Family, Faith, Trucking: Dennis Dellinger’s Road to ATA Chair
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CLAREMONT, N.C. — Dennis Dellinger is a man of distinctly varied interests.
On the one hand, Dellinger — CEO of Cargo Transporters Inc. and as of Oct. 16 the 80th chairman of American Trucking Associations — is a modest individual with a great sense of humor. He has a passion for family and a similarly deep affection for running a complex and busy trucking operation.
On the other hand, during his downtime Dellinger enjoys an eclectic array of pursuits that might seem outside of the norm for a trucking honcho.
He also differs from many trucking leaders in that he wasn’t born into the industry.
Dellinger hails from Fayetteville, N.C., and traveled with his father’s military deployments until the family settled in the Claremont, N.C. area for his eighth grade school year.
“I come from a rather large family of seven children, five girls and two boys,” Dellinger said. “I was raised in a household with a lot of strong women.” His mother, Shirley, had a big personality and his dad, being in the military, meant mom was left to raise the kids for long periods of time. “I was taught to respect women,” he says.
Dellinger's grandchildren Lachlan (left) and Emma McRary (right) pose with their great-grandmother — Dennis' mother — Shirley Dellinger (center). (John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
He admits to inheriting his parents’ Type A personalities but says he was the family peacekeeper growing up. His parents taught him that he was “no better than anyone else, but that there’s nobody else better than you.”
Cargo Transporters is based in that same little town of Claremont, nestled about an hour northwest of Charlotte and boasting 1,800 residents. The truckload carrier has more than 500 tractors, 2,000 trailers and about 700 employees. Since 1982, it’s been a family-owned business that services all 48 contiguous U.S. states. Its drivers are all company employed.
(John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
Dellinger’s rise to the company’s leadership post is one of a tough but fair trucking leader, a hardworking, astute man who has risen over nearly four decades to the top of his profession.
As a young man he was eager to enter the working world, so he decided to forgo college in favor of a job with a company that catered to the North Carolina furniture manufacturing industry. He joined Cargo Transporters in 1986.
Dellinger says he’s proud to have grown up in the ’60s and ’70s as part of a resourceful generation that shared optimism and competitiveness, and has a strong work ethic.
His team speaks highly of his leadership abilities, but “I’m certainly no so-called ‘servant leader,’” he says. “I wanted to be [ATA] chairman not to be popular, but rather to be a good listener.”
Dellinger talks with employees at the Cargo Transporters office in Hickory, N.C. (John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
In fact, his intellectual curiosity has led Dellinger to become a student of sorts in the study of emotional intelligence, a concept based on a classic book that touts a decades-old philosophy on the ability to manage one’s own emotions and understand the emotions of others.
(John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
To help himself unwind after a challenging day he might spend some relaxing time beside the pool. From there, he often turns to what might seem an unconventional choice for a trucking CEO — TikTok. While generally targeted to the younger set, Dellinger describes the popular global app as a “de-stresser” and a great way to get a concise sampling of the day’s news.
Then he’s very likely to sit down with a good spy or crime novel, or even open up a self-help book. He said he can read a 300-plus page novel in a few days.
He also owns a 2013 Harley-Davidson Road Glide, which he’d like to ride more often.
His musical passions range from early country music and classic rock of the 1960s and ’70s, to his favorite rappers, Dr. Dre and Eminem.
In fact, his wife of 13 years Sherel said she was shocked when Dellinger was anxious to see the 2015 film “Straight Outta Compton,” a classic of the gangster rap genre that features some of its earliest and biggest stars.
Sherel Dellinger said she initially found Dennis a bit intimidating but also kind and competent. (John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
In line with his complex nature, Sherel said she at first found Dennis a bit intimidating but also kind and competent. It didn’t hurt, she confessed, that she also found him “tall, dark and handsome.”
Family and faith are also vital parts of Dellinger’s life. He has a daughter, Dana McRary, and two grandchildren, Lachlan McRary and Emma McRary. Dellinger also is president of his church, Bethel Lutheran Church in Claremont, which he notes can be both satisfying and challenging but in ways very different from trucking.
“My faith is important to me,” Dellinger said. “It’s what helps to ground me, to realize that there’s more to life than me.”
From left to right, Dana and Emma McRary; Dennis and Sherel Dellinger; Lachlan and Graham McRary. (John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
While he’s known for his kind manner, he’s no pushover. Dellinger’s employees liken him to a coach: he’s a mentor, firm but fair, with a strong personal interest in the well-being of his employees, seeing to it that talented employees are promoted and given increasingly larger roles in the company.
Unlike some famous athletes, his players stick around for years and don’t typically option their contracts for what might look to be greener pastures or cushier jobs.
Dellinger said he has no specific agenda for his chairmanship other than to pursue ATA issues and other issues raised by the membership.
