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Embrace the next four years, we all have work to do

From the desk of Kyle Kottke…

Can’t we all get along?

Maybe the hardest part for me as this election comes to a conclusion is just how far apart and how divided our country is.  It scares the hell out of me that 54% of Americans don’t intend to allow the ‘other party’ to have a chance if they end up winning.

So instead of making the best of any situation; you plan to do nothing.  You will remind everyone that you didn’t vote for this President.  I told you so.  Blah blah blah.

I have to admit, I have had some issues with some of the policies of President Obama but the truth is he is still our President and he deserves some piece of respect and definitely the benefit of the doubt based on his title alone.

Fast forward to today, America has a choice to make.  We can make ourselves great and solve our issues.  (This isn’t a Trump commercial, this commercial runs no matter who wins). We can embrace the next four years that no matter who is in that office we will make our country great…  Or you can pout that your candidate didn’t win.

Furthermore, if your candidate does win, you only have the person that you chose in the office they ran for.  They still have to do something and, in some cases, anything to move our country forward.

So whether you were on working for Moving America Forward or making America Great Again, we all have work to do.

Lastly, what in the hell is America thinking allowing the political process to get to this?  Money is so important that a well-reasoned independent or third party candidate is a wasted vote.  Today, if you vote against your party, you have set the stage to never get reelected.  If you don’t have a party affiliation, you don’t get the cash needed to win.  A system where cash can truly win votes and negative ads make us only see the evil in everyone.  I can’t remember one good ad of what someone will actually get done.  I remember just the crap-pasting of each other.  I see speech writers writing ads that will be cut into 20 second bites in the news instead of policy that matters.  What is going on?  How does this fix anything?  Please help us.

Trucks and Toys is here again! Visit Kottke Trucking to donate!

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Last year’s Target run to buy toys with the donated money from the Trucks and Toys drive!

Each year, trucking companies come together to address the needs of less fortunate families by collecting toys through the Trucks and Toys campaign. These toys are collected and then distributed to various charities. For many years, Kottke Trucking has volunteered to be a drop-off site and is known for being a leader in donations for this wonderful cause.

If any driver or office personnel would like to donate to this wonderful cause, you may do so by check, cash or send an email to [email protected] to deduct from your pay (we can issue a receipt for your donation).

Members of the general public can drop off toys or monetary donations at the Kottke Trucking headquarters in Buffalo Lake. The deadline for donations is December 2.

Kottke Trucking again has made a commitment to donate $500.00 for collections under $2,000 collected, that’ll increase to $750.00 for collections of $2,001-$3,000, or $1,000 for collections of $3,001-$5,000, or $2,000 if we go over the $5,000 collection mark.

Let’s come together and make this the best Trucks and Toys campaign ever!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

The Kottke Trucking Family

Peter Ngeru named Third Quarter Jim Doering Award of Excellence winner

Kottke Trucking, Inc. is proud to announce that Peter Ngeru is the 2016 third quarter recipient of the Jim Doering Award of Excellence.

peter

2016 Third Quarter Jim Doering Award of Excellence winner Peter Ngeru (left) with President Kurt Kottke (right).

Peter was nominated by one of his fellow drivers and this is what the nominator said about Peter:

“I would like to nominate Peter because he has been a g
reat help to me from when I joined Kottke, especially on the road. If you want to know something about the job, he will be there to pick up the phone the first time you call and help you out. He’s a wonderful guy to work with. Kudos, Peter!”

Peter has been with Kottke Trucking since June of 2012 which results in over four years of great driving. Thank you, Peter, for your hard work and dedication. You are more than deserving of this award.

The Jim Doering Award of Excellence was established in 2014 in honor of our first employee and nearly 40-year employee Jim Doering. The award is designed to honor a driver each quarter that has the same great qualities that made Jim Doering such a special man. The four winners of the quarterly James Doering Award of Excellence are the finalists for the Duane and Connie Kottke Distinguished Driver of the Year.

