Dave Goss Celebrates a Decade in Kamloops

Ten years ago, Dave Goss joined Van Kam to run our Kamloops terminal. A decade later, he’s leading a busy operation with a crew he’s proud of. To mark the milestone, we sat down with Dave to talk through the last 10 years: building the team, weathering the floods that tested everyone, and the family fishing resort that keeps him busy when he steps away.

It’s Always Been Trucks

Trucking is the only world Dave has ever known. “I’ve been in it my whole life,” he says. It started when he was a kid, spending weekends washing the used trucks that came in to be cleaned up and sold off the lot where his dad worked. When the family business picked up a Chevron bulk plant and a number of card locks, Dave moved into the warehouse.

From there, he earned his Class 1 license and started hauling fuel, then stepped into dispatch, and eventually into running full operations across the family businesses. When the family sold the businesses, Dave brought all of that experience with him to Van Kam. From a kid with a wash bucket to the manager of a terminal that carries the company name, the whole path has led him here.

A Crew That Runs Like Clockwork

Ask Dave what he’s proudest of after 10 years, and he doesn’t point to numbers. He points to the people he works with every day. “At the terminal level, we have a very cooperative working environment,” he says. “Everybody gets along, everybody works together.” That’s the kind of room he’s spent a decade building, and he runs it the same way with his management team, leaning on them when he needs to and being there for them in return. “It works really well at both levels here in Kamloops.”

A Day in Dave’s Hands

On any given day, Dave is looking after a full operation: a crew of 23 drivers, three shop employees, three office employees in the office, and the linehaul drivers moving in and out of the terminal. The way he sums up the job is refreshingly simple. “It’s my job to try and make sure their days run as smoothly as they can,” he says. It took a bit to settle in those early days, but once he had his team in place, things took off.

Built for the Tough Stretches

A decade in the chair will test you, and Dave has the stories to prove it. The stretch he’s proudest of came during the fires and floods, when the Coquihalla and the routes around it were cut off, and the coast was basically shut out. Dave had to keep the terminal moving with almost nothing going his way. “We had to really think on our feet and change pretty much everything we were doing just to keep the trailers moving,” he recalls. They pulled it off, and for Dave, that’s the clearest proof of what he and his crew can do under pressure.

Reeling in the Quiet

When Dave steps away from the terminal, he heads up to Sheridan Lake, where his family runs a small fishing resort. There’s always something that needs doing, whether it’s setting up the docks, handling the startup work, or making sure the guests are looked after. Every so often, he gets out on the water himself, phone left behind on the shore. “It’s an awesome place,” he says. Between the resort and gardening in the yard with his wife, it’s where Dave goes to slow down and unplug from everything the job keeps moving.

A New Title on the Way

Come November, Dave is taking on a role that has nothing to do with trucking. He’s about to become a grandpa for the first time, and it’s clearly the thing he’s most excited about right now. “It’ll be my first grandchild,” he says, and the excitement is hard to miss. After a decade of looking out for his crew in Kamloops, he’s got someone brand new to look forward to.

The Kam in Van Kam

There’s a reason this milestone means a little more to Dave, and it’s spelled out right on the building: the Kam in Van Kam. “This terminal is in the name,” he says. For a decade, he’s worked to make sure those letters mean something. “I want this terminal to be known for it… in a very positive manner.” Looking back on the team he built and the floods he steered them through, it’s hard to say he hasn’t pulled it off. Here’s to the next 10, Dave.

Stay Connected!

Connect with Van Kam on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribe to our newsletter for future Van Kam stories!