Hall Alaska Transportation: Story of Carey Hall
Contributed by Black In Alaska
‘I did everything I had to do to get here’
Take a close look at Carey Hall’s rig, did you notice what that quote says? “Running on faith, prospering by grace.” It was already on the truck when Carey bought it, but he has since adopted it as a company motto. His other favorite saying is the Golden Rule: “Treat people the way you want to be treated.” Carey’s respect for others, the road and the land have made him an admired leader in the trucking industry and the Anchorage community.
Ever since he was kid, Carey knew that he wanted to be a truck driver. By the time he was a teenager, he had visited Alaska and knew he wanted to make it his home.
“All the pretty scenery caught my attention,” Carey said. “Once I made up my mind that I wanted to come back here, I did everything I had to do to get here.”
He made his way to Alaska in 1984, and after moving to Georgia for a few years, came back for good in 2005. Originally from Louisiana, Carey said opportunities existed in Alaska unlike anywhere else, like working in the trucking industry — and driving the famed Haul Road. The Dalton Highway route is especially important to the state economy as it is the only way to move massive supplies and infrastructure between Alaska’s oil-rich North Slope and supply hubs in Fairbanks and Anchorage. Carey even appeared on the History channel reality television series “Ice Road Truckers,” which dramatizes the dangers.
Following in his dad’s footsteps, Carey built a career as a trucker specializing in oversized hauls — the big stuff. As a veteran in the industry, he has become an advocate for black people interested in long-haul transportation. Carey notices an increase in black drivers, up from the handful that used to haul loads in Alaska when he first started.
“I can only remember about four or five of us black drivers,” Carey said. “We are out in a lot more places now. Even in Prudhoe Bay, there’s a lot of us up there working in it.”
Carey now owns a trucking company: Hall Alaska Transportation, with trucks that sport that faith-driven motto. As he builds his company, he hopes to continue inspiring more black drivers.
“What I’m doing is trying to build a future for my family and even other black drivers that want to come along,” Carey said. “That makes me happy to be able to do that.”
Courtesy of Black in Alaska
A project of Rasmuson Foundation