A Mentor to Younger Women
“I told my boss that if nobody ever recognized me again in my life, I will take this one day forever,” says Connie Coleman, about being the recipient of the 2016 Woman Driver of Excellence for Ace Doran. “I felt real special.”
A professional driver for 10 years, Connie is part of Ace Doran’s unique and relatively new van division. “Connie Coleman is a very important part of our dry van operation,” says Andrea Cegledy, logistics manager for A&H Trucking, part of Ace Doran. “She is always available to help other drivers within the company or out on the road! She goes the extra mile. She has always said from the moment we hired her, ‘I just love to drive’.”
Described by her colleagues as a spiritual and honest woman, Connie is known for being a mentor to younger women. “If somebody asks me a question, I feel like my life is an open book,” she says. “If anyone can learn anything from my life, then I’m happy to help.”
Today, Connie has a rich, rewarding life, but things were not always that good. When her children were very young, Connie was still married to their father, who struggled with an addiction to crack cocaine. Connie had to go on welfare and live in a shelter with her children, and that’s when she decided to learn how to become a professional driver.
While living at the shelter, Connie went to a local trucking school where she earned her commercial driver’s license (CDL). While still at the shelter, she began driving locally, delivering magazines to grocery stores and picking up freight to deliver to retail establishments. She started out slow and eventually was earning enough money to move out of the shelter and support her family on her own.
