CCJ‘s 2004 Career Leadership Award recipient earns industry-wide respect by living the Golden Rule.
From his accomplishments at Southeastern Freight Lines to his contributions to the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC), the trucking industry and his community, David Foster has made his mark while always putting others first. And yet, this year’s Career Leadership Award recipient still manages to enjoy life.
“You see that river?” Foster asks. “That’s the Saluda, and this is supposedly one of only two metropolitan areas in the country where you can catch rainbow trout.” Fishing is a pastime Foster – despite being responsible for thousands of pieces of equipment and being actively involved in TMC, his church and community – still finds time to pursue.
The Columbia, S.C., resident also finds time to treat those who work with him well. Take the high-mileage, Southeastern-issued pickup that he commandeered from a regional maintenance manager, for example. He wanted the regional manager to have a brand new one because “he drives a lot more than I do,” Foster explains.
A long and winding road
As the son of a career military man, Foster called everywhere from Charlottesville, Va., to Fort Richardson, Alaska, home, meeting new friends and enjoying reading and fishing everywhere he went.
“Military life was wonderful,” he recalls. “There were lots of other kids at each base, and we were like family. And there were all kinds of activities…movies, skiing, shooting, you name it. I didn’t ever want my dad to retire from the service.”
Those early years no doubt helped mold Foster into the disciplined individual he is today. “You don’t mess up as a kid on an Army base,” he says. “If you do, they won’t bust you. They’ll bust your old man, and he’ll kill you.”
