Ron Kelsey (67) of Kelsey’s Trucking, Inc. out of Avondale, AZ is a mainstay in not only the trucking industry, but also within our very own magazine. He has been trucking for 49 years with no plans of stopping anytime soon. Ron’s well-known orange 1981 Peterbilt 359 is an extension of him, not only because he loves this classic truck, which he bought in 1984, but because it is the only truck he has ever owned – and he still runs it today! The look of his truck earned notice from our founders, Erik Sieben and Dan Linss, and it ended up gracing our cover in January 1998. His truck was the first one to be put on the cover a second time, in June of 2009, after some changes were made, along with a new paint job. Ron is technically the 3rd generation of truckers in his family, with his dad driving a little, and his grandfather driving truck, too. His grandfather started driving in the early 1900s, back when truck wheels were solid, and he had plenty of trucking stories to tell his grandson. Ron has not only been a friend and part of the 10-4 family, but he also started doing sales and distribution back in 1998 as he began handling (and still does to this day) a route distributing magazines from California to Arizona, with some advertising sales from time to time, as well. His route coincided with his trucking travels which made it easy for him to maintain distribution. Loyalty between a customer and hauler is rather rare these days, but Ron has managed to form a lasting business relationship with two of his direct customers that he has been hauling for since 1994. Ron has been married to his wife Jan since October 27, 1996, who brought with her a son named Chase (then 8, now 40), and today they also have a granddaughter, Lily, who will be three years old in April. As a kid, Ron had marbles, but he never thought that one day he would actually collect them. Today, he has a large collection of vintage marbles, which he displays in his office, along with an extensive (huge!) collection of Hot Wheels, and within that collection exists his original set he had as a kid. His truck was made into a diecast model not just once, but twice. The second was the Legends series, and his was the first of that series to be selected. Only 1,000 of each model in that series was created by DCP. Ron’s truck was also featured on a recent 10-4 Magazine shirt as part of our “Legendary” series. To Ron, it means a lot to be a part of 10-4 Magazine. He said, “They believe in trucking, are for trucking, down-to-earth, honest, and very good friends of mine.” We appreciate you Ron Kelsey, and we’re glad you are part of the 10-4 family!