Our story
Three generations moving freight
I was the oldest kid in a freight family. I worked the dock and ran deliveries growing up, played college football, served in the Navy, and then came home to the family business. Now everything I learned goes to work for owner-operators.
The lineage
From the loading dock to dispatch
The family business
My grandfather Gerald Ariano and his brother Martin run Southern Colorado Distributing out of the old Coors warehouse in Walsenburg. Kegs on the dock, trucks out the door.
On the loading dock
I'm the oldest kid, climbing on those kegs and learning how freight moves.
Delivering in Durango
The family moves to Durango, and I start running deliveries.
College football
I leave Durango to play college football.
U.S. Navy
Five years on an aircraft carrier in the weapons department. Then three years of shore duty at a Naval Weapons Station: two years blocking and bracing loads on civilian flatbed trucks, and a final year inspecting the trucks that hauled weapons to the carriers. When the cargo can't shift, you learn to do it right every time.
Back to the family business
Home from the Navy, I drive a beer route for A&L Coors in Durango. Tight schedules, early mornings, no room for slacking.
On the warehouse floor
Four days a week inside on shipping and receiving, building loads and getting trucks out on time. Fridays I run kegs to the downtown bars, right past the old A. Coors sign. Nobody on the crew moved more kegs, or more weight, than I did.
Steady Wake Dispatch
The first piece of this story that's all mine. I keep owner-operators loaded with good-paying freight.
At a glance
Who you're working with
- Background
- U.S. Navy veteran
- Experience
- Delivering since age 14. 11 years at A&L Coors in Durango: route driver, then shipping and receiving in the warehouse
- Commitment
- Dispatch is my focus. When you call, I answer.
- Training
- Certified dispatcher
- Freight
- Dry van, flatbed, hotshot, box truck and cargo van
Why it matters
No load is worth driving unprotected
Early on, a carrier once asked me to drive a load under unclear insurance coverage, and the story he gave me about it didn't add up. When he then asked me to drive without being properly covered, I said no. That's part of why I personally check every broker against FMCSA's federal database before I book anything.
Owner-operators deserve a dispatcher who's honest, answers the phone, and treats every load like it matters. If that's what you're looking for, get in touch.