Editorial Rights: We reserve the right to edit, shorten or lengthen any article submitted to the Babbling Brook. We may choose not to print an article or parts of articles due to the disclosure of proprietary information or the discredit of employees or the Company. If you have any ideas or comments, please contact your Babbling Brook Team.
	Rumors—Fact or Fiction? BY STEVE TAGGART			Brain Teaser: John said, “My dad is older than my grandfather.” How can this be?
	Rumors have existed since the beginning of time. The only way to combat them is with cold, hard facts. Here, then, are some facts that may shed some new light on two rumors currently roaming around our company. Rumor: Steve Taggart is not following the replacement schedule for company trucks because he plans to do away with our company trucks and drivers. Fact: Carriers normally replace equipment every three to five years. This equipment is used as a trade in to buy new equipment. The dealer then sells our old equipment to a small company or individual that typically uses it for an additional two years. Finally, that same equipment is sold and shipped southbound and used in Mexican fleets. But now, those second and third market users have virtually disappeared. Potential buyers are going directly to new equipment, thanks to more “no money down” offers and longer payment periods. The fierce competition of America’s leading truck manufacturers has nearly crushed the used truck market. Add in the near-recession economic conditions we’ve experienced since the end of last year, and it’s no wonder that equipment asset values have plummeted. These factors have under-valued our equipment by five to seven thousand dollars, and are the REAL reasons Mike and I have decided not to follow previous trade cycles. We plan to wait out what we believe to be a temporary business condition and trade our equipment when its value returns. On the flip side, we’ve recently taken advantage of these market conditions and purchased three used tractors. We plan to continue to grow Mike Brooks, Inc. through the addition of owner operators, while we maintain our current fleet size and mix of company trucks. Rumor: Steve Taggart has ordered all company trucks turned back to top speed of 65 miles per hour. Fact: Fuel costs continue to climb and experts predict they will reach an industry high by end of third quarter. Reducing the top speed from 70 to 65 m.p.h. will give you an extra half-mile to the gallon—which will save us an average of $9 on a typical trip. We had some pretty vocal debate on this topic at our last Century Club meeting. We are currently reviewing some of the suggestions from our drivers, including: Set cruise control at 65 m.p.h. and pedal at 68 m.p.h. Enforcement of current points policy of 140 points to run 70 m.p.h. If driver maintains company fuel m.p.g. based on Road Relay in tractor, leave at 70 m.p.h.; if not, turn back to 65 m.p.h. This check would occur at each PM service. We will continue to discuss these recommendations and will announce our decision at the next Century Club meeting on June 16, 2001. I hope these facts help to clarify these issues. Thanks to those of you who brought these rumors to my attention. I encourage everyone to contact your supervisor or me directly if you need clarification on a statement or policy. Finally, I’d also like to urge you to attend the Century Club meetings so you can hear first-hand what is happening in your company and give us your input as well. You can come in person or “dial in”. We now have unlimited availability via the phone. Simply call 1-877-928-6113 and, when you hear the automated attendant ask for a password, enter 866326. We hope to hear from you at the next meeting.
	Employment Anniversaries
	Steve Blackford 5/1/00 Charlie Brown 5/4/98 Tom Newell 5/4/98 Matt Finch 5/5/00 Rodney Allen 5/10/99 Bill Kirkwood 5/10/99 Sid Siegel 5/10/89 Harold Tibboel 5/17/99 Jason Sellers 5/19/99 Aubrey Teeter 5/21/85 Willie Keisser 5/27/97 Derrill Pfannebecker 5/27/97 Bob DeVries 5/30/96 Mary Kaschmitter 5/31/99 Tom Poole 5/31/00 Kermit Bowers 6/5/88 Paul Duquette 6/5/00 Elbert Eisenburg 6/5/00 Kurt Lawrence 6/7/99		Mike Blaess 6/9/97 Bill Beeler 6/12/00 Michel Nelling 6/12/00 James Ernst 6/21/99 David Keen 6/28/99 Pete Nash 6/28/99 Dan McElroy 7/1/98 Chad Crall 7/10/00 Tod See 7/10/00 Robert Duryee 7/10/00 Larry Spaur 7/10/00 Vickie Lenger 7/11/94 Rick Ferguson 7/12/93 Donnie Montegna 7/21/00 Kenny Vander Linden 7/24/00 Rob Schneider 7/26/00 Michael Damon 7/31/00 Ray Finch 7/31/00
	Should I Become an Owner Operator? BY MIKE BROOKS
	One question that seems to come up from our drivers now and then is: Should I buy a tractor and become an owner operator? Of course there are a wide variety of thoughts and answers to this and below are my thoughts. You will probably not be any better off financially unless you do at least some of the maintenance on your truck yourself. Things like servicing your truck can be done outside and while you’re under it you might see something that, if corrected, will prevent a failure on the road. Some small shops will let you help work on your equipment and save you some labor costs. The more you know about your truck, the better off you are. You can wash and polish your tractor yourself, showing that you take pride and, after all, isn’t that what a portion of owning your tractor is about? If you or your wife are not good bookkeepers, then get one! Run steady. You don’t have to kill yourself, but you need to run steady and put a little money away for those rainy days. Like any business, there will be some personal sacrifices. You should be able to build some equity, but this does not happen over night. These are just some of the things, in my opinion, that you should consider.
