Just the Right Fit

November 14, 2016

Robin Booker looks forward to hopping into the driver’s seat of a bus and heading out into the open highway.

“I like the freedom,” she said. “Highway driving actually relaxes me. There’s just a lot of peace and quiet involved.”

Booker started her career as a driver behind the wheel of a well-known transportation provider, but for the last seven years or so, she has been driving for the DriveAway division at Bennett International Group.

Booker said that Bennett recruited a number of drivers at the company she previously drove for, and she heard about Bennett from a few of her coworkers. So when her previous employer began to cut her hours, she researched the company, applied, and took a job in DriveAway for supplemental income to help stretch her finances while she cared for her mother and her young daughter. But once she hit the highway with Bennett, she found that she really liked driving for the company, and after a just couple of runs, she began driving exclusively for Bennett on a full-time basis.

“I’ve been working for them ever since, and I haven’t looked back.” Booker said.

What Booker likes most about driving for Bennett is the income and the freedom.

“We have a schedule of where we’re supposed to be when we’re supposed to be there,” she said. “But there’s a lot of freedom involved. And I like that. I work alone, and I like that too. It’s a lot more peaceful. I like looking at the countryside. I like the scenery.”

She also said everywhere she goes she gets the opportunity to meet new people and learn about different cultures. And she added that the pay isn’t bad either.

For the first couple of years with Bennett, Booker said she drove just about every kind of vehicle with the exception of tractor trailers, but for the last four or five years she’s been driving buses, mostly transit buses. She drives them to their destination and flies back to her home in Florissant, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis.

With the pay, the freedom, and the chance to do some traveling, Booker said it just all goes hand and hand for her.

“Bennett is the right fit for me,” she said.

Read more Women in the Driver’s Seat profiles . . .

Related Articles

September 11, 2023

Drivers & Women of Excellence 2023 Award Winners

Today, we honor our 2023 Drivers & Women of Excellence award recipients. We value our drivers/employees and take pride in celebrating them during our annual Drivers Appreciation event. 2023 has been an extraordinary year and these women have performed with the highest levels of professionalism and represent the best in the industry. Please take a few moments to watch as Marcia Taylor, CEO of Bennett Family of Companies presents the winners with their awards in a virtual format.
Read More
September 13, 2022

Drivers & Women Of Excellence 2022 Award Winners

oday, we honor our 2022 Drivers & Women of Excellence award recipients. We value our drivers/employees and take pride in celebrating them during our annual Drivers Appreciation event. 2022 has been an extraordinary year and these women have performed with the highest levels of professionalism and represent the best in the industry. Please take a few moments to watch as Marcia Taylor, CEO of Bennett Family of Companies presents the winners with their awards in a virtual format.
Read More
September 8, 2021

Women Drivers of Excellence 2021 Award Winners

Today, we honor our 2021 Women Drivers of Excellence award recipients. We value our drivers and take pride in celebrating them during our annual Drivers Appreciation event. 2021 has been an extraordinary year and these drivers have performed with the highest levels of professionalism and represent the best in the industry. This year, due to COVID-19, we celebrate differently than we have in past years. Please take a few moments to watch as Marcia Taylor, CEO and President of Bennett Family of Companies presents the winners with their awards in a virtual format.
Read More
September 15, 2020

Women Drivers of Excellence 2020 Award Winners

Today, we honor our 2020 Women Drivers of Excellence award recipients. We value our drivers and take pride in celebrating them during our annual Drivers Appreciation event. 2020 has been an extraordinary year and these drivers have performed with the highest levels of professionalism and represent the best in the industry. This year, due to COVID-19, we celebrate differently than we have in past years. Please take a few moments to watch as Marcia Taylor, CEO and President of Bennett Family of Companies presents the winners with their awards in a virtual format.
Read More
September 16, 2019

Vallerie Hayden – 2019 Recipient

Vallerie Hayden got into driving because of her husband, Harold. He drove for five years and she enjoyed going with him. After raising their children, she started driving with Harold as a team driver. They have been driving together for the last 13 years and have been married for 43 years.
Read More
September 16, 2019

Darla McDowell – 2019 Recipient

Darla McDowell has been driving for five years. She started her career as a bus driver but wanted to do something different. When she started driving for Bennett, she was at the lowest, hardest time of her life. She says Bennett was the best thing that ever happened to her and this job has given her confidence, strong will, independence and a determination of steel. She had to do a lot of falling forward and picking herself up but now she feels that she is at the top of her profession.
Read More
September 16, 2019

Lisa Little – 2019 Recipient

Lisa Little has been driving for 10 years and is an excellent driver. She is always ready to go above and beyond to help other drivers. Her peers say she is a joy to work with and is always smiling, happy and will welcome anyone with open arms and a warm hug.
Read More
September 16, 2019

Heidi Crosby – 2019 Recipient

According to Transport Topics, truck drivers are becoming social media influencers.  There are several drivers among the Bennett Family of Companies that are on various social media platforms as social media influencers in the transportation industry.  In addition, Bennett is a sponsor of Tony Justice, all-American country music artist and truck driver, who also has a considerable social media presence.  Learn more about why our drivers and Tony use social media to expand their career.
Read More
September 16, 2019

Theresa Davis – 2019 Recipient

Terry Davis has been driving for 42 years and as a team driver with her husband, Clarence, for 24 years. She drove by herself for 10 years before meeting her husband. Terry prefers to drive during the day while her husband drives during the evening. On her shift, she takes care of everything. Terry will get the truck loaded, unloaded, axle out the weight, make repairs on the truck or trailer all while taking care of the paperwork and giving excellent customer service to Bennett customers.
Read More
September 16, 2019

Violet Helferich – 2019 Recipient

Violet Helferich has been with Ace Doran/Bennett since the inception of the Wind Division in early 2016. In her family, driving a truck is a tradition. Her father owned a farm and raised her to be independent. Violet started driving a feed truck at the age of 14 and by the age of 16, she was hauling cattle. She always knew that she wanted to drive and got her Commercial Driver’s License at the age of 18.
Read More
September 16, 2019

Kara Leppert – 2019 Recipient

Kara Leppert grew up in Ohio and started driving in her early 20’s. After getting married, she and her husband ran as a team. The husband and wife team for the last 10 years have driven separately for an Owner-Operator.
Read More
September 17, 2018

Felecia Goring – 2018 Recipient

Felecia started as a dispatcher, but she always wanted to travel, so she became a company driver for Melton, then went to work at Tri-State working hauling Hazmat.
Read More
September 17, 2018

Sharrion Hayes – 2018 Recipient

Sharrion Hayes met her husband while she was working as a dispatcher. They became a team and Sharrion has been driving professionally for almost 30 years with a near perfect driving record.
Read More
September 17, 2018

Patrica Gorman – 2018 Recipient

Pat served during Desert Shield/Storm. She dedicated 12 years to the Military as a radioman, specializing in communications technology.
Read More
September 17, 2018

Shauna Justesen – 2018 Recipient

Shauna Justesen drives for Bennett DriveAway RV Division. Shauna and her late husband owned and operated a bar in Idaho most of her adult life, where she met a long RV driver with Bennett Ken Daley.
Read More
15 articles

Join Our Community

Bennett Newsletter Subscription

Sign up to stay current with Bennett and Transportation Industry news. We send out a digital newsletter monthly. Unsubscribe any time.