Landair Transport Inc.

Chris Horner started out his professional career in public accounting, doing audit and tax work. His first experience in the trucking business was with Munson Transportation Company in 1989. When Munson sold to Heartland Express, he assumed financial duties with the larger, more efficient company. After several years with a refrigerated trucking company in Oklahoma, Chris found his way to East Tennessee to take over as Landair's Chief Financial Officer. He has made a name for himself by consistently ensuring Landair's overall efficiency and profitability. But he doesn't fail to give credit where credit is due: "Drivers are our business, and without them, nobody gets paid. It's important for all our personnel to see that they're appreciated, because it motivates them to work hard for the company. It's our people who have the biggest impact on our success."

A 1977 graduate of Syracuse University, Earnie Seibert has over 20 years experience in the transportation industry. His resume looks to be a veritable "Who's-Who" of trucking companies, with experience at J.B. Hunt, Cardinal Logistics, and Penske Logistics. Prior to coming to Landair, he was responsible for significant revenue and customer-base growth at every company he worked for. And despite his past successes, Earnie continues to look forward to growth opportunities in the future. In his own words: "It's not about where we've been or where we are now we're focused on where we want to go."

Gary Funk's common-sense-based business approach might have come from years of over-the-road experience. It might have come from years of seeing the trucking business from the inside and out. Or it might just be the result of his being a stand-up guy who does what needs to be done. He says: "We don't have the political atmosphere around here, and 'passing the buck' doesn't happen. For our customers, it's all about who they can trust. They want dependability and consistency. They want a good relationship, with good service, with good rates. And that's what we give them."

Like several other members of the Landair Team, Larry Rader got his start in the transportation business by truly learning "where the rubber hits the road." His years of over-the-road experience not only gave him a strong bearing for his current leadership position, but also gave him the knowledge and skill to make street-smart decisions to benefit Landair customers. Years later, his dedication to doing so still hasn't changed: "We're committed to solving customer's problems. We roll up our sleeves and jump into their business to offer an optimum solution."

Since 1998, Joey Ballard has been instrumental to Landair's success by assembling a top-quality team of driver and non-driver personnel. Prior to coming to Landair, Joey directed human resources efforts at Warehouse Logistics which is now Landair's Warehousing & Distribution Division. Although it comes with a certain personal accountability, Joey takes pride in the company culture at Landair which empowers managers and directors to make their own decisions. As she says: "The leadership here is very open-minded and you're allowed to make decisions because you've proven yourself. You know what you're accountable for, and you get it done."

As Landair's Director of Claims, Neal Holladay has a job that's never boring. He spends the majority of his time fixing problems and cleaning up after miscues on the road and as you might suspect, no two days at the office are quite the same. Prior to Landair, Neal spent 16 years in risk management at General Shale Brick in Johnson City, and after a few brief stops along the way, came to Landair in 2004. Today, with the time he's not spending settling claims, Neal leads the company's endless pursuit of ultimate safety for drivers, for non-driver personnel, and for everyone else on the road. "All of us have a responsibility and accountability for safety awareness. That's why we look for new and innovative ways to make our company safer. The culture here asks 'What new and innovative things are you working on?' And we're encouraged to go above and beyond, and push ourselves to be better."

Landair's successful warehousing & distribution services can be attributed to several things. Among them are the company's efficiency, a culture supporting customer success, and Roger Stokely's never-ending pursuit of perfection. For the past 15 years, he has overseen the company's largest inventory-management relationships with some of our biggest customers specifically John Deere winning numerous awards for excellence and customer satisfaction. And even while retaining a 99.999% rate of perfection, Roger remains focused on eliminating the mistakes which are very few and very far between. "We're a goal-oriented company," he says, "but to ourselves, we don't have any acceptable goals. Perfection is our ultimate goal. From our fork lift drivers to our CEO, everybody does what it takes to get the job done and ensure the customer's success."