Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Bonnie Supan as its 2018 December Member of the Month. Bonnie is the Vice President of Finance and Operations for Brenny Transportation, Inc./Brenny Specialized, Inc. in Saint Joseph, Minnesota.
As a child, her father would bring home big trucks from work and she loved how big they were and was very impressed with them at a young age.
When the opportunity came up for a position at a trucking company she thought it was perfect. Her plan was to work in the office for a while and eventually become a truck driver. The path to drive trucks changed when she realized how much she could help people working behind the scenes in trucking.
She started her trucking career filing, doing some computer work and looking up miles for loads from the atlas. She sat on the floor with the big atlas and others in the office would give her a sheet of paper that had the origin and destination and she had to get the miles, there was no such thing as a computer system to run the miles like we have now.
Eventually, she moved into dispatch where she could help drivers get from point A to point B. Bonnie said, “I formed a lot of friends and some I still keep in contact with. I could see the world by living through the travels of the drivers. I could see the many different job sites by asking the drivers what it was like there. I would ask our customers questions to know what the product was going to be used for. I figured out I am helping the country grow – what a great feeling!”
Bonnie worked for Joyce Brenny at a trucking company for two years when Joyce decided to open her own trucking company. There was no question that Bonnie would go with her, as Joyce is the one that taught and coached her. “I believed in her and had no doubt in my mind that this move was the best thing for me and my future career in trucking,” said Bonnie.
When she started her career at Brenny, there was just a few of them so you had to do it all – there was no other option than to be successful! From dispatching, finding trucks, customer service, negotiating rates, cleaning the office, IT, dealing with phone issues and from time to time getting in the truck to do a short ride along to the cities, and she enjoyed the opportunity getting in the truck!
After years of hard work she was promoted to Team Lead, then to General Manager and just recently promoted to Vice President. The promotions did not come easily. They came with challenges along the way, personally and professionally. All of which she says she is thankful for, as they have made her into the strong woman she is today.
Bonnie’s expanded knowledge gained through completing the PDC as well as her leadership and mentoring contributed her promotion. “The WIT Professional Development Certification was just what we were looking for to help educate our up and coming Transportation Professionals! The program is both affordable and touches on many topics that spoke both to our company culture, as well as to expand our team members’ transportation knowledge. We are very excited that WIT has taken the lead in developing such a usable transportation educational tool!” said Joyce Sauer Brenny, CEO Brenny Transportation, Inc./Brenny Specialized, Inc.
Bonnie has been with Brenny Transportation, Inc./Brenny Specialized, Inc. since 1996. She has been recognized in the trucking industry for the Among Women Business Recognition Award, Transportation Intermediaries Association Certified Broker, Minnesota Trucking Association Outstanding Service Award and Women In Trucking Professional Development Course.
Some of the Brenny recognitions that Bonnie has been a part of include eight years of hitting their yearly goals to earn a team building retreat, five years of being named A Top Workplace, MN Business Ethics Award, two Great West Platinum Safety Awards, Greater St. Cloud Development Innovation Award and Women in Trucking Top Company for Women to Work For.
Within her new position of V.P., Bonnie hopes to mentor and inspire more women to become leaders within the trucking industry.
