Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/265903
64 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | MARCH 2014 C A R E E R L E A D E R S H I P A W A R D If anything, the Thrift household was one of self-reliance and an all- American work ethic. "Our father could make stuff with his bare hands," Ricky Thrift recalls today. "He had his torches and wrenches and was very talented. I remember when we were kids, he built a trailer for his fi shing boat from scratch. Jerry defi nitely inherited his mechanical interest and ability." The Thrift boys were expected to pitch in, so work both around the house and away from it were the norm growing up. As a young man, Jerry held a variety of jobs, including running his own small lawn-cutting service. His younger brother vividly remembers him constantly tinkering with his riding lawnmower. But even as a child, Jerry had a pas- sion for learning and a work ethic that were unusual. "We'd come home from school," Ricky remembers, "and me and every other kid in the neighbor- hood would toss our books away and go outside to play. But not Jerry. He'd go in the house, sit down at his desk and do all his homework right away. He wouldn't come outside and join the rest of us until it was done." This dedication to his schoolwork was an early indication of Jerry's passion for learning and the personal discipline he would rely on so often during his professional career. As Jerry matured, so did his interest in mechanical systems. This love for tinkering would – in a few years' time – come to fruition as he fi rst raced souped-up riding lawnmowers in the streets with friends and later hounded a hesitant neighbor into fi nally sell- ing him a 1967 Chevy Camaro Super Sport. The iconic 396-cubic-inch engine soon was scattered across the Thrifts' garage as Jerry tore it down to put a hotter cam in the car and boost its horsepower output. His efforts were validated dubi- ously when the Georgia Highway Patrol clocked the Camaro at 120 mph and took off in high- speed pursuit. The incident ended with Jerry spinning out the Camaro in front of a roadblock. Today, the Super Sport sits restored in Ricky's garage; the car is not for sale. The Camaro also played another important role in Jerry's life. One night while cruising around with a buddy, they spied young Pat Webb. As luck would have it, Pat was his friend's aunt – and it wasn't long before the two were a couple. As he entered adulthood, Thrift – like many young men – found himself uncertain as to what path he should take and was pulled in many different directions. His relationship with Pat quickly had become serious, and Jerry found himself torn between his sweetheart, his hometown and Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he was enrolled in mechanical engineering courses. After putting up with his uncertain commitment to Georgia Tech, Thrift's exasperated parents fi nally put their foot down. A stern talking-to by his father, who knew fi rsthand the impor- tance of an education, put Thrift on the right track. He settled down, and marrying Pat in 1974 and bringing her to Atlanta also helped focus his attention. He threw himself into both school and part-time jobs and began to make real progress toward getting his degree in mechanical engineering. A NEWFOUND PASSION Trucks had not been a part of Thrift's formative years, and it wasn't until his time at Georgia Tech that he began to pay any particular attention to them. During an employment re- cruiting drive at the school, Thrift sat Jerry Thrift, shown with his granddaughter, Harper, left trucking far too soon, but he clearly left his mark on an industry he loved. Thrift was born in Savannah, Ga., in 1952. His hardworking parents infused young Jerry with their old-school work ethic and a passion for learning. The word I use to describe Jerry is 'mentor.' – Deborah Galloway, a retired Ryder employee who worked with Jerry Thrift as corporate parts master manager