Taylors considered ‘All-Pro truckers’
Bill and Robyn Taylor aren’t professional football players. However, that hasn’t stopped the truck driving couple from feeling as if they are All-Pros.
The OOIDA members were honored with a 2016 Citizen Driver Award for their community involvement and leadership within the trucking industry.
As part of the honor, the couple enjoyed a ceremony on May 12 to officially name the TA in Southington, Conn., the Bill & Robyn Taylor Travel Center.
“It was over the top to say the least,” Bill Taylor said. “I don’t think you can beat this. It’s like going to the Pro Bowl for truck drivers. It’s the top of the line.”
Bill Taylor is a dedicated military veteran and longtime truck driver. Bill and Robyn met in 1998, and not long afterward she decided to quit her office job to become a truck driver herself.
“I could feel the cubicle walls starting to close in on me,” Robyn said.
Robyn earned her commercial driver’s license in 1999, and the Connecticut couple were married in 2001.
Bill and Robyn are both involved with Trucker Buddy, a pen-pal program matching drivers to classrooms in an effort to educate and mentor children. They are buddies with 18 classes in three different schools and were named Trucker Buddies of the Month in June 2002. They are also active in helping veterans and lobbying the Legislature in regard to the laws that affect the trucking industry.
“I’m honored and humbled at the same time,” Bill Taylor said. “I still get teary-eyed when I talk about this. I’m just doing my job.”
Meanwhile, Robyn is still trying to get used to walking in to the Southington truck stop that now bears her name.
“It still gives me goosebumps when we walk in,” she said. “I still check the door to see if it’s still there. Our family members thought it was going to be a little plaque. They can’t believe it when they walk up and see the huge sign.”
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