10-4 Magazine December 2024

lease on to. He wanted to make sure he knew what he was getting into. After his run of hay and cattle hauling started to slow down, he made contact with Stacy Doughery, owner of Mid-Continent Transportation out of Great Bend, KS, to see if they would be interested in leasing him on. Stacy was out of town during that conversation and stated they had never had owner operators before, but it was something they would consider. Shortly thereafter, in June of this year, they struck a deal, and Klayton has been happily running for them ever since. Mid-Continent Transportation is a small family-owned trucking company that specializes in hauling liquid petroleum, 10-4 Magazine / December 2024 65 anhydrous ammonia, and liquid fertilizer. Klayton said, “I couldn’t have asked for a better company to run for.” When I had asked Klayton who his biggest influences in life were, there was an audible sigh, and then he stated that he wouldn’t even know where to start, because he is surrounded by so many amazing people. Klayton mentioned the older generation who would help him when he first got started, to the guys 15 years younger than him who offered a hand, but his dad and uncle were the first to come to mind. Those two men offered guidance and support, and helped shape Klayton into the man he is today, which includes how he conducts himself, his work ethic, and maintaining a humorous side through it all. Today, Klayton and Lyndi remain residents of Saint John, KS with their daughter Hazen (6) and their son Heizer (2). Heizer was actually named after the Hermann H. Heiser saddle, which was the Cadillac of saddles back in the 1800s, but they swapped out the “s” for a “z” to go with Hazen’s name. Klayton’s goal for his truck is to eventually have the