July 7, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Novak Sanitary Service.

Hollie Miller grew up on a farm, so she knew how to drive a tractor.

She had worked in road construction, so she knew how to drive a gravel truck.

And in 1994, she envisioned herself behind the wheel of a Novak Sanitary Service garbage truck.

“I’d seen an ad for a garbage hauler and thought I should try it,” she said.

“I hounded (owner) Bob Novak until he gave me a job.”

Novak Sanitary Service hired her. And, approaching three decades later, she has never left.

“I love doing this,” she said. “I love doing different jobs every day.”

When she began at Novak, it would be years before another woman would join her as a driver. That didn’t matter.

“I got along great with the guys. The supervisors and Bob were always good to me,” Miller said. “I showed I could do it just as hard as they could.”

She now has company among her colleagues, including Bradee Coit, who was working in retail sales when she decided to join her husband at Novak nearly two years ago.

“He said the people are great here. And the people are great here,” she said, while acknowledging at first “it was a little nerve-wracking. In my position, you have to back up a truck for 70 percent of the job, and I’m 5-2. I couldn’t really back up my own car because I couldn’t see out the window.”

But after a few months of training that she calls “the most valuable training I’ve ever had,” she earned her commercial driver’s license and now works in a role delivering dumpsters and fixing wheels.

“It’s like a big family,” Coit said. “Everyone jokes around, and everyone is very helpful whenever you need help.”

There are several women working across Novak, both in office roles and field work.

“We love having them on the team,” assistant general manager Patrick Draisey said. “It’s not a man’s or a woman’s industry. If an individual is willing to put in the time and effort, they can excel.”

For Miller, the career has brought the chance to take on multiple roles within Novak. She has been a driver, a supervisor and now does everything from deliver and wash carts and rollouts to clean up the yard and scoop snow.

“Sometimes I feel like I have 60 boys as my kids; I’m always picking up after them,” she joked.

“But really, it’s what you make of it. If you come in in a good mood, it’s going to be a good day.”

Experience isn’t necessary, Draisey added.

“It’s absolutely a supportive environment. We can teach everything we do,” he said. “I think a lot of people shy away from the waste industry, but we have so many great ladies on the team that are doing the job and doing it as well as the guys on the team.”

Both women encouraged others to give a more nontraditional career a try.

“Don’t be afraid to try,” Miller said. “People think garbage is gross, but the trucks do all the work. And I love our training. It teaches you to become a professional driver. I wish they’d train everyone with a driver’s license on it.”

Coit agreed.

“It’s not like you’re swimming in garbage – or you shouldn’t be anyway,” she laughed. “But really, it’s super easy as a woman working here. I’ve never been treated differently. I don’t think I’ve ever had an issue with a co-worker.”

Novak is well-staffed – which says a lot of about the environment here – but if the right candidate came through the door, there’s always an opening, Draisey said.

“We’re always looking for good people. There’s always a place on the team where we can find room,” he said.

For Miller, approaching her 28th year at the company, “what keeps me here is the place,” she said.

“I gave 100 percent to them, and they’ve given back to me.”

Get connected to your career at Novak by clicking here.