The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Cara Howes as its February 2023 Member of the Month. Cara is a parts distribution center manager at PACCAR Parts, a division of PACCAR Inc.
Cara has been interested in the trucking industry for as long as she can remember. Her mother was a PACCAR employee, and Cara has fond memories of “bring your daughter to work day” as a child. Her grandfather owned a tanker business in Oregon and was a longtime Kenworth customer. Cara loved spending summers with her father, befriending Kenworth truck drivers, and making trucks her playground. One of her favorite games growing up was playing “name that truck” on family road trips. For Cara, joining PACCAR was an easy decision.
Cara has worked at PACCAR for almost 15 years and has held key positions, including assistant director of customer service and assistant director of materials before switching to the operations side of the business.
The way stuff moves have always fascinated Cara. She loves coordinating the movement of truck parts from point A to point B and takes pride in getting things where they need to be when they need to be there. Cara believes working in operations and logistics requires creative thinking and problem-solving as no two issues are the same. While there are guidelines, every situation is unique and requires perseverance regardless of obstacles. She motivates herself and her team with the mantra that a truck is a driver’s home, and it’s critical they have access to the parts they need to stay on the road. She understands the direct impact PACCAR employees have on a driver’s life.
In addition to Cara’s impressive professional career, she also serves in the United States Navy Reserve as a supply corps officer and was recently selected for the rank of commander. She serves as officer-in-charge for the Fuels Detachment supporting Fleet Logistics Center San Diego. Cara deployed to Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012 as part of a Logistics Mobile Training Team focused on training the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police on logistics best practices across the country. Her personal awards include two Navy Commendation Medals, an Army Commendation Medal, and five Navy Achievement Medals.
Cara’s husband also works at PACCAR Parts as a supplier quality manager. They met while playing on the corporate softball team in 2007. Now, they stay busy raising their seven-year-old twin daughters. The girls know that mom and dad work for PACCAR, the company that owns Kenworth and Peterbilt. Cara has passed down “name that truck” to her daughters with an “is it a Kenworth or a Peterbilt” twist. They cannot wait to work at PACCAR when they are older.
Cara’s advice to women wanting to break into the trucking industry is, “just do it. Take your comfort zone and smash it because growth comes from new challenges!”
