Micha Kay Women In Trucking Association announces its April 2024 Member of the Month
The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Micha Kay as its April 2024 Member of the Month. Kay is the Regional Human Resources Development Manager at Old Dominion Freight Line.
Kay has been in the trucking industry her whole life. Her dad worked as an OTR truck driver during her childhood until he retired in 2021. Times were different back then, and he used to be able to take Kay on the road with him. She has vivid memories of sitting on the bed in the back of his truck with her coloring books and watching talk shows on his small TV as they drove across the country. She used to be able to get out and help him unload pallets on the dock as well. Growing up with a fairly absent dad due to him being an over-the-road driver gave her such an appreciation for truck drivers and what they do every day.
Although Kay recently re-entered the transportation industry in 2022, she started her career in transportation back in 2009 as a nighttime driver check-in clerk, which helped her get through college. Kay always knew that one day she would come back when she found the perfect company to work for, and that is exactly what she did!
When she left transportation in 2011, she entered the construction industry, where she spent most of her career. She knew it was going to be a challenge. Both transportation and construction are very male-dominated industries, and Kay knew it would take some work to make a name for herself. She believes that being true to yourself and your abilities is key. “Just believe in yourself and keep the male versus female mentality at bay. We are all in this together, and reaching our goal of fulfilling our promises to our customers is our number one goal.”
Kay started college as an education major until her junior year when she switched to human resource management. Her desire to teach and develop people has helped immensely in her career in HR. Now she finds herself overseeing twenty-five locations, which she loves. Every day is different, and she is passionate about “boots on the ground” traveling to all locations so that she can interact with the drivers.
She is extremely enthusiastic about mentoring, training, and development. In fact, she teaches all internship programs and runs both management and training programs, which she thoroughly enjoys. Kay has won several awards throughout her 15-year career in HR but most recently received the Old Dominions Service 2.0D award for providing exceptional service to the OD family.
Kay is incredibly involved with her drivers; she recalls one instance when she went out with one of them for a ride-along. They were downtown, and the driver was as calm as could be with one hand on the wheel and backing up into a dock that no way looked like there was enough room to back a car into let alone a truck. She was in full panic mode thinking that this was not going to fit, but it did, he got it in with no problem, and she just sat back amazed.
Beyond Kay’s amazing career, she is a single mom with two teenage daughters. When she is not working, she is involved in her daughter’s sports schedule and family time. She also opened her own side business in 2021, specializing in resume writing and career coaching. In short, Kay absolutely loves seeing people reach their career goals and dreams.
Kay would like women interested in the trucking industry to know that, first and foremost, if you hear that trucking and transportation are not lucrative or productive, this is a misconception and a false reality. It is an illustrious career choice. You just need to be fully confident in yourself and your skills that you bring to the table. Respect is earned and with that you can thrive.
Kay ultimately sees herself in the future working in the transportation industry. She is enthusiastic about what she does and wants to continue doing what she does to help the industry grow even stronger.
