With a Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) in hand, Stephanie Wood has been driving trucks for the Cota and Cota Heating Oil Company headquartered in Bellows Falls for just shy of the last three years. Stephanie is a robust, gentle woman in her early 30’s, with bright shiny eyes.
“I grew up in Pownal, VT right next to my Mom, Dad and brother. They are the inspiration for my work ethic. My Dad and brother build houses as Messina’s Builders, a business my Dad started. They’ve shown me the beauty that comes from hard work and family.” Right after graduating from Mt. Anthony HS in Bennington, I went right to work in the culinary world. With two close friends, we have been growing Humble Pie Bakery & Kitchen and “we do weddings/events around New England.” Her husband, Michael Wood, is drummer for Woody & the Rebel Alliance, a Reggae and Jam Rock band that continues to flourish across New England.
“For me, the culinary world wasn’t paying the bills, and being in a kitchen all the time, I missed the sun.” Having earned her CDL Class B license here in Vermont, where she drove a school bus, Stephanie and her husband moved to Rhode Island. He was offered a job there. She drove a 45’ school bus filled with kids and in her off-hours earned her CDL Class A: “I was looking for new opportunities.”
In August, 2021, Stephanie and Michael decided to return to Vermont. Cota and Cota offered her a driving job (practically on the spot) and she’s been there since. “And I’m a family-oriented person. My Dad and brother have a business together; we’re all close, and so are the folks in the office and employees of Cota and Cota. It is in every sense of the word a family business.”
Working with Bill Otis, the manager of the Delivery Department, “I am the main driver for delivering propane gas to homes in Westminster West, Westminster, Putney, Dummerston and West Chesterfield. I drive a Freightliner truck called a “Bob-tail”, a truck/chassis to which has been attached a 3,400 gallon propane tank.” And she sure sees the sun from her driver’s seat. After she delivered propane to this writer’s house a few weeks ago, when I stood next to the cab of her truck waiting for the bill, I looked straight ahead to the base her driver’s seat. That puts her eyes 10’ or more above the road.
But sometimes Kelly Cota, manager of the Transport Department, “dispatches me to haul in the transport truck.” It’s a big rig – a 53’ transport tanker. She drives to Berlin, Vermont or to Albany, NY or Springfield, MA to bring back a load of fuel oil (9,000 gallons - 72,000 pounds) or propane (10,000 gallons - 37,000 pounds). “My class A CDL license allows me to drive one of those big rigs on the interstates. And I NEVER go above the posted speed limit of 65mph. You have to pay attention to the rules if you’re a professional. And I always feel safe. Kelly gave me and the three other “big-rig” drivers a Bluetooth headset linked right to our cellphones. And in every facility I stop at on the interstates, I’m always looked after. I’ve never once felt insecure.”
I asked Stephanie what she does if she has a breakdown: “Oh, I can fix the simple motor problems but the tough ones: I call Bill or Casey. They’re always there for us.”
“I can drive any one of Cota and Cota’s 26 oil delivery trucks as well as an off-road diesel truck delivering to gnarly construction sites, a gasoline truck, any one of 16 propane delivery trucks and a crane truck to move big propane tanks. Many of us drivers can also refurbish propane tanks, paint and wax a tanker truck, assist a mechanic… As I said, I can’t sit still. This Job is an adventure.”
This is one of a series of some 30 profiles of working people from southern Vermont and adjacent New Hampshire that I wrote and then published in the Brattleboro Reformer newspaper every Friday from Jan 1 - May 30. Do the same with your local newspaper.