Five Good Things: Road dogs, road cats, and hauling to end hunger

It can be lonely out there on the road, so it's always good to see how truckers build community. That can be through caring for feline friends, introducing their children to the profession, or giving back to local neighborhoods. All this and more in this week's Five Good Things in trucking.

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Road dog with a road cat

Tora is a shorthair cat who enjoys traveling with her truck-driving owners across the nation. She often perches on the dashboard to survey the vistas of the contiguous United States. She is trained to use a harness and leash, so she can go out and explore when her owner has to stop at Cat Scale station.

The Hunger Task Force takes the grocery store to the streets

The Hunger Task Force, the only local, free food bank in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, took to the web Wednesday to commend its drivers who weather the storm every day to deliver food to families in need.

One of the nonprofit’s most innovative programs is its Mobile Market: A trailer hauled throughout Milwaukee county to sell discounted fresh foods to communities in need.

The Hunger Task Force delivers to its food pantry partners free of charge and is supported 100% by donations.

The nonprofit also owns and operates a 208-acre farm outside of Milwaukee that provides half a million pounds of fruits and vegetables to the food bank. Each year, more than 5,000 community volunteers work on the farm.

GPS Insight awards skilled trades scholarships

GPS Insight, a provider of fleet software, has awarded $10,000 each to the two winners of the GPS Insight ‘You are the Reason’ Skilled Trades Scholarship Program: Michael Lyons and Jacob Paquette. Both winners can use the money for full-time skilled trades study at a college or accredited vocational-technical school in the 2023-2024 academic year. GPS Insight also awarded three additional $500 scholarships for honorable mentions. Scholarship winners were nominated by GPS Insight customers, according to a company press release.

Michael Lyons is from Scotrun, Pennsylvania, and currently attends the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Growing up watching his father and stepfather fix their cars, he became fascinated with mechanics and decided that learning a skilled trade was the best route for his career. During his senior year of high school, Michael lost his father.

“I have learned to work through some of the most difficult situations and not only to just get through them but to come out a better person because of them. The trials I have faced have not caused me to be a victim of terrible circumstances but rather have molded me into a determined and focused student and worker,” said Michael. “My parents taught me to be strong and never let life beat me down, and that is what I have done so far and plan to do in the future.”

Michael plans on focusing his career on mechanics, particularly aviation. 

Jacob Paquette is from Plantsville, Connecticut, and is a current high school senior planning to attend Bristol Technical Education Center in Bristol, Connecticut, to enter a career in automotive technology. He enjoys working on all things mechanical and taking the time to figure out how they work.

“I will be the first in my family to attend post-grad schooling, and this scholarship will make a big difference in my life,” Jacob said. “I’m looking forward to taking what I know and expanding my knowledge through a trade school so that I can use it to enter a career in automotive technology.” 

Honorable mentions and $500 scholarship awardees include Alexandra Zapien from Oakley, California, Briley Lehman from Grantsville, Illinois, and Tyler Horsley from Scottsdale, Arizona.

“GPS Insight is committed to building a positive culture in the industries we serve," said GPS Insight CEO Gary Fitzgerald. "Our customers are the reason we care, learn, and embrace change. The ‘You are the Reason’ Skilled Trades Scholarship Program has allowed us to provide these five students with an incredible opportunity as well as advance the capabilities and expertise of technicians across industries. On behalf of all of us at GPS Insight, congratulations to all winners! We can’t wait to see where your careers in these trades take you.” 

Werner celebrates an exceptional driver

Werner Enterprises (No. 12 on the FleetOwner 500: Top For-Hire Fleets of 2022 list), which on its Twitter celebrates #WomenInTruckingWednesday, honored its driver Karen, who has driven over one million accident-free miles.