Sharon Brown looked out the window of the building that housed her trucking business for 40 years, dabbing tears from beneath her eyes. The legacy she and her family once built has crumbled under the weight of the recession.
The business has been a New Point landmark, sitting along State Road 46 on the western edge of the town since 1976. A few years ago, Brown donated land to the New Point Volunteer Fire Department, where their new firehouse now sits. Soon, the seven remaining acres of property surrounding the terminal will be auctioned off, along with the structure, trucks and other assets in order to repay the debts accrued in trying to keep the business afloat.
“It’s a sad time for us,” she noted.
For Brown, the closure of the business is a measure of the economic downturn.
“We just can’t make it in today’s economy,” she said.
The businesses for which the company had hauled freight for have tightened their belts, she explained, turning to the lowest bidder for shipping rather than following long-time allegiances. Often, these jobs now go to truck brokers - businesses that arrange for freight to be moved without the overhead expenses of a terminal, trucks or employee taxes and insurance. Their drivers are independent contractors who are paid for the jobs done rather than being employees of their companies, she said. This enables their costs to be lower than a business employing full-time drivers with a fleet of trucks and a building to maintain.
While on the national stage, politicians and other leaders have asserted that the depth of the recession is over, that growth has begun once more, but for Brown, any recovery that has begun is too late. A company that began half a century ago with Brown doing paperwork in a concrete building and running outside to pump gas has come a long way. Its growth began through work as a shipper for KB Foods in Greensburg and the larger Kroger company, and in its heyday, the business employed 75 people who worked with 60 trucks and 90 trailers.
Four generations of Brown’s family have participated in the business as it has worked to maintain its fleet and offer a nice terminal facility.
“We’ve had a lovely facility and a lovely place to work,” she said.
Soon, it will all be sold off, and Brown has no idea what will become of it. Regardless the outcome, the family is left with nothing to show for their many years of effort. She and the 32 employees who lost their jobs with the closure of the business are now seeking other employment.
“I never would have decided to retire and close the business,” she said. “I’m not walking away with my pockets bulging with money.”
Far from the oft-discussed bankers on Wall Street, Brown sat across the desk from each of her employees as she gave them their files and bid them farewell. Tears were a constant on both sides of the table, she noted.
“If I won the lottery this week, I’d be right back buying trucks and buying the property back from the creditors,” she said.
Her employees share the desire to pick up where the business left off, she noted. While the company has attempted to help employees in moving on to another job, many have told Brown to call them if the time ever comes that they can work for her again.
The community has also been wonderful during this difficult time, Brown noted. Many people have stopped by to offer their condolences or sent flowers. A former employee - the only one Brown ever fired - sent her a letter and poem to share her feelings. The outpouring of concern and care inspired Brown to tell her story, she noted.
“It’s not anything we did,” she said. “It’s what the economy did to us.”
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