Remy Retires
HUBBARD, OH…. Since 1976
Rembrandt “Remy” Wright has been moving freight. In that time, he has booked thousands upon
thousands of loads and gotten to know thousands of drivers as well. His office on Truckworld Blvd. in the Truck
World Complex is known as “The Wright Place” for drivers to find a load of
freight.
Rembrandt was born in
1941 in Stoneham, Massachusetts, the son of a farmer. The family moved to the Auburn, New York
area, then to Auburn, Washington and then to a farm in Michigan. Remmy attended Andrews University in Berrien
Spring, Michigan, majoring in Agriculture.
Remy’s first job was as a
Superintendent at Harding Mental Hospital in Worthington, Ohio. His love of farming, however prompted him to
buy a farm near Akron, Ohio. By 1967
Remy was in need of extra money so he took the milk check and bought a 1962 H
Model Mack, which he drove until 1970.
Rembrandt
was accepted at Akron Law School to start in September, where he was going to
attend classes at night and work at General Tire during the day. During the
summer before school was to start, Remy was offered a job with George Kugler
Trucking as a Terminal Manager at their Carol Stream, Illinois terminal. Remy
is proud of the fact that in four years, his terminal never had a single formal
union grievance. In 1976 Rembrandt had
the opportunity to become an agent working from home for U.S. Express from
Akron, Ohio (not affiliated with U.S. Xpress from Chattanooga, Tennessee).
In 1977 Remy became an
agent for Mercer Transportation, establishing a relationship with them that has
lasted for over 41 years. It was later
in 1977 that he opened his office at 7080 Truckworld Blvd. in the Truckworld
Complex at I-80 Exit 234 in Hubbard, Ohio, where they continue to move freight
to this day. Rembrandt’s relationship
with Mercer has always been strong. When
he married his wife, Mary Ann in 1987, the couple tied the knot in the
Presidential Suite at the Executive West in front of the Kentucky Fair and Expo
Center in Louisville, Kentucky. They
were in town for a Mercer Safety Meeting and were honored to have Mercer
executives Bill Howard and Jim Stone as their witnesses.
In an industry that is
continually changing, in Rembrandt’s opinion some of the most significant changes
have been:
•Deregulation in 1982
•Improvements in
communications, from pagers to cell phone and computers that allow load/driver
matching and has permitted rapid growth for many companies.
• ELD’s, which due to
their inflexibility do not allow drivers to take a break when they need or want
to, while logging it legally – situations as when they need a nap or want to
avoid rush hour traffic in major cities.
Another change Remy notes
is the demise of trucking agents in the Mahoning Valley. When he started, there were over 100 trucking
agents and now they are all nearly gone, replaced instead by company owned
terminals and central dispatching.
Remy was Treasurer for a few years for the
Youngstown Traffic Club and for a short while for the Youngstown and Trumbull
Traffic Clubs, both of which are now gone.
Rem has always been
appreciative of the long-term employees who have worked for him while learning
the trucking business. Today the company employs Rembrandt’s son Courtney, who
has been with the company for 20 years; John for 13 years; Tina for 2 years and
Sherre, who has worked at the company for 1 year. There have been a couple of employees who
have retired from the company as well.
Remy is also appreciative of representing a great company like Mercer
Transportation. Together they have
adapted to the many changes in the trucking industry, all the while growing and
improving services to their drivers and customers. He is also proud of the thousands of drivers
he has come to know and work with, sometimes loading 3 generations of the same
family of truckers!
Remy and “The Wright
Place” also have the distinction of being Movin’ Out’s longest standing
customer, having run their ad in the newspaper for over 40 years without
missing an issue, through good times and bad!
That kind of customer loyalty is hard to find these days!
Rembrandt officially
retired on October 1, 2018, passing the torch to his son Courtney. Courtney Wright is now named on all agent
agreements for the Pittsburgh/Youngstown offices of Mercer Transportation. With 20 years of experience, the agency will
certainly be in excellent hands under Courtney’s direction.
Rembrandt continues to
visit the office regularly as Mary Ann has had a medical transport business in
the adjoining office for the past 18 years and Remy drives her to work most
days. Remy says he still gets on his computer about every day, just not for
trucking purposes.
Mary Ann and Remy stay
very busy as they raise thoroughbred horses and race them at Presque Isle,
Thistle Downs in Cleveland, Mountaineer and Mahoning Valley race courses. The couple has always enjoyed traveling and
plan to continue doing so in the years to come.
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