Cover Feature: By Daniel J. Linss he’s ever wanted to do. Two years after Ethan was born, his sister Marisa was born, and then in 2008, Jisiy and Mandy finally got married. A few years later, Ethan’s youngest sister Alycia “Aly” (now 8 years old) was born. After growing the company to its current size, Jisiy’s business partner Doug was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2010. Jisiy continued on without him, keeping things going, and some of the trucks in the current fleet still have a sticker on the back window honoring Doug’s memory. While Ethan was still in high school, he started his own business, Rico’s Polishing, and kept very busy washing, cleaning and polishing, both cars and trucks, over the next few years. The thought of losing a parent is heart wrenching, and even more so when you are too young to take care of yourself. But, at just 19 years old, Ethan Rico of Orland, CA had to deal with that exact scenario. His father was his mentor, teacher, and trucking hero, and even though he had just begun his trucking career in the family business, Ethan followed the advice of his father, who told him, “Keep everything going” – and that is what he has done. Stepping into some big shoes to fill, at 19 years old, he took over the family trucking operation, which included ten trucks and more than 25 sets of double hopper trailers, along with another eight sets of double tanker trailers and a lowbed. And two years later, the company is flourishing under young Ethan’s direction and leadership. Located 100 miles north of Sacramento, CA, Orland, which was incorporated in 1909, is the most populous and fastest growing city in Glenn County. A member of Bee City USA, Orland is the “Queen Bee Capital of North America” owing to its robust local and regional queen bee production as part of the county’s agricultural products, along with an extensive amount of almond and walnut orchards (the honeybees are an important part of the pollination process for these nut tree orchards, as well). Orland is home of the Honeybee Discovery Center museum, has a “Hive” district, bee statues, and annual events that include the Queen Bee Festival in June and OktoBEEfest in October. This agricultural area at the northern end of California’s Central Valley was where Ethan’s father, Jisiy Rico, was born and raised, and the perfect place to start a trucking company focused on hauling the local ag products and all the necessary equipment needed to harvest and process those products – namely almonds and walnuts. Starting his company, J. Rico Trucking, in 2000 with the purchase of a brand-new Ford Sterling truck and some trailers, Jisiy started with nothing and built up from there. The following year, he partnered up with a friend named Doug Canadas, and the two went on to build a very successful operation in Orland. Having met his future wife Mandy in 1998, the couple moved a few miles north to Corning shortly after the trucking company was formed. A few years later, in 2003, Ethan was born, and from day one, he wanted to be at the yard, in the shop, or in a truck with his dad – trucking is all 10 10-4 Magazine / May 2025 BIG SHOES TO FILL
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