Industry finalist lives for her chosen career…
Casey Stewart was among three finalists for a National Trucking Woman of the Year award.
The Kooweerup resident is the territory business manager for Victoria and Tasmania with Hallam’s Truckline.
She lives and breathes trucks and was amazed at her nomination for the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) National Trucking Industry Awards.
“I can’t believe it, I’m so lucky to be able to work in a job, industry and community that I love, and for a fantastic company like Truckline, so to be nominated and now a finalist for an award like this is just amazing,” she said.
She lost out to Tracie Dickenson from Daryl Dickenson Transport in Queensland at the Trucking Australia gala dinner in Darwin on 23 June.
Ms Stewart’s been around trucks since birth and has worked in the trucking sector since she was a teenager.
It never occurred to her to let her gender stand in the way of pursuing a career in the traditionally male-dominated industry.
“My grandfather and father were both truck drivers for their entire working lives,” she said.
“I grew up in trucks, around trucks and learning about everything to do with trucks, so when I was 15 I knew I wanted to work in the industry.”
Ms Stewart now has 25 years’ experience as a qualified diesel parts interpreter.
She understands just how costly it is to have a vehicle off the road for any amount of time.
Ensuring those in the industry can get the right parts when they need them is something she takes very seriously, because one wrong part or unnecessary delays “could be the difference between being held over that night and not being mobile until the following day”.
“The knock-on effect is awful. I take my job very seriously and my ability to help when needed is what I’ve built my entire career on,” she said.
She makes herself available at all hours, taking calls on weekends from customers who she knows feel terrible about disturbing her days off but are only calling because they’re desperate to get vehicles back on the road.
“It’s only a small contribution, but it’s the difference between my customer making money and losing money that week. That’s why I do what I do,” she said.
Truckline general manager Mick Henderson said he was very proud of her nomination and commitment to her role at Truckline.
“Casey embodies everything that we value at Truckline – commitment to continuously learning, never settling for average service, and always going above and beyond for the customer and putting them at the centre of everything she does,” he said.
“Casey has overcome stereotypes in this male-dominated industry, and gained everyone’s respect the old-fashioned way – by constantly learning and getting her hands dirty to demonstrate how good she is at every aspect of the job.”
