Parker County Today September 2015 | Page 29

hurricanes and tornadoes, so with the equipment we have, that’s kind of the avenue we wanted to take,” Shannon said. “And at that time, the market was down on houses.” The equipment that helped Shannon make the transition to his latest venture was his custom-made semitruck, courtesy of his own two hands. “We saw a need on the disaster side [in Arkansas] — that’s when we started building these trucks,” Shannon said. “The bed by itself is 14,000 pounds. The cranes sitting on the back [weigh] 8,000.” Asked where he learned to work with metal and cars, Shannon said, “Just trial and error and not wanting to pay anybody else to do it. ... You’ve got to dismantle that whole truck. You’ve got to rebuild the frame all the way from the motor to the back. It’s a major undertaking.” Concerning disaster relief, Shannon has worked hurricanes Katrina, Ike and Sandy, as well as several ice storms in Kentucky and Arkansas. Shannon said his goal for Diamond L Enterprises is to continue to build a sustainable business “that will create not only a viable income for us, but a future to leave Hunter so he can support his family and whatever other employees work for us. Not trying to get rich, just trying to make a good living.” ) 7 1 9 8 5 ( 43 8 59 e h eat e At H Hunter Leverton www.weatherfordparks.com www.facebook.com/WPARD PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY Oct. 2, 3, 4 Oct. 30 - Nov. 1 SEPTEMBER 2015 tag i r e W k r Pa , rd o f r s a x Te 27