"My dad was an operating engineer, who often brought home equipment he used in his job and parked it in our yard. My brother and I would spend hours in the trucks pretending to drive ... that's where my love affair with trucks began." When Maggie Peterson finally got behind the wheel for real, she never looked back.

Not only was she the first woman to be named Driver of the Month by the California Trucking Association (twice, actually), and the first woman to serve as a trustee in Teamsters Local 63, she also went on to become one of the most widely publicised women to date to serve as an industry spokesperson. Along with being chosen first as a member, and then as a coordinator for Roadway's Road Team in the mid-1990s, Maggie was also selected by the American Trucking Associations from a field of 1,500 candidates to become one of twelve America's Road Team captains in 1998.

Maggie has represented the trucking industry at the national level many times, including television appearances on "Dateline," the Oxygen Network, MSNBC, and "NBC Nightly News" -- all focusing on truck safety. She was featured in LA Times interviews, as well as in Joanne Gordon's book, "100 Women Who Love Their Jobs and Why." She has also served on industry advisory committees (CTA's Safety and Image/PR committees, both for many years) and contributed to NHTSA and other government agency panel discussions regarding Hours of Service (HOS), safety, and other issues pertaining to government oversight and regulation.

Maggie's passion for supporting women in the industry is founded upon her appreciation for those who pitched in to assist her at the onset of her 30-year adventure in trucking. "Early in my career, I had people who would dare to help a woman attempting to break into what was then a man's world," she says. "I got involved in public relations and also as a trainer to honor their memories and the friendship they extended, by passing on their kindness to others."

Today, in addition to her dedicated run between Bloomington, CA and Las Vegas, Maggie is also a veteran Smith System trainer responsible for instructing and road-testing new Roadway employees, and tutors current employees seeking their CDLs. She also teaches hazmat and LCV classes, and frequently facilitates HOS and safety training for the company.

Maggie views her service as a member of WIT's Board of Directors as an opportunity to continue further advancing not only women, but the trucking industry as a whole. She is also very clear about her most important career goal. "If I could only successfully accomplish one thing before I retire, it would be to help bring about a more positive perception of professional truck drivers on the part of the motoring public."

If Maggie's popularity in the media is any indication, she has certainly gone a long way toward fulfilling her objective.

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