My business partner and I grew up in St. Cloud Minnesota we went to the same school, at the young age of 20 and 21 years old we were eager to own our own businesses. After graduating from St. Cloud Technical High School, I decided to travel around the country solo for a couple of years. Fresh out of high school in 1981, I was looking for some direction in my life so I moved to Wyoming, and then on to Arizona. I worked various jobs such as an electrician, tire store technician, construction, and a cable TV auditor. I also had learned some automotive skills from my father's business in Clearwater Mn. My father owned an automotive repair and wrecking yard business. His business was at our home, so I was raised learning a sense of business and automotive skills. These skills were a very important part of my success early on.
My break came in 1984 when I partnered up with a high school buddy and started an airport shuttle company to service passengers from the High Desert and the Santa Clarita communities. The Antelope Valley did not have shuttle service to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at that time. We purchased three used vans and built a custom luggage trailer. Times were tough; we were renting a townhouse and used the garage as a repair shop to service the fleet. We were undercapitalized so we had to drive most of the trips, driving ten hours each day and covering the office. Between trips, I would find time to maintain the fleet. It proved to be a greatly needed service in a community with such a tremendous population growth that offered no other service of its kind.
Sincerely,
Thomas L. Miller, President
Antelope Valley Airport Express Inc.
DBA. Antelope Express