Elmo Guillot (dignitymemorial.com)
Elmo Guillot, former owner of New Orleans-based Southeastern Motor Freight Inc. and Triple G Express Inc., died on Aug. 12 surrounded by his family. He was 88.
Earlier this summer, Guillot, a resident of Metairie, La., was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that affects bones, said his son Randy Guillot.
“He was a very friendly man, a good man, and a great dad and leader,” said Randy, former chairman of American Trucking Associations. “He created opportunities for both me and my brother, Glen.”
Elmo, Randy and Glen started Triple G Express in 1985.
Trucking and the Guillot family have been synonymous with Louisiana trucking for decades, ever since Elmo went to work for his father-in-law, Aswell Pitre, founder of Southeastern Motor Freight Inc., not too long after graduating in 1953 from Holy Cross High School in New Orleans.
Elmo tried out various facets of the industry before going into sales in the late 1950s, according to Open Road, the Louisiana Motor Transport Association’s magazine, which wrote about the family in a 2010 article.
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By 1968, Elmo became manager at Southeastern. As with so many other trucking operations during deregulation, Elmo and his business partner began to disagree on the future of the company. So in 1982 Elmo and his wife, Charlene, bought her father’s share of Southeastern.
He also served as president and chairman of the Louisiana Motor Transport Association and state vice president of American Trucking Associations; was a parishioner of St. Ann’s Church; and was a member of the New Orleans Traffic Club and DD Coffee Club.
Elmo was known as a family man, clearly the family’s patriarch, who helped encourage a number of family members to get into trucking and join Triple G.
“He was a strong advocate for trucking throughout Louisiana and the entire U.S.,” said Kary Bryce, former president of Preferred Materials Inc., who knew Elmo for about 25 years. “He fought hard for our association. He’s a quite large guy in our eyes. He always had words of encouragement for everybody.
“He always presented himself as a gentleman. He would be passionate about issues sometime, but he always had great character. He was somebody to look up to. He meant a lot to a lot of people.”
“He was the kindest, most open man,” said Pat Hay, former owner of Hay Brothers Inc. in Lake Charles, La. “He embraced me when I first got involved. He took me in as a young man and showed me the ropes. You’ll never meet a nicer guy.”
Chance McNeely, former executive director of the Louisiana Motor Transport Association, said the Guillot family “has been a staple” at the state association for decades.
“Elmo was chairman of the board in the ’70s, his brother, Glen, was chairman and then Randy was chairman,” McNeely told Transport Topics in 2020. “I always joke that it’s not an LMTA event unless there are at least five Guillots in the room.”
Cathy Gautreaux, a former executive director of the LMTA, told TT in 2020 that she has known the Guillot family since 1985.
“The Guillots believe in commitment and participation,” Gautreaux said. “The entire family is very genuine — the parents would accept nothing less. They have very high standards and are always polite.”
Elmo is survived by his wife of 67 years, Charlene Pitre Guillot; children Glen Guillot (Patrice) and Randy Guillot (Renee’); grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
