Five good things that happened in trucking this week – June 5

The events of this week continued to escalate as citizens protested the streets, neighborhoods and highways; in some cases, endangering the lives of not only themselves and those around them, but the drivers on the road, who continue to deliver essential goods to those who need them. It is important, now more than ever, to see a little light in the darkness. Here are five good things that happened in trucking this week.

Home Depot warehouses celebrated drivers

The atmosphere at one of Home Depot’s warehouses, Orlando MDO 5870, is always light and positive, acknowledging its employees for their personal and professional milestones.

On Wednesday, June 3, word spread to the Orlando warehouse that the Luckey, Ohio, warehouse welcomed back one of their employees, who started work again after beating cancer.

“Welcome back, Mike,” Orlando MDO 5870 tweeted. “Your orange blooded drive has an impact in our Orlando building.” 

Piggybacking off of the joyous energy, the warehouse, and others across the Home Depot network, took this week to thank their truck drivers with lunches, lemonade and complimentary t-shirts.

ATA’s daily truck driver photo contest continued

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the American Trucking Associations launched the #ThankATrucker - Providing for the Frontlines campaign intended to provide some relief to the men and women on the road. This campaign will:

• Continue to provide hand sanitizer stations along major freight corridors in order for professional truck drivers on the front lines to fill up their own personal bottles
• Encourage professional drivers to submit a fun photo of themselves with their rig. Once submitted, they will automatically be entered into a drawing to win a $25 electronic gift card for a meal of their choice while on the road.

Every day, four winners are chosen and featured on ATA’s Twitter account. Congratulations to all of the winners this week:

• June 1: Carol Nixon, Walmart Transportation; Tim Taylot, FedEx Freight; Isidro Flores, Core-Mark; Steve Smalley, ABF Freight
• June 2: William West, ABF Freight; Yvette Sparks, US Xpress; Paul Butkowski, FedEx Freight; Tim Chelette, Big G Express
• June 3: Rusty Holmes, Triple R Metals; Ron Vandermark, UPS; Tim Helus, FedEx Freight; Stephen Richardson, Big G Express
• June 4: Remy Braun, D & D Sexton Inc.; John Lex, Walmart Transportation; Chad Miller, ABF Freight; Steve Sanchez, Core-Mark
• June 5: Danny Smith, Big G Express; Curtis Peters, H. R. Ewell; Christal Arway, US Xpress; Tim Melody, ABF Freight

How to enter: All CDL holders are eligible to submit a fun or cool photo of themselves and their rig. Once you have submitted your photo, you will be notified by [email protected] if you are chosen as a winner, and the email will include an electronic gift card in the amount of $25.        

Amazon and UPS drivers duked it out in bench press competition in viral video

As states continue through phases of reopening, people are slowly starting to get back into the public and getting back to what they love to do. Truck drivers are no different.

While making deliveries in a suburban neighborhood, an Amazon Prime delivery driver came upon house whose residents were working out in a garage home gym. After making a delivery, he was invited to take a quick break and do a bench press rep. Simultaneously, a UPS driver arrived to make a delivery and decided to join in on the fun. Naturally, it became a competition.

GA Trucking held a Driver Appreciation event

The Georgia Department of Public Safety along with Georgia Motor Trucking Association held a Driver Appreciation event across the state for its truck drivers. On Wednesday, June 3, some 200 drivers received lunch and a PPE care packet at the Georgia Inspection Station Sb on I-75 near Ringgold while other CMV drivers received lunches at the Region 1 Weigh Station in Catoosa County with the help of the Motor Carrier Compliance Division.

SmartDrive Systems recognized this week’s Heroes in Transportation winner

Every week, SmartDrive Systems recognizes a driver as a part of its Heroes in Transportation contest. This week, Izet, an owner-operator for Werner Enterprises was the winner. Izet has over one million accident free miles and is considered one of Werner’s safest and most professional drivers.

In a tweet on June 1, SmartDrive Systems explained that Izet is a dedicated driver for Werner Enterprise’s client, Dollar General, and has been working around the clock to help restock store shelves of essentials. When asked about the sacrifices he has to make that keep him away from his family, Izet said, “I can’t stay home; I’m a truck driver.”