Ep. 77 // A Day to Remember: Lola Thomas-Albright

It’s not often you get a voicemail from the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

A few weeks after giving the Secretary a ride in her truck, Lola got a phone call. Instead of another meeting in central Illinois, the Secretary wanted to bring Lola and her granddaughter to a more well-known address: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! (the White House 😊).

Listen in as Lola shares about her White House adventure, how she became a driver, and some wise advice for new drivers just starting out. Press play today!

Pictures

Quotes

“I went into nursing instead because I’ve always liked to help….I feel like trucking gives me that opportunity – to give something greater than myself.”

“We lived on fifth street….3 houses down [from Brent Nussbaum].”

“Because he [Secretary Pete] got delayed….my twenty-minute presentation on how we thoroughly do a pre-trip – they said, ‘can you do it in ten?’ And I was like, sure….”

“They’re trying to bring more women and veterans into the trucking industry, so they were trying to find out, from a woman who’s new to the industry, what are some of the pros and cons?”

“It was on April 1^st, so I was like – ‘this is an April Fools joke.’ And I listened to it [the voicemail] again, and I recognized the Secretary’s voice.”

“He requested Lola-Ann [Lola’s granddaughter] to come with me because I talked about her in the truck and doing e-learning when the pandemic hit, so he wanted to meet her.”

“Lola-Ann did e-learning from the truck the whole year. During that time, she went to 31 states with me, and we have a picture with her in every state.”

“Before we took off, they announced our names over the PA on the plane….they said they had instructions from the pilots not to leave without us.”

“They gave her [Lola-Ann] a little certificate that says, ‘Let the Adventure Begin,’ and everybody on the plane signed it for her.”

“Everyone asked me – ‘do you think you want to go into politics?’ And I was like, no, because my face tells you what I’m thinking before I say it.”

“They gave us a tour, so we saw the entire White House….my granddaughter sat at Vice-President Harris’s desk.”

Saige: “how did you figure out what you were going to wear?” Lola: “I asked!”

Saige: “what kind of advice would you have for someone that’s going to be brand new, going into OTR trucking?” Lola: “just do your own research….know what you’re willing to compromise on and what you’re not. I had ten things I wasn’t willing to compromise on….make sure that that company fits you.”