Wayne Smith, founder of Wayne Smith Trucking in Morrillton, Ark., passed away Friday after a long battle with cancer. Smith served on the board of directors for over two decades and was a founding trustee of ATA's Self-Insurers' Fund, which provides workers compensation to dozens of small trucking companies across the state.
"The world has lost a great man, and many of us have lost a good friend," said Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton. "Wayne has had a reputation for being honest, hard working and truly passionate about trucking for as long as I've known him. He was the kind of man who gave trucking a good name."
Smith drove his first truck at 14 years old on an orchard in Bakersfield, Calif. Smith's family moved West from Arkansas during the Dust Bowl, and he hauled produce through the produce camps in 1960. Sixteen years later, he began his own trucking company. The venture began in 1976 with two trucks, and today the company has grown to over 100 trucks, not to mention over 500 trailers. The company celebrated its 40th anniversary last year after moving headquarters to Morrilton's growing industrial park.