Business Spotlight #4 - Pamela Day Cross Country Truck Driving School

City of Burlington

Economic Development Department

December 6, 2021

Business Spotlight: Trucking Trainer Inc., Cross-country Truck Driving School

The trucking industry has recorded a historic deficit in drivers since 2018, leaving a huge gap to fill to meet the growing e-commerce demands. Luckily for Burlington, we have a first-rate training school preparing the next generation of safe truckers!

I was fortunate enough to attend their ribbon cutting event off Tucker Street earlier in the summer to witness the re-birth of a historic business institution. This month’s business spotlight goes out to an iconic leader in the field of transportation, Pamela Day, the only African American female in North Carolina to own a CDL trucking school. Pamela Day, the owner, and CEO, of Cross-Country Truck Driving School recently relocated her business to Burlington, NC from Thomasville, NC.

She has made it her mission to open opportunity for women to gain entry and acquire the necessary tools to be successful and safe on the road in a male dominated industry. However, anyone who wants to be a truck driver should apply for admittance to their driving school. Some scholarships are available for students to get their training for free. This initiative is part of their many give-back community endeavors, including their frequent donations to local community organizations.

According to Pamela Day, the mission of her company is to train safe drivers to operate CMV’s. She remarks, “safety first, safety in the middle, and safety at the end. Safety all around.” Trucking Trainer’s prides themselves on their ability to develop and train safe truckers. Currently, the company has 20 employees, but is still looking to expand. Ms. Day envisions adding a women’s division led and taught by women for women.

From an early age Pamela Day was inspired to open her own business by her entrepreneur-minded parents who had various business endeavors throughout her childhood. The Driving School was not her first business. She owned and operated a group home for adults with developmental disabilities, up until 2010.

Then, she entered the trucking world after shutting down her business where she developed a love for the industry as she used her time on the road to heal from some life-altering changes. Ms. Day moved up in her ranks and began training over 100 other adults! Eventually, she was named the owner and CEO of Cross-Country Truck Driving School.

Services

A typical day for her includes making sure the day-to-day company objectives are met, ensuring staff are satisfied, students are trained well, and opening other business opportunities. She envisions her company to be like Walmart “to make their place like a one stop shop” for all trucking needs. She is also a third-party tester, so she rides along with students to check their progress. Many people question her lack of fear when evaluating her students on the road, and she responds with confidence that her students were trained by the best, so she has no doubt in her safety.

Ms. Day declares, “money is fleeting. It is here today and gone tomorrow, but quality services are what’s going to last.” To aspiring business owners, she leaves this advice: “Take it one day at a time. Stay focused. Put your business first, not your desire for profit.”

People make the mistake of putting their wants and materialistic yearnings first before they have set aside money to invest in their business. “Stay focused on your priorities and ensure that you pay your debts on time. Anyone can be successful if they put the effort into it!”

She attributes her success to the various mentors she’s had across the span of her life, especially her parents. Ms. Day credits God and says “God has done everything for me.” He gives her the knowledge and strategy to lead her team to meet their goals and produce strong deliverables. In addition, she mentions Valerie Daniels Carter, Miles Monroe, and T.D. Jakes for their lasting impression on her business acumen and success.

Business in Burlington

Even though Pamela Day just relocated to Burlington, she loves doing business here because “it is a great place to be that everyone passes through, and the Chamber has been exceptionally wonderful to us.” The 85-corridor links you to numerous other communities, like Charlotte, Raleigh, and Virginia. Ms. Day looks forward to continuing to expand economic opportunity for Burlington!