​Remy Retires

Steve Pollock
January 2019

HUBBARD, OH…. Since 1976 Rembrandt “Remy” Wright has been moving freight. In that time, he has booked thousands upon thousands of loads and gotten to know thousands of drivers as well. His office on Truckworld Blvd. in the Truck World Complex is known as “The Wright Place” for drivers to find a load of freight.
Rembrandt was born in 1941 in Stoneham, Massachusetts, the son of a farmer. The family moved to the Auburn, New York area, then to Auburn, Washington and then to a farm in Michigan. Remmy attended Andrews University in Berrien Spring, Michigan, majoring in Agriculture.
Remy’s first job was as a Superintendent at Harding Mental Hospital in Worthington, Ohio. His love of farming, however prompted him to buy a farm near Akron, Ohio. By 1967 Remy was in need of extra money so he took the milk check and bought a 1962 H Model Mack, which he drove until 1970.
Rembrandt was accepted at Akron Law School to start in September, where he was going to attend classes at night and work at General Tire during the day. During the summer before school was to start, Remy was offered a job with George Kugler Trucking as a Terminal Manager at their Carol Stream, Illinois terminal. Remy is proud of the fact that in four years, his terminal never had a single formal union grievance. In 1976 Rembrandt had the opportunity to become an agent working from home for U.S. Express from Akron, Ohio (not affiliated with U.S. Xpress from Chattanooga, Tennessee).
In 1977 Remy became an agent for Mercer Transportation, establishing a relationship with them that has lasted for over 41 years. It was later in 1977 that he opened his office at 7080 Truckworld Blvd. in the Truckworld Complex at I-80 Exit 234 in Hubbard, Ohio, where they continue to move freight to this day. Rembrandt’s relationship with Mercer has always been strong. When he married his wife, Mary Ann in 1987, the couple tied the knot in the Presidential Suite at the Executive West in front of the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky. They were in town for a Mercer Safety Meeting and were honored to have Mercer executives Bill Howard and Jim Stone as their witnesses.
In an industry that is continually changing, in Rembrandt’s opinion some of the most significant changes have been:
•Deregulation in 1982
•Improvements in communications, from pagers to cell phone and computers that allow load/driver matching and has permitted rapid growth for many companies.
• ELD’s, which due to their inflexibility do not allow drivers to take a break when they need or want to, while logging it legally – situations as when they need a nap or want to avoid rush hour traffic in major cities.
Another change Remy notes is the demise of trucking agents in the Mahoning Valley. When he started, there were over 100 trucking agents and now they are all nearly gone, replaced instead by company owned terminals and central dispatching.
Remy was Treasurer for a few years for the Youngstown Traffic Club and for a short while for the Youngstown and Trumbull Traffic Clubs, both of which are now gone.
Rem has always been appreciative of the long-term employees who have worked for him while learning the trucking business. Today the company employs Rembrandt’s son Courtney, who has been with the company for 20 years; John for 13 years; Tina for 2 years and Sherre, who has worked at the company for 1 year. There have been a couple of employees who have retired from the company as well. Remy is also appreciative of representing a great company like Mercer Transportation. Together they have adapted to the many changes in the trucking industry, all the while growing and improving services to their drivers and customers. He is also proud of the thousands of drivers he has come to know and work with, sometimes loading 3 generations of the same family of truckers!
Remy and “The Wright Place” also have the distinction of being Movin’ Out’s longest standing customer, having run their ad in the newspaper for over 40 years without missing an issue, through good times and bad! That kind of customer loyalty is hard to find these days!
Rembrandt officially retired on October 1, 2018, passing the torch to his son Courtney. Courtney Wright is now named on all agent agreements for the Pittsburgh/Youngstown offices of Mercer Transportation. With 20 years of experience, the agency will certainly be in excellent hands under Courtney’s direction.
Rembrandt continues to visit the office regularly as Mary Ann has had a medical transport business in the adjoining office for the past 18 years and Remy drives her to work most days. Remy says he still gets on his computer about every day, just not for trucking purposes.
Mary Ann and Remy stay very busy as they raise thoroughbred horses and race them at Presque Isle, Thistle Downs in Cleveland, Mountaineer and Mahoning Valley race courses. The couple has always enjoyed traveling and plan to continue doing so in the years to come.
Captions:

Courtney and Rembrandt “Remy” Wright

Pictured left to right: Sherre, John, Courtney, Rembrandt, Tina and in the foreground, Gretta.

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