When former Marine Corps Drill Sgt. Mary Kile began to look for work in the civilian sector, she thought getting a job in trucking would just be a stepping stone to a different career. Instead, this Pennsylvania native, now a resident of Oklahoma, embarked on a 36-year career with XPO.
Along the way, she earned the distinction of being the first woman driver in the company’s history to receive the award for driving 4 million accident-free miles. To put that in perspective, 4 million miles is equal to 160 trips around the Earth, or eight trips to the moon and back.
Why trucking?
Kile’s primary job in the military was motor transport, which gave her a head start on learning to handle a big rig.
However, women truck drivers were rare when she started out, and Kile faced a myriad of issues, including discrimination and lack of basic bathroom access.
“I applied to a flatbed company,” she recalled. “There were about eight or 10 guys standing outside, and I walked through the middle of them all to go inside to get an application. When I asked for an application (I was told), ‘Frankly we don’t hire women.’”
When Kile asked why, the company representative told her that women didn’t have the strength to handle the 100-pound tarps.
“I wanted to say, ‘You don’t even know who you’re talking to!’” Kile said.
“First of all, I was a Marine,” she shared. “We carried packs on our back and marched for 25 miles with 200-pound packs on our backs — and you think I can’t handle a tarp?
“I thought to myself, ‘Do I really want to argue with this guy? Is it worth my time?’ I told him that I appreciated his honesty, but that he’d just turned down the best employee he would ever have,” she continued.
That company’s loss would eventually be XPO’s gain.
Kile landed a job as a driver for a small company that was later acquired by XPO. When she applied for the job, the company hadn’t even opened its doors, and there were only four employees. She was instrumental in helping get the company up and running.
“I’m proud to say that I took the first piece of freight from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Dallas, Texas,” she said.
It was the start of a memorable career.
When Kile first got behind the wheel of a big rig for that small business, she had no idea it was the first day of a 36-year career with the company.
This week, as Kile prepares to retire at the end of July 2026, she’s reflecting on all the people who helped her become successful. She is humble about her numerous achievements, including her historic 4-million-mile award.
“I would never have been able to get this safety award if it wasn’t for my co-workers, if it wasn’t for the awesome mechanics that we have, if it wasn’t for other truckers,” she said.
“Back in the day we used to all run radios — you know, CBs. We don’t do it anymore; everybody has cellphones,” she explained. “So, calling and saying, ‘There’s debris in the road at this mile marker’ or ‘There’s a wreck’ or ‘It’s starting to get icy here’ or ‘There’s a tornado here’ was all done by radio.
“We always looked out for each other. If it wasn’t for them, there’s no telling what would have happened,” she continued.
She is proud to be the first woman in XPO’s history to achieve 4 million safe miles.
“I feel blessed to be the first woman (to earn this honor). It’s not that I’m a better driver than anyone else; I just got lucky,” she said. “There are a lot better drivers out there than me that have had wrecks. You can do all the right things and still have an accident. I had plenty of close calls over the years.”
Kiles credits much of her success to the support she received from XPO.
“I care about my company because they’ve been so good to me,” Kile said. “(At XPO) everything is equal opportunity; everything is done according to seniority. All the runs that you choose, where you want to go to, everything is done according to seniority.
“Everybody is paid exactly the same as far as drivers go,” she continued. “There’s no inequality — it’s equal pay for equal work. It’s always been equal for everyone. I’m just a driver like everybody else, and that’s how you’re treated.”
During her years of driving and dealing with issues faced by every professional trucker, Kile says she’s followed one simple rule: Never make any situation worse than it has to be.
“That’s my mantra. When I feel myself getting impatient, I stop myself and think, ‘Don’t be THAT person,’” she shared. “I don’t want to be the person that makes the situation worse than it has to be.”
She says she learned this rule early on in her career.
“A long time ago the president of the company told me, ‘You’re a rolling billboard for this company. Everything you do and the way you behave is going to forever be assigned to this company from that person that you do it to,’” she said.
Kile took that bit of advice to heart and kept it with her during her 36-year stint with XPO.
Her dedication has not gone unnoticed.
Shelby Shapiro Ramirez, lead analyst of communications for XPO, has nothing but praise for Kile.
“I’m also a woman working at a trucking company,” said Shapiro Ramirez. “It’s cool to see other women setting the standard for safety and professionalism. It’s inspiring to see.”
As Kile’s time on the road comes to an end, she says she has a long list of things she’d like to do.
“I’m going to travel. Not driving — I’ll be flying. I’ve got a lot of traveling and golf and projects around the house planned,” she said, adding that she’ll also be doing volunteer work and spending time with her family.
“I have an identical twin, and she has three daughters and two grandsons now. They might as well be my kids, because I love them like they’re mine,” she shared. “I’ll spend a lot of time with them, and I won’t miss any school plays. I won’t miss any Christmas productions. I won’t have to miss anything anymore.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
