By Betty Plowman

Longtime CDTOA Member Jim Graves stands next to his 2007 Western Star F.A., recently purchased from Fresno Truck Center.

When Jim Graves left his home state of Missouri in 1956 shortly after graduating High School, he had one dream – to reach the golden state of California. With all of his worldly possessions, which included a box of clothes and a pair of roller skates, he headed west.

Upon arrival at his aunt’s home in El Segundo, Jim took a series of odd jobs for several years, and then returned to Missouri and eventually joined the Army and was sent to France for two years. Upon his discharge, Jim resumed his favorite sport of figure roller skating and specializing in “Compulsory Dance” skating he competed in the 1964 National Finals, held in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jim returned to California in 1973 and obtained his CDL. He began pulling a semi-end dump for G.W. Gilibrand and worked on the completion of Highway 101 in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks. In 1975, Jim decided to head north to Visalia and it was there that he bought a new Western Star and pulled bottom dumps for John Lawson. After several rough years of recessions and high interest rates, Jim sold his tractor in 1980.

Out of the trucking business, Jim took on management of several roller skating rinks and it was there that Jim met Henry Cerutti, a fellow roller skating champion and enthusiast. When the skating rink partnerships dissolved in 1984, Jim decided to give dump trucking another try and began driving for Cerutti and Sons. He soon purchased another Western Star and has pulled Cerutti’s transfer boxes as an owner-operator ever since.

Joining CDTOA in 1991 and later serving as the Fresno Chapter Chair, Jim says he finds the information he receives in the monthly magazine invaluable and he reads it cover to cover. “I have also been enrolled in C-DATA since the beginning and receiving it free is a big cost savings for me. I always encourage newcomers who are entering this business to join CDTOA,” he said.

Matt Killion of Pathway Trucking in Fresno with his ‘94 - Pete with Gallaty transfer boxes.

Enter Matt Killion who first obtained his CDL in 1990 and started off delivering frozen foods and eventually went to work for Foster Farms. In 2002, Matt’s father-in-law, who owns a local paving company in Fresno, asked him to consider purchasing a transfer. With a young family to support, Matt wasn’t ready to leave his steady job with Foster Farms and go out on his own, but he always kept the thought of owning his own rig in the back of his mind.
Early in 2006, Matt felt the time might be right to go into business for himself, but first he wanted to learn as much about the business as he could. His father-in-law told him that he knew a man from Bible Study who had been in the dump truck business for many years and was highly respected within the industry, perhaps he would be willing to talk with him. That man was Jim Graves.

Not only was Jim willing to talk, but he also invited Matt to ride along. As Matt explained, “Jim really took me under his wing and I rode with him for a month. He also opened his books up to me and made sure I knew everything about the financial aspects of owning my own truck.” Jim also suggested that I should join CDTOA for all the valuable information and safety compliance saving, like C-DATA I would receive. “And I did,” noted Matt.
He then located a 1994 Peterbilt with Gallaty transfer boxes and trailer, which he purchased, all pretty much as is. Unfortunately, two days later he lost both the transmission and the truck rear ends. “Because I bought the truck as is, it was my loss, so here I am in business for two days and I already had a $10,000.00 repair bill,” explained Matt.
Things did get better for Matt, no more major repairs and he is enjoying his life as an owner-operator and attributes much of his success to Jim Graves for his support and guidance over the last year.

And while many people in Jim’s age group might be looking at retirement, Jim has this to say. “I love what I do, I feel good, I don’t have any health problems and I’m just not ready to quit. I have talked to my accountant and tax credits are a big part of my decision, as are the proposed CARB rules. So I have purchased myself one last truck, a new Western Star and I will pull a new set of Gallaty boxes for Cerutti and Sons,” Jim concluded.
It is because of members like Jim, who was willing to extend a helping hand to Matt that CDTOA continues to grow. We salute you both.

(Rev7/07)