15 www.ortrucking.org Issue 4 | 2024 of leaders so we can promote from within,” said Elizabeth. One of those leadership and development programs is Oak Harbor University, which offers a handful of employees an opportunity to spend nine months talking with leadership, shadowing different positions within the company, and seeing every aspect of the business. At the end of the program, they present to leadership on an issue that they identified within the company and what they plan to do to fix it. Oak Harbor University “students” have included everyone from dock workers to drivers to dispatchers, allowing those with different perspectives the opportunity to learn more about and weigh in on the business. Even as the company continues to grow and expand to meet the challenges of the modern trucking industry, Oak Harbor Freight Lines is committed to keeping that family culture in all of its terminals and operations. It was important for Henry Vander Pol to know every person who worked for him and what they stood for. The next generation of Vander Pols have made it clear they plan to lead just as their grandfather would: from the front.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzc3ODM=