Johnsonville OTR Driver Inducted into Hall of Fame

Congratulations goes to Johnsonville’s over-the-road driver Kirk Phillips, who’s been a Johnsonville Member since 1981 and has accumulated 3.1 million miles without an accident, injury or moving violation!

His impressive record and safety accomplishments were recognized by the National Private Truck Council’s Driver Hall of Fame during their annual conference. He was one of just four drivers who are inducted annually. To qualify, a driver must have driven 3 million+ miles, 20 years or 50,000 hours of consecutive driving without a preventable accident.

Prior to his time behind the wheel, he was a mechanic working on Johnsonville’s trucks. Kirk was hired at Johnsonville to work in the plant. On his fourth day, knowing Kirk had his chauffeur’s license, Kirk was asked to move some product down to Milwaukee.

From there, Kirk was hooked on driving! Whether he was delivering product to a warehouse in Stevens Point, picking up product, watching for low bridges in Chicago or delivering sausages to a butcher shop, Kirk loved being in the truck seat.

A typical week for Kirk is five days on the road, working 10 hours per day, averaging about 2,300 miles with 8-10 deliveries per week. His route is Wisconsin and goes as far as Denver, and into the Southeast, Southwest or East Coast.

In 1995, Kirk became the first driver of Johnsonville’s Big Taste Grill, which was created to celebrate Johnsonville’s 50th anniversary. Kirk was the sole driver for 2.5 years, hauling the 65-ft. grill and cold storage unit to various community, sporting, promotional events, and relief efforts around the country.

“I am always looking to be a safer driver by being a trainer and mentor, and also reviewing accident reports with drivers like we did in the early years of driving,” he said. Kirk assisted in writing Johnsonville’s safety program and has many, many real-life lessons that he shares with others. “Professionalism comes in part from the Johnsonville Way and the courtesy we show our customers. Every person is – or could be – a customer and you treat them with the respect that you’d like to receive.”

Kirk’s coach and Johnsonville’s Fleet Operations Coordinator Jeff Stood, said Kirk’s mentorship has been extremely valuable in building a strong fleet team over the years. “As one of our driver mentors, Kirk continues to help onboard and train those incoming drivers. We appreciate his knowledge and Johnsonville experience that he continues to pass on,” said Stood.