Schneider choice.... starting with my prequel

Alright everybody, as of today (9/12) I am scheduled for orientation for Schnediers "Choice program" beginning 9/22. (happy birthday to me!)I realize usually these threads are best left to those that are at least in orientation, but I figured I would start by explaining who I am, and how I made the choice to join schneider, and then over time explain what is/isn't working, and my success's and failures.

I am 29.9 years old. I am a father of 3 beautiful children ranging from 1 to 10 years old. (2 boys, 1 girl) I am a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and have spent a large part of my life around trucks. My family owned a fleet of around 15 trucks in the 90's until family drama split everybody up. After getting out of the Navy, I went to work selling cars, and quickly determined that wasn't for me. I got my CDL in 2008, and went to work for Conway Freight. It killed me being on the road so long, and getting little time with family but the bills were getting paid. I eventually took a local job hauling petroleum. I can honestly say it didn't increase my family time much because they ran me ragged, never more than enough time to reset, and the government provided h.o.s exemption for them which they used. In 2009 I broke my leg, and due to a clot nearly died spending a month in the hospital. I decided attending college while I rehabbed the leg seemed like a good idea, and used my g.i bill to get a degree in criminal justice in 2013. As a high school dropout I knew I needed to get a degree if I was going to tell my kids they needed to complete school.

Anyways 2013 arrives, I have a degree but I need to make money.... so I do what I know. In march of 2013 I went to work for a company in Mass that both my father and my brother drive for. It's a small fleet of 4 company trucks, and some owner operators. It's been a decent year and a half, and working for such a small company you learn a lot more of the "business side" then a driver typically would in a large fleet. This company specializes in blanket wrap so you haul some very cool freight sometimes. While the owner and I have had heated discussions on occasion, we always pretty much end up shaking hands and resolving our differences. I have had some perks that you will never see at a large company... Free tickets to NFL games, MLB games, borrowed the boss's harley, rode motocross with the boss ,etc.... and I've also driven a nice KW W900 for the last year and a half. The only downsides are that due to me living in SC I'm almost never home, and the pay is VERY inconsistent.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm a dad and that means everything to me. I chose schneider choice because my long term goal is to own a small fleet of trucks/ a brokerage office. This is the most logical next step... FOR ME. If I can get home even A LITTLE more often, make just A LITTLE more money, and start working towards my dream of owning my own company, I will be happy. Maybe next year I will even get to hunt a day or two, and spend a little more time behind the wheel of my race cars. I have to turn the key at 5 a.m. tomorrow, so I will be hitting the hay soon. I will try to post some pics tomorrow to supplement the post a little.