Family affair: Owner-operator Leslie Bitterman claws back from near-death for success

Overdrive Radio

With this week’s installment of Overdrive Radio, hear the story of Overdrive's first Trucker of the Month for 2024. That’d be owner-operator Leslie Bitterman, who’s remade the independent Bitterman Trucking in her own image since the passing of her business partner and husband, Dale Bitterman, in 2010. Voices you’ll hear telling just a small part of Leslie Bitterman’s story are her own, but also that of Overdrive News Editor Matt Cole, who’s detailed the Bitterman history in more depth in the recent profile of the owner-operator at OverdriveOnline.com: https://www.overdriveonline.com/trucker-of-the-year/article/15663104/bitterman-trucking-back-to-building-on-long-trucking-legacy Owner-operator Bitterman was nominated to contend for the 2024 Trucker of the Year award by her daughter, Ashley, who’s long been inspired by the toughness and strong no-frills handle on business that the owner puts into action. With the nomination, Ashley noted some of her own involvement in the business today, likewise her diesel mechanic brother, Dale Jr., who takes charge of maintenance. Yet it’s Leslie that is the "Spirit of Bitterman Trucking,” as Ashley put it. “Her grit and determination to take care of business makes her a success. She is our hero!” We want you to get involved in this year’s Trucker of the Year award program, too. Nominate your own owner-operator business, or that of another exceptional owner, via the quick entry form at https://overdriveonline.com/toptrucker Leslie Bitterman hasn't always been a truck operator. She's got off-and-on large-vehicle driving experience in a school bus for special-needs children, a history unique among Trucker of the Year contenders of the last year or so that she's carried forward into the business of owning and operating trucks. Pulling for direct customers during Washington State fruit harvests out of her native Wenatchee in the central part of the state, and the occasional broker, Bitterman’s overcome quite a lot in recent years, including a near-death experience with COVID-19 in early 2022. Yet she keeps trucking. It's another aspect of her story that led her daughter to nominate, and all of us here at Overdrive to recognize, her as January Trucker of the Month. Grit? yes. Determination? Indeed, as you’ll hear. Nominate yourself or another owner (up to three trucks) for Overdrive's 2024 Trucker of the Year award: https://overdriveonline.com/toptrucker