A native of Marion, North Carolina, Perry Carter is quickly cementing his legacy as a driving force on the road as well as in the trucking industry. He’s also one of the Truckload Carriers Asssociation’s 2025 Professional Drivers of the Year.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force from 1978 to 1984, Carter started his post-military career working at a box plant for furniture. He quickly realized that factory work was not for him.
“I got tired of looking at four walls all of the time,” Carter said.
The solution was to carry on a family legacy.
“My dad was a truck driver, and he suggested that I give it a shot,” Carter said.
The first step was to go to trucking school, he said, adding that he was trained at Isothermal Community College in Forest City, North Carolina, which was affiliated with New Jersey-based Coretta Trucking.
“They had a satellite terminal right across the street from the terminal, and that’s where my dad worked, at Coretta Trucking,” Carter said.
Once he completed training, he drove team with his dad for about eight months, allowing the two to spend time together while Carter gained real-world experience.
“Then Dad had to do something else — and my wife didn’t like for me to be gone three weeks out of the month,” he said. The search was on for a job that would allow him to drive and still spend quality time with his family.
“Sometimes you’ve got to get a little experience so you can move on to something else,” Carter said. “I had to find my way until I found the right trucking company for me, which was Cargo Transporters.”
Twenty-four years later, he’s still driving for the same company — and working to make the trucking industry better.
“I’m out a week. I’m home every weekend,” he said. “I can count on one hand the times I’ve been out on a weekend. That’s good. Not a lot of companies try to make that a priority.”
Carter counts being able to see new places and travel around the country as his favorite part of being a trucker.
“It’s never the same scenery. That’s what I like about it,” he explained. “You get to meet all kinds of people from all over the country. I always say I have an office with a view.
“If you’re not learning something every day in truck driving, there’s something wrong,” he continued.
Of the many challenges faced by professional drivers, Carter says a shortage of safe truck parking and traffic congestion are the ones that affect him the most, particularly in larger metropolitan areas.
“If I take my time in the big cities and just mind the space around my truck, before you know it — 10, 15 minutes, maybe 20 minutes — I’m through it without any kind of hassle,” he said of urban traffic.
“But you’re always keeping your head on a swivel around you with the traffic around the big trucks. It’s just that the general public doesn’t realize what it takes for a truck to maneuver in traffic,” he continued. “They’re trying to get from Point A to Point B, just like we are, and they don’t want to be behind the truck. That’s why they’re always zooming around.”
A consummate professional both on and off the road, Carter has been recognized with a number of accolades, including being named a 2025 Professional Driver of the Year by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), a 2024-2025 Road Team for the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and Cargo Transporters’ November 2024 Driver of the Month.
Most recently Carter was honored as the 2025 DMC Insurance Driver of the Year. He is the only Cargo Transport driver to win both the TCA and DMC awards.
“Perry exemplifies what it means to be a professional driver, a servant leader, and an industry ambassador,” said Matthew Sheffield, marketing and public relations coordinator at Cargo Transporters. “He has the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and community service, and is a powerful voice for veteran causes and a dedicated advocate within the trucking community.”
According to TCA, with 2.8 million accident-free miles and decades of experience, Carter sets the standard for safety, humility and service.
Carter is humble when speaking about all that he has achieved in his career — but all the same he is very aware of the honors he’s earned, particularly the TCA driver of the year award and being named a captain for ATA’s road team.
“I was driving through Tennessee one morning and listening to the Dave Nemo Show, and they announced my name over the radio,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘Man, that was awesome!’” Carter said.
For Carter, earning all the accolades he has received has been both exciting and overwhelming. He credits his family, mentors and his faith in helping him to achieve his dreams. Outside of work, Carter enjoys taking his wife Carolyn out to dinner and playing golf.
“Perry is deeply committed to supporting fellow veterans through efforts like Wreaths Across America and organizations such as Purple Heart Homes and American Warriors of Liberty,” a statement from TCA reads.
“He proudly represented Cargo Transporters as a Ride of Pride driver in both 2018 and 2023. Beyond his professional achievements, Perry also demonstrates remarkable devotion to his family,” the statement continues. “He has rearranged his work schedule to be there for his wife, Carolyn, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and cares for his disabled brother who lives with them.”
Through his service, advocacy and compassion, Perry Carter continues to inspire others.
This story originally appeared in the September/October 2025 edition of Truckload Authority, the official publication of the Truckload Carriers Association.
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.