Jeff Bass named Second Quarter Jim Doering Award of Excellence winner

Kottke Trucking is proud to announce that Jeff Bass has been named the 2nd Quarter Jim Doering Award of Excellence Honoree.

jeffbass

2016 Second Quarter Jim Doering Award of Excellence winner Jeff Bass (left) with President Kurt Kottke (right).

Bass’ nominator said this about him:

“Jeff has made the transition to elogs look very effortless. He knows what needs to be done and plans ahead to get it done. Jeff is very knowledgeable of his equipment and he knows how to repair on the road if necessary. Jeff is very easy to work with and has a great sense of humor. Jeff is very dedicated to his job and is not afraid to help any other driver when needed. Jeff has many of the same qualities that Jim Doering had and is very deserving of this award.”

With this honor, Jeff Bass is also now a candidate for the third annual Duane and Connie Kottke Distinguished Driver of the Year Award.

Jeff has been an employee with Kottke’s since July 13, 2004.

Congrats, Jeff!

Kottke Trucking, Inc. purchases Walbon & Company, Inc.’s over-the-road division

BUFFALO LAKE, MINN –   Kottke Trucking, Inc. has purchased Walbon & Company, Inc.’s over the road operations including Walbon’s routes, trucks, trailers and Wildwood, Florida based terminal. In addition, Kottke has set up an office in Eagan, Minnesota to manage the newly acquired lanes and accommodate staff from Walbon. The acquisition will not affect the Buffalo Lake, Minnesota based operations that Kottke has held for nearly eight decades.

“Our family continues to grow and we are excited to welcome the Walbon employees into our business.  We have and will continue to build a company of great people, great customers and great service,” stated Kurt Kottke, President.

Kottke Trucking, Inc. is a third-generation interstate hauler that focuses on refrigerated and dry van transportation. Kottke has been in operation since 1938 and currently operates over 175 semi-tractors. Proudly based where it all began in Buffalo Lake, Minnesota, Kottke Trucking, Inc. also holds terminals in Eagan, Minnesota and Wildwood, Florida.

10th annual Golf Towards A Cure event raises over $22,000

On Monday, June 20, Kottke Trucking and the 18 Wheelers Relay for Life team held our 10th annual Golf Towards A Cure golf outing at beautiful Oakdale Golf Club just north of Buffalo Lake. It was an absolutely gorgeous day while raising funds for the American Cancer Society.

The event was our most successful event monetarily to date. Proceeds of the event came in at $12,600. Kottke Trucking matched the total of the day up to $10,000 in honor of the 10th anniversary of the event, making the grand total of the day $22,600.

The day was a success thanks to everyone who participated in the day and helped sponsor the event. A special thanks to Oakdale Golf Club for being gracious hosts and allowing us to play on their breath-taking course.

It is truly one of our favorite days of the year and, again, thank you to all who participated and donated both their valuable time and money to help in the battle to defeat cancer.

The 11th annual Golf Towards A Cure event is set for June 19, 2017, the Monday after Father’s Day, at Oakdale Golf Club. We can’t wait to see you again.

Kottke Trucking has been in business since 1938 and for the past three decades has found our primary business in transporting dry, refrigerated and frozen food items. We operate in the midwest, south and southeastern parts of the United States. Our fleet consists of 100-plus drivers and 20 support staff. For more information on Kottke Trucking, go to our website at kottketrucking.wpengine.com.

EY announces Kurt Kottke, Kory Kottke and Kyle Kottke of Kottke Trucking, Inc. as EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Logistics Award winner in the Upper Midwest

EY today announced that Kurt Kottke, Kory Kottke and Kyle Kottke of Kottke Trucking, received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Award in the logistics category in the Upper Midwest. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award program. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Kurt, Kory and Kyle were selected by an independent panel of judges, and the award was presented at a special gala event at the JW Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America on June 9.

“Tonight we received a great honor of being named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the Midwest in the Logistics category. Thank you to EY for this award, we are truly grateful. A huge thank you to our drivers and staff, you are the reason we thrive as a business. We share this with you and we thank you for all your hard work. We literally could not have done it without you,” Kurt, Kory and Kyle said in a joint statement.