Cargo Transporters' head of operations Luke Elder. (John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
“He really cares about people. But he’s tough,” said Luke Elder, head of operations for Cargo Transporters and a 27-year executive with the company. “It’s not like you get a pat on the back when you walk in the door each morning. He holds us accountable, as he does himself.”
He is known for keeping the peace, but at the same time says he does not cower from confrontation.
His employees — the ones who thrive in the fast and arduous pace of trucking — admire his ability to listen and make quick decisions for their own good as well as that of the company.
(John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
“First and foremost, I will tell you he is a very committed family man, and a man of faith. He’s a wonderful guy,” Truckload Carriers Association President Jim Ward said. Their relationship began years ago at University of Georgia’s Trucking Profitability Program, where senior trucking executives meet annually for candid discussions about the industry’s best practices and emerging trends. Both men have worked together as top leaders of TCA.
“He’s a very good leader, and a wonderful listener,” Ward said. “He’ll be a great chairman, given his career and the circumstances that he has had to endure, both from a market perspective as well as inside the walls working with people from professional drivers to technicians. When you have 30 years of that on your back, you’ve learned a lot.”
Ward added, “Dennis is one of those guys who if he told me it was going to rain and I left the office, I’d take my umbrella.”
Cargo Transporters Chairman John Pope — son of Tony Pope, one of the company’s four founders — said Dellinger has been instrumental in the company’s adoption of such safety technologies as electronic logging devices and inward and outward cab cameras, often years ahead of much of the industry.
Dellinger speaks with Pope at the Cargo Transporters office. (John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
“With Dennis, there’s always been a focus on the people aspect, making sure that we’re taking care of not only the folks that are inside the walls, but also the drivers that are out there dealing with so many different opportunities that come up every day,” Pope said.
“He’ll do an excellent job as the chairman for ATA,” Pope added. “He’s been chair of the North Carolina Trucking Association, for the Truckload Carriers Association, as well as running some nonprofits.”
“He’s always observing,” said Sandra Jolly, the carrier’s billing coordinator for more than 41 years. “There are a lot of people who are scared of him. I’m not. But I do respect him.”
"There are a lot of people who are scared of him. I'm not. But I do respect him," Jolly said. (John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
Jolly said that when Dellinger speaks, it’s clear when he is joking and when he’s serious.
“You know, one way or another, where you stand,” she said.
Terry Jenkins has worked 50 years in the trucking industry, more than half of it at Cargo Transporters as a fleet leader, operations manager and senior vice president. He retired last year and works part-time to plug temporary personnel gaps as needed.
Jenkins was hired in 1996 and was warned that Dellinger could be a tough guy to work for.
“Dennis came in, and it was obvious real quick that he was a determined individual,” Jenkins said. “His father was a military guy, and Dennis was a military child — he knew what structure and discipline were, what [was] required to get through the day and how you should live your life and how you should run your business. I respected that. I saw that as a positive thing.”
Jenkins, who retired last year from Cargo Transporters after spending five decades in trucking. (John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
Jenkins added, “I figured if I could win this man’s trust, I could accomplish anything. Dennis and I have had fierce conversations. I think you have to have those truthful, honest adult-to-adult conversations to get anything meaningful resolved. But I found that Dennis was always pulling me up.”
Jenkins said he also saw the human side of Dellinger when he was having a serious family problem.
“I remember clearly, Dennis came to me and I told him my situation, what I was struggling with,” Jenkins said. “He listened. He said, ‘Well, keep this in mind: You’ve got a family here. Don’t lose two families over this one situation.’ ”
(John Sommers II/Transport Topics)
“He’s a very caring person,” said Alan Lail, a close friend of 20 years who doesn’t work in trucking. “If he’s your friend, he’ll be there for you come thick or thin. He’s very generous, I do know that. He does a lot for his church and his family. He’s a good Christian.”
The two met on a dock at Lake Hickory and soon became the best of friends. Lail is an insurance district sales manager who deals with personal home, auto and life insurance.
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“You don’t have to worry about where you stand with Dennis,” Lail said. “He doesn’t sugar-coat things. He tells it like it is. He can be tough, but he’s compassionate at the same time. He’s balanced.” Lail said that at times when the pair have gone fishing they can spend hours talking about life — and work.
“We’re both in a tough business,” Lail said. “Sometimes it helps just to talk things out. He’s a good listener. We don’t sit around and talk business 100% of the time. But we do bounce things off each other.”
It’s obvious that Dellinger has been good for trucking, and he’ll be the first to admit that trucking has been good to him. He’ll stand proud, but humble, when he embarks on his year as ATA chairman. His employees and friends say he’ll be a good one.
“Dennis has been in trucking a long, long time,” Lail said. “He’s seen the ups and downs, and I think a lot of people in his position wouldn’t have the stomach to go through the things that he’s seen the years that he’s been in trucking.”
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