Congratulations to Dave Larson for celebrating 20 years with Iowa Select Farms
posted on Thursday, November 7, 2019
Congratulations to Dave Larson for celebrating 20 years with Iowa Select Farms!
Although he’s an Iowa Falls native, Dave’s trucking career began in Montana. After marrying his wife, Desiray, the two moved out west for her job in the Air Force. Dave needed to find work, so started working for a rancher checking and fixing fence, doing daily chores and helping with other odd jobs around the vast property.
“If you know anything about ranching, you know that fixing fence is not the job everyone is fighting over,” he joked. “My boss at the time told me they were looking for people to haul wheat and barley. Next thing you know, I was working towards my CDL and taking regular loads to the local Anheuser-Busch plant.”
After a year away, the two moved back to the Iowa Falls area and Dave started looking for work. He enjoyed trucking and heard that Iowa Select Farms was hiring drivers. 20 years later and Dave is still driving a truck.
On any given day, Dave can be seen traveling around the state hauling everything from weaned pigs and bred gilts to feeder pigs and culls. And if you know Dave, you’ll know that he’s never without a smile on his face or joke at the ready.
“In 20 years, I’ve made a lot of good friends,” he explained. “We talk on the phone, hang out on the weekends, have each other over for dinner—it’s like an extension of my family.”
“We’re some of the few people in the company that get to work with nearly everyone, which I love,” he continued. “You meet a lot of cool people going to all of the different farms and even start to form friendships there, too.”
Although he’s always cracking jokes and making others laugh, Dave prefers working on his own, which is why driving has always been a great fit. In addition to the freedom, Dave enjoys the hours and flexibility his job provides.
“Oftentimes in the summer you’ll head out to do a load first thing in the morning, but then you’re done by Noon, 10 AM or even 9 AM sometimes,” Dave explained. “It gives us a lot of free time to do other things that we love.”
For Dave, it’s fishing, going on vacation, spending time with Desiray and their daughter, Abby.
“Being able to sit down with your family for dinner every night has got to be one of the best things about this job,” said Dave. “You get to do what you love without having to sacrifice time with your family. I know a lot of drivers don’t have that luxury, so it’s not something I take for granted.”
In 20 years, Dave has met a lot of good people and, of course, made a lot of funny memories along the way. Like the time he was pulled over an exit ramp at 4:30 AM because, “When Mother Nature calls, she calls.”
To make matters worse, senior leaders from the company pulled up alongside him thinking his truck had broken down.
“Now, you want to talk about an awkward situation,” laughed Dave. “It’s explaining what the heck you were doing in the ditch and why you can’t shake hands. That’s easily the most embarrassed I’ve ever been, but looking back it’s pretty dang funny.”
Although he’s already got 20 years under his belt, Dave is looking ahead to the next 20.
“I honestly feel like I work for a company that takes care of me, which is why I’m still here,” said Dave. “I think the company is going to be around a long time and that’s what I’m after. I’d like to work here for another 20 years. I’m in it for the long haul.”
Congratulations on 20 years, Dave! We appreciate having you on our team.
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