CRST Driver Ondrae Meyers secured second place in the 2023 Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Awards taking home $10,000 in prize money. This award celebrates veterans’ vital contributions to the transportation industry and encourages further support for their careers.
Special thanks to Team CRST for your votes throughout the month of November 2023 – helping Ondrae achieve this award and honor.
A combat veteran with 22 years of service in the US Marine Corps, today, Ondrae drives for CRST Dedicated Solutions and is motivated by a passion for driving and building a career in the transportation industry. Ondrae’s story serves as an inspiring example of the possibilities for veterans in transportation.
A self-proclaimed Marine forever, Ondrae believes that his new career in transportation aligns perfectly with the fundamentals he learned in the military.
“I honor my service by continuing to live my life by the Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment. I try my best to show honor through my work ethic and focus on doing the right thing no matter what,” said Meyers. “Life also takes a lot of courage. Not just the courage to do things that scare you but to have the courage to get outside of your comfort zone and grow. I am committed to my family, my goals, and my career in trucking, and this motivates me to stay true to my life and work goals every day.”
In December 2023, Ondrae, accompanied by his family, Andre Peters, Ondrae’s Driver Manager, Joseph Gordon, Driver Recruiting Manager, and John Frey, Director of Driver Recruiting at CRST, traveled to Washington D.C. for the Transition Trucking Conference and Awards banquet. This event celebrated veterans like Ondrae, who have smoothly transitioned from military service to driving for a commercial fleet. Among the highlights was the announcement of the T680 Kenworth truck’s winner, recognizing America’s top rookie military veteran driver. Ondrae secured an impressive second place, earning a reward of $10,000.
More about Ondrae:
Ondrae Meyers, U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant (E-7). Ondrae was born in Trenton, NJ in 1980 where he lived with his younger brother & mother.
Attending Hamilton High West, he was a “Front Row”, A+ student. Participating in basketball, football, and his favorite; wrestling all four years. His first job was at Hamilton Science Center at age 14. He also worked at Burger King during his high school years graduating in 1999.
Ondrae recognized that his hometown did not provide many opportunities post high school. In June of 1999, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and graduated from Motor Transport School in Fort Leonard Wood, in February of 2000.
While serving over a decade overseas in the Pacific, he met his wife Eriko. They have two children Layla (12) and Lideya (10). Prior to retirement Ondrae was Section Leader of the Wounded Warrior Battalion where he worked with all branches of the military to maximize care for our service personnel.
Ondrae, obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Management from Ashford University and a Master of Business degree in Logistics from Trident University.
His Military Occupation Specialty (MOS), Motor Transport, ignited the spark that inspired his passion for driving. After retiring honorably in July 2021, Ondrae, made the decision to build a career around this passion. Attending Troops to Transport in Fort Moore, GA. In 2022, he onboarded with CRST & began running with his teammate, Sheila G. on our Pharmaceutical division.
A career highlight was receiving a letter of Appreciation from the Chief of Police in Ishikawa, Japan. Due to his courageous apprehension of a suspect, resulting in injury to himself.
Below are additional career highlights.
- 2004: Participated in Operation Unified Assistance in Indonesia to aid in Tsunami relief efforts.
- 2007: Served in Iraq, repairing roadways damaged by improvised explosive devices (IED’s).
- 2013 – 2014: Deployed in Afghanistan and was responsible for 30 Forward Operating Bases.
- 2018: Recognized for his volunteer efforts with Kids Haven International School.
