Meet the Staff
The challenge of operating a good business that truly serves the public is to find good employees. Bill Collins, the owner of Interstate, works very hard to find the best instructors possible. Most of our instructors are former students or former state CDL road test examiners. Our office staff are hand picked by Bill to provide nothing short of excellent customer service. Please stop by for a tour and we will introduce you to most of our staff on your visit.
Bill is the founder and sole owner of Interstate Truck Driving School. He obtained his Class A License in 1975 and has been licensed as a Professional Driving Instructor since 1979. Bill has trained thousands of students over the years including police officers, firemen, bus drivers, truck drivers, and high school students. He started Interstate Truck Driving School in March of 1998 and is very proud of our Perfect Safety record over that nearly 26 years.
Bill served with the U. S. Army Combat Engineers in Viet Nam in 1970 & 71 and makes sure that Interstate provides the very best support possible for Veterans while attending our school. Bill operates Interstate Truck Driving School as a very inclusive organization and it is important to him that all are welcome regardless of age, gender, race, religion, disabilities, or political persuasion.
Bill is married and has three children and six grandsons. He has raced cars since 1969 and has several championships in road racing and ice racing over the years. He continues to race with the Sports Car Club of America in a Mazda at tracks in the Midwest including Brainerd International Raceway and Road America in Elkhart Lake WI.
Bill is also actively involved with the Commercial Vehicle Training Association headquartered just outside of Washington, D.C. He serves on several committees with the CVTA and spends time in Washington connecting with Elected Officials to help them understand the importance of training focused on safety.
Pat has been licensed as an instructor by the Minnesota Dept of Public Safety for many years. He is our training coordinator and works with students to see how they are progressing and guide through the training process. Pat has been working for Bill Collins for over 25 years. He is very knowledgeable and passionate about his job. Each student will have a face to face meeting with Pat to schedule their driving activities, including one on one driving lessons, backing range practice, and simulator training. Pat enjoys his Mustang convertable during the summer months.
Got a question about Interstate? Josh can help you. He can take care of your questions about the school and the industry. He's also in charge of scheduling Recruiter Visits from over 40 different trucking companies looking to hire our students. In addition, he uses his talents to produce our instructional videos. He loves his video work creating up to date and accurate videos for our training. Josh is a dad of four boys and is a big baseball fan.
Melissa is a paralegal and our office manager. She has extensive experience in the corporate world and is in charge of working with the VA and our Veterans that are taking training with help from the G.I. Bill® benefits.Melissa enjoys riding her quarter horse, "Foley", and babysitting her grandsons Silas, Miles, Eli, Felix and Jack.
Tim Hoskin is a former Interstate student and was a full time instructor at Interstate for over 12 years. and a part time instructor for another 4 years. He is now retired and spending more time with other interests. He was a great asset to our organization for many years and we wish him good times in the future.
Bubba Aguirre is a former State of Minnesota Department of Public Safety Driving Examiner. He now works full time for the Minnesota Department of Commerce and former Red Cross CPR Instructor. Bubba is on a medical leave for the time being and not active as an instructor but we hope his health improves and he can come back to assist us in the future.
Jason's uncle was an over the road truck driver when he was growing up and sparked his interest in driving. Prior to becoming an instructor for Interstate, Jason drove big rigs for a regional LTL company for 18 years and had a perfect safety record. The last 18 months he worked as a trainer for the company. Jason also has been a racetrack announcer for 25 years and currently announces at Elko Speedway on Saturday nights during the summer.
Jason works for us as both a classroom instructor and an on the road trainer.
Tom is an old school driver with a new school approach. He was basically born into the business having his family been in the trucking industry since he was a child. Tom has experience in various platforms in the industry including van, reefer, flat bed, decked units and some oversized. He has been an instructor / trainer in the industry for various companies and enjoys passing on his knowledge to others.
Wayne graduated from Interstate several years ago and went on to successful career with over 2.5 million miles during his 20+ years on the road. He has pulled dry van and refridgerated trailers along with worked in construction. He logged 1.2 million safe miles with a Midwest Carrier. His experience far exceeds what is required to be a truck driving instructor and we are grateful to have him as part of our team.
Wayne also has a rich history with training others in a variety of industries and enjoys sharing his knowledge.
When not working with students, Wayne can be found spending time with family, volunteering time with the BPO Elks, camping in the BWCA, and hunting.