Since 1986, EY has honored entrepreneurs whose ingenuity, spirit of innovation and discipline have propelled their companies’ success, invigorated their industries, and benefited their communities. Now in its 30th year, the program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, Robert Unanue of Goya Foods, and Mindy Grossman of HSN. Recent US national winners include Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn; Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani; and 2015 winners Andreas Bechtolsheim and Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks.

As an Upper Midwest award winner, Kottke Trucking is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 19, 2016. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth ForumTM, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.  The US Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Monaco, June 2017.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are sponsored nationally by SAP America, Merrill Corporation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.  In the Upper Midwest, region sponsors include PadillaCRT, Faegre Baker Daniels, Twin Cities Business, Schulze School of Entrepreneurship, Salo, Lockton and Pohlad Companies.

About Kottke Trucking, Inc.

Kottke Trucking has been in business since 1938 and for the past three decades has found our primary business in transporting dry, refrigerated and frozen food items. We operate in the midwest, south and southeastern parts of the United States. Our fleet consists of 100-plus drivers and 20 support staff. For more information on Kottke Trucking, go to our website at kottketrucking.wpengine.com.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year®

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

About EY’s Strategic Growth Markets practice

EY’s Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice guides leading high-growth companies. Our multidisciplinary teams of elite professionals provide perspective and advice to help our clients accelerate market leadership. SGM delivers assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services to thousands of companies spanning all industries. EY is the undisputed leader in taking companies public, advising key government agencies on the issues impacting high-growth companies and convening the experts who shape the business climate. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/us/strategicgrowthmarkets, or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

2016-eoy-regional-award-winner-logo

Mariah Paulson and Trey Weispfennig Named ALL Mustang Winners

Photo May 25, 7 55 17 PMBUFFALO LAKE, MINN –   Every spring, Kottke Trucking teams up with Buffalo Lake – Hector – Stewart High School to recognize one female and one male from the graduating class with the ALL Mustang award. This past Wednesday, May 25, graduating seniors Mariah Paulson and Trey Weispfennig were presented with the ALL Mustang awards at the 5th annual ceremony held at the Buffalo Lake Community Center. In addition to the award, Kottke Trucking presented both winners with a $500 scholarship.

The ceremony honors the monthly winners from the past academic year who have had great achievements and shown excellence in athletics, leadership and learning.

This year’s monthly winners were: Kiana Johnson, Ash Petersen, Keighly Daak, Jakob Pettit, Breanna Buboltz, Tanner Edwards, Rachel Grimm, Brock Luthens, Mariah Paulson, Noah Rolling, Mackenzie Marconcini, Trey Weispfennig, Alexis Grams, Bradley Ebbers, Emily Markgraf and Brittany Schmalz.

Kottke Trucking would like to thank the following for making theceremony possible: 18 Wheelers Relay for Life team for the meal preparation, Jodi Mellies for the photographs and presentation, Mr. Steve Wolff for being the master of ceremonies, Heidi Anderson-Isaacson for being our guest speaker and the various coaches and advisors at BLHS who voted for the ALL Mustang awards throughout the year. Another hearty thanks to the friends, family and everybody in attendance for making the event a success.

The past ALL Mustang winners include: 2012 – Jessica Kalenberg and Taylor Broderious, 2013 – Carly Schmalz and Baron Juhl, 2014 – Rebecca Ebbers and Christopher Schmidt, 2015 – Ashley Petersen and Scott Buboltz.

The 6th annual ALL Mustang ceremony is tentatively scheduled for May 24, 2017.

Kottke Trucking has been in business since 1938 and for the past three decades has found our primary business in transporting dry, refrigerated and frozen food items.
We operate in the midwest, south and southeastern parts of the United States. Our fleet consists of 100-plus drivers and 20 support staff. For more information on Kottke Trucking, go to our website at kottketrucking.wpengine.com.AllMustangCollageIMG_5458IMG_5456

Memory Overload: Testing your memory via your car’s dashboard

Do you think you have a good memory? I bet you that I can prove that it’s not as good as you think it is. Grab a blank sheet of paper and draw the instruments on your car’s dashboard from memory. That’s easy, right? Now go look at the dashboard of your car… I’ll wait.

