KTA MOTOR CARRIER SPOTLIGHT Louisville, Kentucky, has always been home to Todd Felty, with the exception of when he attended college — getting his undergraduate degree at Eastern Kentucky University and then a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Louisville. After college, Todd was hoping for a position at a local high school teaching special education, but instead, he ended up at a middle school, teaching a transition program with the Archdiocese of Louisville. “That was great training for the future,” recalled Todd. “I spent some wild years teaching. It was difficult at times. If you’re a teacher, you need to set the climate for your students every single day. If you have a bad night, whether you just stayed up late or couldn’t sleep, your students are probably not going to have a great day.” Through this experience, Todd realized he always needs to be performing at his best, which was not always possible, but it is definitely something he strives for to this day. After four years in education, Todd decided that a change in career was needed. “I quit teaching and joined the Police Department because teaching got too dangerous,” he jokingly said. For 21 years, Todd was a police officer retiring as a lieutenant overseeing a patrol sector containing Louisville’s downtown area. Mercer Transportation Company was actually in the sector that he was in control of. Todd and his major would pass by the Mercer campus every single day. Todd would often make the comment, “Whenever I retire, Mercer would be a cool place to work.” It just so happened that when Todd was getting ready to retire from the force, Mercer had a position open for a security director. He applied for the job and met with the general manager. During the interview, the general manager asked Getting to Know Todd Felty of Mercer Transportation Company Todd, “Would you be interested in another position in the company?” Todd answered sincerely, “I’m not sure. I don’t know anything about trucking.” The general manager replied, “We will teach you everything you need to know.” Long story short, Todd ended up as the safety manager, and another former police officer ended up as the security director. That was 2018. Todd quickly found his place as the safety manager with the help of the safety director, Len Dunman. Len had been with the company for 42 years and was safety director for 21 of them. His knowledge of the industry was vast, and Todd made a point to learn everything he could from him. “Len always reminded me that trucking is an art, not a science. You have to know the regulations and do the right thing. However, you also have to be able to use your experience, knowledge and ability to adapt to situations because, in any given situation, there are 10 | Kentucky Trucker
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