About Aisling Truck Academy in White City, OR
Donal Logue, Actor, Writer and Director made the rather impulsive decision in 2010 to attend Truck Driving School in Central Point Oregon. The school was managed and operated by Bud and Cathy Williams and soon a strong friendship was formed between the three. In 2011 the decision was made to start a trucking company of their own and Aisling Trucking LLC was born. Aisling, (pronounced ash-ling) in Irish Gaelic means 'dream or vision,' a very appropriate name for the partnership.
Our First Over the Road Trip! 2/27/2012
Bud and Cathy hit the road in a 1995 Long-nosed Peterbilt, Donal jumped in when he was not filming and Aisling Trucking soon became a success. The Trucking Company operations included 5 trucks and 8 drivers and was doing very well, but Bud and Cathy really missed instructing new drivers towards their dream of obtaining their Class A CDL. In the spring of 2014 the decision was made to add Aisling Truck Academy to the trucking company.
Bud Williams is well known locally in Southern Oregon, Northern California, and Arizona for his excellent teaching methods, skill, and ability to instruct individuals from all walks of life, educational backgrounds and skill levels. Bud has enjoyed over 30 years of training and many successful truck drivers owe their career to his dedication and hard work.
Cathy Williams started her Commercial Driver Instruction career in 2007 and enjoys the diversity of teaching students skills associated with backing, vehicle inspections and, all areas of driver training. Cathy especially enjoys watching students grow in their skill and confidence levels and also helps students with job placement.
Josh Ponder joined the Academy in 2017. With over a million miles of accident free driving achieved, we brought Josh over from our trucking company and not only has he made a top-notch instructor, he's also one of the Academy owners! His patient and calm teaching style really helps to put the students at ease. His over the road experience adds credibility to his instruction and his technical savvy has been incredibly helpful with our Program. We are very fortunate to have him on our team!
Dean Hankins was added to our team in December of 2019. His 30 + years of driving experience and ministry work in the State prison system is a wonderful combination of driving experience and people skills. His patient teaching methods have made him a great Instructor and we're excited to have him on our team!
Eric Freitas joined the crew in March of 2021! We trained Eric 5 years ago and he has worked as an over the road driver ever since for both May Trucking Co. and Aisling Trucking! Having worked with Eric in the past, we knew he'd make a great Instructor. He has a warm and outgoing personality and excellent work ethic as well as his extensive knowledge about the Trucking Industry and has proved to be a great asset to our Academy!
Shelly Woolliscroft came on board in August of 2021. With 15 years over the road, 1.2 million miles of accident free experience we were excited to have her join our team! Shelly excels in patient instruction and shows each student a ton of enthusiastic support throughout the learning process.
Bud and Cathy are also former 3rd party CDL Examiners for the State of Oregon and possess the knowledge and skills to help prepare students to pass their CDL Tests. But it's much more than that. Students need to be prepared to embark on their new career as Truck Drivers. The training emphasis is placed on the career, not the state test.