amarillo chamber of commerce - HPN Books

T-MILLERWRECKERSERVICELittle did Jeni Ferril know when she wentto work at T-Miller Wrecker Service in 1978that some day she would be an owner and theoperator of the company. Founded in 1958by Ray T. Miller, the wrecker service becamewholly owned by Lonnie L. and Joyce Ferrilin the mid 1960s. Ferril had initially workedpart time at T-Miller while working full timeas an Amarillo police officer. He and his wifestarted Cherry Avenue Auto Salvage in 1963and bought Amarillo Auto Crushing in thelate 1990s. The Ferrils’ sons Lonnie L. (J. R.)and Byron Ferril grew up in the wreckerand salvage business. Jeni married J. R. in1979 and has been part of the business fromthat time.Lonnie and Joyce went into semi-retirementin January 2004 when Joyce became illwith cancer. Joyce passed away in the summerof 2004 and Byron took over the salvage andcrusher business. J. R. took over the operationof T-Miller Wrecker Service with the help ofJeni. His parents had worked hard to buildT-Miller and the younger Ferril worked hardto continue the legacy. However, J. R. suddenlypassed away in March of 2005, leaving hiswife Jeni and their children David and Meganto continue the business. Jeni has operatedT-Miller Wrecker Service since 2005.T-Miller is regulated by the Texas Departmentof Licensing and Regulation as to the fees theycan charge for their services, the equipmentlicenses and permits required to operate, andlicenses their employees must have to work inthe business. T-Miller’s drivers are state andnationally certified. Drivers study to receivetheir licenses, are tested, and take continuingeducation each year to retain their licenses.Their clerks receive and maintain vehicle storagelicenses. T-Miller goes beyond minimumstandards to insure that their employees havethe credentials to be highly qualified and providethe best customer service. T-Miller is fullylicensed and insured, and complies with allcity, state, and federal regulations. They wantto run a quality, reputable business. They arelong time members of Towing and RecoveryAssociation of America and the Texas Towingand Storage Association.T-Miller tows for individuals, area dealerships,and repair shops. They provide relocationservices, transporting vehicles to and fromAmarillo. T-Miller brings many vehicles intoAmarillo that have broken down or beeninvolved in collisions. T-Miller is the preferredvendor for major trucking companies, manyof the largest trucking companies in thenation, because of their heavy towing capabilities.They often travel to nearby states like NewMexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Kansas tobring trucks into Amarillo. They literally dragbusiness into Amarillo; the repair shops benefitand motels and restaurants benefit whenowners accompany their vehicles.In T-Miller’s early days, their equipmentwas two 1956 Ford Trucks with homemadewrecker beds. Gradually, as the business prospered,new trucks came on line with factorybeds. Today, T-Miller has the most modernstate-of-the-art equipment available.Their recovery fleet includes16 units ranging from 5 ton to 50ton capacity. Their trailer equipmentconsists of dry box andrefrigeration trailers, a fifty-threefoot low load angle trailer, andcattle pins and chutes. They havetransloading and load shift capabilitiesas well as being able toprovide air bag recovery. TheirAMARILLO - Faces, Places & Open Spaces244