*

*

*whistles patiently while waiting for you to return*

*

*

You weren’t even close were you?  If you were, congrats, you are one of the few. For a psychology course in high school we did this activity with us drawing the dash in the classroom and then headed down to the parking lot to compare our drawing to the actual thing. I wasn’t even close. Not many in my class were. I saw my Oldsmobile Alero’s dashboard every day, but I obviously didn’t have it as well-studied as I thought I had.

The main purpose of this activity is to test our memory of things we’ve seen a million times and probably on a daily basis. Another way of doing it is trying to draw a bicycle with all it’s working parts. You got your handlebars, your frame, your wheels and your seat and you’re good, right? Oh, shoot, we forgot the chain. Now what tire does the chain go to or does it go to both tires… this activity isn’t easy either. Velocipedia had 376 people draw a bicycle from memory over the course of six years and not too many drew a fully-functioning bike.

There are many things to learn from this.

One, we humans are not elephants, we don’t remember everything. I may know every word to every Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen and Beatles song, but, good golly, do I have issues remembering the multiplication table once you get over 75 percent of the way through it.

Two, we don’t even fully know and remember things we see on a daily basis. We see our dashboards virtually every day and we can’t draw that. Can you remember what apps are on the main page of your iPhone? Just yesterday, I realized that Ms. Pac-Man was still on my homescreen and I hadn’t played it in nearly two months. That’s something on a screen I see, most likely, hundreds of times a day.

Third, we are not perfect and we’re not really close to it. We should be able to remember these things, but we simply don’t. We only have so much space in our brains and mines filled up with song lyrics and the dialogue to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a fact that we sometimes, ironically, forget. We simply can’t remember everything.

So while we all go through our crazy lives, remember that it isn’t natural to remember everything. Write yourself some notes, put some sticky notes on your wallet, use the Notes app on your phone (hint: use this for your shopping list, you are much less likely to forget your phone before going shopping than a paper list) and ask people to remind you of things. We all have different memories and we all have different ways of remembering things. We need to remember a lot of things and we only have so much space on the hard drive that is our brain. We can all benefit from writing down a few things to help us out.

Note to self: remember to publish this on the website.

EY announces Kottke Trucking as an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 finalist in the Upper Midwest

BUFFALO LAKE, MINNESOTA – EY has announced that Kurt Kottke, Kory Kottke and Kyle Kottke of Kottke Trucking are finalists for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Award in the Upper Midwest, which encompasses Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The awards program, which is celebrating its 30th year, recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Kurt, Kory and Kyle were selected as finalists by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a black-tie celebration on June 9, 2016 at the JW Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.

“An honor of such magnitude is quite humbling,” Kyle Kottke said. “We will forever operate our business that our achievement is that of working with great customers, a great team and delivering our freight on-time and safely.  We thank the team at EY for thinking we are worthy of more recognition.  We are honored and forever thankful.”

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries throughout the world. Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year National program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the EY Entrepreneur Of T
he Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 19, 2016. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum™, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are sponsored nationally by SAP America, Merrill Corporation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In the Upper Midwest, region sponsors include PadillaCRT, Faegre Baker Daniels, Twin Cities Business, Schulze School of Entrepreneurship, Salo, Lockton and Pohlad Companies.

Kottke Trucking has been in business since 1938 and currently in its third-generation of family ownership. For the past three decades the primary business is to transport dry, refrigerated and frozen food items.  We operate in the Midwest, South and Southeastern part of the United States.  Our fleet consists of over 100 drivers and 20 supportstaff. Kottke Trucking is based out of Buffalo Lake, MN.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year®

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

About EY’s Strategic Growth Markets practice

EY’s Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice guides leading high-growth companies. Our multidisciplinary teams of elite professionals provide perspective and advice to help our clients accelerate market leadership. SGM delivers assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services to thousands of companies spanning all industries. EY is the undisputed leader in taking companies public, advising key government agencies on the issues impacting high-growth companies and convening the experts who shape the business climate. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/us/strategicgrowthmarkets, or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

2016 EOY Regional Finalist Logo

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Kottke Trucking, Inc.