going to be wrong and right answers. It’s important to find out which one is going to be the best answer,” recalled Todd. When Len accepted another position within the company in January 2020, Todd was asked to step into the safety director’s position. “I run the entire safety department now and am thankful that I have good managers who work for me in each department. Ultimately, the department as a whole is responsible for our driver qualifications, drug and alcohol testing, CDL and medical licensing, truck inspections, our log department and our video compliance,” said Todd. “I have a good understanding of the position because I was hired as the manager of the hourly employees to do each one of those tasks, and that helped with my new role of overseeing the whole department.” A funny sidenote, Todd’s former major, who rode alongside while on patrol, is the current general manager at Mercer. There are a total of six former police officers who followed Todd’s lead and are now working at Mercer. “I don’t know if the police and trucking go hand-in-hand necessarily, but we, as former officers, know how to follow the rules and maintain order within any given environment. It’s worked out well; we’re all very happy here,” said Todd. “My wife, Laurie, loves it too — there is a lot of worry that comes with being married to a police officer.” As the largest for-hire carrier in Kentucky, Mercer handles irregular routes and specialized hauling. They are also 100% owner/operators. “Our drivers know us for a couple of unique things. Contractors pick and choose their own loads and set their own schedules. We have coordinators in place that will help them find loads,” said Todd. “From what I’ve been told, we have one of the fastest pay turnarounds, with drivers typically getting paid immediately after every load, sometimes the same day of delivery.” “We have about 270 employees working for us. But, when you count owner-operators, we lease approximately 1,850 drivers,” said Todd. “There is an open-door policy on our 15-acre campus. Somebody can simply walk in and talk to us. We want to be available to help, and our drivers really like that about us.” To Todd, success is seeing people grow within the company. “We love to promote from within and see employees who have been here for years be able to fill management positions and make a career out of the trucking industry. I am very proud that we are able to do that.” “When I was at the police department, my colonel told me that the key to getting promoted in any situation is being ready when the time is right to take that position. You should be preparing yourself every single day for the next step. It may never happen; that’s a fact of life, but if it does, you don’t want to be the one who should have done that,” recalled Todd. Adding upon that wisdom, Todd likes to pass the following advice on to his employees: “Start building your resume now. Training is key, and knowledge is power in any industry. You can learn a lot just by listening to your peers, going to conferences, taking good notes and keeping track of what you’ve done. It’s important to have a historical record of your achievements so that you’ll be able to position yourself for the promotion when the time is right.” The KTA is one of the great resources that helps Todd keep his employees informed. “The association holds monthly Safety and HR Council meetings, and many of the employees who work for me attend,” said Todd. “It’s a great way to learn the most up-to-date information about what’s going on in the trucking industry,” This year marks the 37th year of Mercer’s membership in KTA. Todd has been on the KTA board since 2020. Beyond that, networking with peers at KTA events is invaluable to Todd. “Mercer is the only trucking company I know. But when I go to meetings and talk with the other people, I am able to learn what the industry looks like for other carriers that have their own trucks and owner-operators. It’s a great place to get educated and help with training.” When Todd is not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife of 30 years and two sons. Their oldest son, Nick, is a musician. He plays the trumpet with great skill and, as a result, was recently accepted to Penn State Graduate School on a scholarship. While Nick is in graduate school, he’ll also be serving as a teaching assistant at the university. Jack, their youngest son, is just as impressive. He has special needs but just got a job at UPS unloading the crates that come off the plane. Kentucky Trucker | 11
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