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Back years ago, when Richard Doggrell was selling Avon products, he never dreamed that he would, one day, be driving a big rig for Wiley Sanders Truck Lines.

And, in his wildest dreams, Doggrell could not have imagined that he would pass the five-million-mile mark while driving for Wiley Sanders Truck Lines.

To put five million miles into some perspective, the Earth is 24,901 miles around. To drive five million miles, Doggrell would have had to circle the Earth 200 times.

“Just thinking about five million miles makes me a little tired,” Doggrell said, with a smile. “It has been a long journey. A long, long journey. But, I have enjoyed every mile.”

Doggrell was recruited by Sanders Truck Line in 1997. He was straight out of truck driving school in Oxford and has been driving for Sanders since.

“I have been to all 48 lower states.,” Doggrell said. “I’ve been from here to California, from here to Washington State and to Oregon. All up and down the East Coast. I’ve seen all of our country and many places several times. And, there is something amazing about each state. No matter how many times I go through the same place, I see something I haven’t seen before.”

Although, Doggrell doesn’t have a favorite state, except Alabama, he gives thumbs up to Montana. He found Niagara Falls “breathtaking” and also the Grand Canyon and Lake Tahoe.

“There’s beauty all over America,” he said.

Over the five million miles, Doggrell has had six or seven new trucks. And every one of them has seemed like home.

“But, there’s no place like the place I call my home,” Doggrell said. “If I have any reservations about being on the road for five million miles, I would say the time away from home and the time I have missed with my family.

“I pray every day on the road and at home. God has been so good to me. He has brought me home safely for five million miles and He has kept my family safe.”

Doggrell said he is thankful for the opportunity to work for Wiley Sanders Truck Lines and is looking for a few more miles on the road and back again.  But not five million, he said with a smile.