In times of crisis, heroes stand up and volunteer to do what they can to make the situation better. That's exactly what so many involved in the trucking industry did when the world shut down to "flatten the curve" to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the spring, and have been doing so ever since. FleetOwner felt it necessary to highlight as many of these good acts as possible in a weekly column called Five Good Things, which sometimes was as much to keep our spirits up as it was for the readers. The good news is that there was no shortage of good news every week.
The bad is that the unpredictable coronavirus still looms large over daily life like a billowing storm cloud. Luckily, the positivity shown by and for the trucking community has been a consistent ray of sunshine cutting through the darkness and offering hope. And though we can't quantify the effects of hope as we could fuel-efficient tires or telematics, we know it is just as important to the health of the industry. So we expect to continue calling out heroic efforts big and small for the foreseeable future.
Before we do that, we also wanted to take a look back at the past year and serve up a sampling of notable good deeds from the past year.
1. FTG: March 27
Our first FTG from late March focused on restaurants’ efforts to feed truckers as the mysterious pandemic spread, how FedEx drivers made a four-year-old’s birthday memorable, and the Missouri Department of Transportation offering temporary overweight permits for haulers involved in the battle against COVID-19.
2. FTG: May 15
As the coronavirus took hold of the country, more Americans banded together to show their appreciation for frontline workers. In New York, PineAire Truck Service’s social media drive to reward nurses with gift cards inspired people in more than 15 other states to follow suit. Meanwhile, FedEx driver Daniel Nava brought cheer to customers with his smartly dressed dachshund.
3. FTG: June 26
In June, Mack Trucks partnered with Life is Good to offer a limited-edition #ThankATrucker Mack t-shirt with proceeds benefitting the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund (SCF). The Trucking Association of New York and the American Trucking Associations virtually met to talk about pressing trucker issues such as infrastructure, truck parking, and workforce development.
4. FTG: Sept. 11
Women in Trucking held a photo contest called HERoes of the Highway that attracted 90 participants to dress as superheroes in front of their rigs, while trucking companies and truck stops geared up for National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. The Truckload Carriers Association’s (TCA) also announced its scholarship fund awarding $150,000 to college students associated with a TCA member.
5. FTG: Dec. 18
Daseke’s employees invested time in Wreaths Across America, Toys for Tots, and toy drive for the Children's Hospital of Alabama, Schneider National donated gifts to Rawhide Youth Services, and UPS and XPO Logistics got into the holiday spirit by dressing up trucks and drivers in festive attire.