	Operations Department News
	There are just a few points that we need to cover again to make your job and our jobs easier. Please make sure you are doing your arrived and empty calls at stop offs as they occur. Do not do all calls at one time! We need to cut usage of the Qualcomm as much as possible. Please keep your messages as simple as possible. We will not be sending preplans to the dedicated drivers over the Qualcomm. You will receive your dispatch information when you send your empty call. If there is a change, we will send it. We are getting slack on sending in hours on a daily basis! It is a must that these are sent daily! You will not be dispatched if your hours are not current! When you tell us what hours you have available when empty, it must be the hours you have available! Please make sure they are accurate when you send them. This will ensure that we do not miss pick ups on preplanned loads. So, before you accept a preplan or load a load, make sure you have the hours to run the load! If you are detained more than two hours at the shipper or consignee, you must report this to dispatch. If you do not, you will not receive detention pay. You must read your dispatch carefully! Something may have changed . Good news!! The shop is now open until midnight, Monday through Friday. Please make sure that you come through the shop at nights. We did this for your convenience, so please take advantage of it!
	Pre-Trip and Post-Trip Inspections BY JOHN BEAVER
	Keeping vehicles properly maintained requires a strong maintenance program and a cooperative effort between the driver and the shop. Each must put forth a conscience effort to make sure mechanical problems do not go unnoticed. Drivers are in a position to observe a truck’s performance and make sure that the equipment is running properly. Drivers can assure themselves of this by conducting pre-trip and post-trip inspections which are required as both company policy and DOT regulations. The pre-trip and post-trip inspection should be made with an emphasis on steering, tires, lights, suspension, other safety equipment and especially brakes. Catastrophic brake failure may lead to loss of control and the inability to recover. Progressive brake deterioration can be even more troublesome because it may appear fine during normal driving conditions but may be very dangerous in emergency braking situations. It is important to make sure that you do a pre-trip and post-trip inspection every time you drop or hook onto a trailer. The following guidelines will help make pre-trip and post-trip inspections more effective: Approach the vehicle slowly. Look for leaks and objects that may be hanging loose. Also check the unit numbers and proper tags. Make sure the maintenance staff knows what possible trouble areas were spotted. Check the brake system before, during and after each trip. The system may need to be adjusted to have sufficient control. Continued brake checks and maintenance can help prevent future brake failure. Check to make sure that all low-air warning devices are functioning properly. All systems in your truck that rely on air levels will affect your braking capabilities. If your levels are low, your stopping distance can be increased. It is important to make sure that they are all in proper working order.
	Welcome! The following new drivers were hired during the month of:
	March Rob Beeler Darren Campbell Pat Coughlin Dan Davis Dwight Grofvert Garry Hainline Mike Henson Kermit Mitchell Richard O’Dell Mark Peterson Dale Wolf			April Ron Claycomb Nick Hudson Jerry Kauffman Jimmy Scott May Brad Rankin William Howrey
	Congratulations! Dan Davis is pictured with Mike Brooks receiving his $200 gift certificate for recruiting. A new recruiting contest is starting July 1. Will you be one of the lucky winners next time???
	Special Thanks! On Thursday, June 14, driver Mike Musgrove (Unit 8903) was driving west of Chariton when a car passed him. Shortly after that, the car went off the highway, over an embankment and down a very steep hill. Mike stopped his truck and went to check on the driver who was in shock. Mike quickly contacted authorities who sent rescue personnel to the scene. According to authorities, Mike’s involvement made all the difference for this accident victim as the vehicle could not be seen from the road and probably would not have been found for quite some time.

	Mike Brooks Inc. 1-800-622-6601 FAX: 641-828-2050 Box 443 Knoxville, Iowa 50138 info@mikebrooksinc.com
	Internet Services by ICE Technologies, Pella, Iowa