For Dothan’s longest-tenured employee, front parts counter salesman Jared McClenny, Truckworx has provided him with an opportunity to grow, both as a person and as a member of the Truckworx family.
Before joining the Truckworx team back in 1997, Jared was a 19-year-old working as a farmhand in Headland, Ala., where he has called home for 44 years.
“After working on the farm, I was looking for somewhere I could build a career with great benefits, like retirement and insurance,” Jared said. “I drove by and saw a brand-new dealership being built in Dothan and thought Truckworx would be a great place to start my career.”
In fact, Jared was one of the first employees to be hired at the Truckworx-Dothan dealership, and as the location celebrates its 25th anniversary next month, so does Jared.
The road leading to Truckworx and a multi-decadal career with the company had some bumps along the way, including one workplace that helped shape the way he views business and relationships now.
“I got conned into working at a cotton gin for about a week when I was younger,” Jared said. “The farm where I worked pretty much loaned us out to them and it was a terrible experience. One ‘perk’ of the job was that they fed us lunch every day, but it was on the clock and was always pizza or hot dogs. When we asked why, they said, ‘So you can eat with one hand and work with the other.’”
Since then, Jared has put an emphasis on treating people fairly and as he would like to be treated, which is echoed by Dothan branch manager Daniel Watters.
“Jared is the guy who always wears a smile and you can always tell, even over the phone,” Watters said. “He and his customers have great connections, not just professionally, but also on a personal level. People don’t buy from businesses. They buy from people and Jared lives by this motto every single day.”
Jared says he loves coming to work each morning, and it is something he does not take for granted. He adds that the Truckworx culture and work environment is what makes the job so enjoyable.
In his position as a front parts counter salesperson, Jared works with several different customers and he says building relationships is one of the things he is the proudest of.
“I have had the privilege of working with one of our oldest and largest fleet customers for over 20 years now,” he said. “I have a close, family-like relationship with them, just like I do with the people I work with at Truckworx.”
The value of working with a team that emphasizes a family-like atmosphere and relationships that reflect that is not lost on Jared, as he says he has benefited from working at Truckworx both as an employee and as an individual over the past two-and-a-half decades.
“I have gained experience in multiple positions within the company and many of my customers I have met along the way are now great friends of mine,” Jared said. “It has also connected me with people who I now have close relationships with, all because of the trucking business.”
He also added, “As an individual, Truckworx molded me from a 19-year-old kid with no plans to a sound adult. It has provided my family with a great lifestyle. Twenty-five years is a long time at one company, but I love coming to work every day and it’s always been good to me. Most of the stories I tell involve my friends I have met and gotten to know through Truckworx.”
Jared truly embodies the culture of Truckworx, striving not to just sell to customers, but to create close, personal relationships with them too. Just like Daniel Watters said, people buy from people, not businesses. That’s what makes Jared such an integral part of the Truckworx-Dothan team and truly demonstrates why he has been so successful over the past 25 years.
Congratulations on your 25th anniversary, Jared, and thank you for all you bring to Truckworx every day!
