90 Years. 90 Stories.

Bobby Veach

Bobby is a Truck Driver for Purcell Tire and has been with the company for over 41 years.

I actually knew Bob Purcell long before I ever worked for Purcell Tire. Back in 1964, I worked at a gas station in De Soto, Missouri. At that time Purcell only had two stores; Washington, Mo and De Soto, Mo, and Bob would stop by this gas station every other night to fill up his one-ton truck.

In 1970, I bought my own truck and spent the next 15 years as an owner-operator. Those were some really good years. I was able to bring my family along sometimes, and we would turn a long haul into a little trip together. I had already put a million miles behind me before I did a run for Purcell in September 1985.

I came in just to do one trip to Denver and back for a driver who was out with an injury. The driver ended up not coming back, so they just had me keep running that route. Before I knew it, that became my route, and one trip turned into a career that’s lasted more than 40 years.

I kept my own truck parked in my yard for about two years after I started at Purcell. I guess part of me wasn’t ready to let it go. But after a while, I realized I knew where I wanted to be, so I sold it.

Not long after that, Walter Flatbush, who had been here for many years, asked me if I thought I could start running the Salt Lake City route. I told him, “That’s a piece of cake,” because I had already been driving routes to California and Ohio for years. I ran Salt Lake for about seven years.

When Purcell acquired Western States in 1992, my schedule changed. I’d run Salt Lake one week and Phoenix the next. Eventually they started sending me to California, and that’s been my regular route ever since, about 20 years now. I still drive that route at least every other week.

About 10 years ago, Purcell recognized me with a four-million-mile award. If I haven’t already hit five million miles, I’m getting pretty close.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that filling in for a single Denver run turned into more than four decades on the road with Purcell Tire and nearly five million miles behind the wheel.

The trucks have been really good to me, and Purcell Tire has been especially good to me.