of our special series that is celebrating the Elite 11 honorees who are part of Transition Trucking’s Driving For Excellence Award this year. Over the course of our conversation, you’ll learn how Monica’s idea to join her husband, Johnny, aboard his Werner Enterprises truck as an authorized passenger became an opportunity for Monica to obtain her CDL.

Welcoming the challenge of starting a new career after 25 years of service in the U.S. Army Logistics as a Supply Specialist, Monica used her past experience to inform her future. With the ability to incorporate the essential discipline, customer service experience and leadership skills gained while in the Army into her day-to-day routine in trucking, Monica views her role as a professional driver as a continued form of service to her country.

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As we continue our series featuring the Elite 11 semifinalists who are part of Transition Trucking’s Driving For Excellence Award, PodWheels places the spotlight on Kishawn Forbes, a 26-year Navy veteran who made his transition to a career behind the wheel with Melton Truck Lines.

Through this in-depth conversation, Kishawn shares how a family tradition of service inspired him to leave his home in the Virgin Islands and join the Navy to become a machinist mate following high school. Kishawn also recalls his fascination with big trucks that he saw on the island as a kid – something that helped inspire him to secure his CDL back in 2005 while he was in his sixth year of service with the Navy.

As you hear, Kishawn credits his time in the Navy and the ability to have strong mentors who taught him a wide range of  transferable life and professional skills, including self-discipline, critical thinking and the value of becoming a mentor to others.

Kishawn also dedicates some time to tell us about the support that he has received from his wife, Aja, during his years in the service and in his decision to pursue a career on the road in the trucking industry. He shares how Aja has developed the ability to handle the challenges that can arise on the homefront while he was deployed, and Kishawn noted his gratitude for the approach that Aja has taken to address what is needed at home for their family while he is out on the road.

You will also hear how Kishawn chose Melton Truck Lines as his port of entry for his trucking career after retiring from the Navy as a Senior Chief Petty Officer. Honored to be a part of the Elite 11, Kishawn is looking forward to spending time with his fellow semifinalists when everyone gathers in Columbus at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum on Sept. 22. 

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