This week in the trucking industry was another for good news as one stakeholder donated a generous sum to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, while others celebrated technicians, drivers—as well as their canine companions.
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FleetPride donates $185,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Truck parts and service provider FleetPride donated $185,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for the 2022 Giving Tuesday and employee and customer campaign.
FleetPride's 2022 Giving Tuesday effort on Nov. 29 encouraged customers and employees to make a purchase through FleetPride.com, with a percentage of online sales from that day benefiting St. Jude.
"Giving back to our community is a core tenet at FleetPride, and we are proud to partner once again with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as the focus of our Giving Tuesday campaign," said Beth Corl, FleetPride senior vice president of human resources. "We want to thank all of our customers and employees who contributed to our campaign, allowing us to make an impactful donation to St. Jude, to support their important, and lifesaving work."
Beth Corl presented the generous donation to Erin Arbogast, senior account manager of strategic partnerships at ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude. The check donation was presented at FleetPride's Kickoff event, which brings together more than 1,000 team members and suppliers nationwide.
"FleetPride aptly named their Giving Tuesday campaign 'Loads of Love,' which was exactly what they gave to St. Jude patients and their families this holiday season," said Coury Shadyac, senior vice president of territories at ALSAC. "The commitment to raise funds through this campaign showed us the heart of FleetPride's employees and customers. We are grateful for their dedication to our mission and for helping St. Jude continue with its lifesaving research and unparalleled patient care."
2024 Mack Calendar Contest winners announced
"The response to this year's contest was fantastic," said David Galbraith, Mack Trucks VP of brand and marketing. "We had six times the number of votes as we did in 2022, and the number of entries with dogs in support of our ASPCA sponsorship was heartwarming. Many of our dealers got involved as well by promoting their customers' entries."
See also: Mack reveals Granite CNG model
Mack truck owners submitted photos of their trucks to the Mack Calendar Contest in seven categories based on the company's brands: Mack Anthem, Pinnacle, Granite, LR, TerraPro, and MD Series, plus an additional category for legacy Mack models that are no longer in production. This year, entrants earned bonus points for including their dog in their photo or video entry.
To be eligible for the calendar, each truck, including the legacy models, must currently operate in a business or trucking company; the truck must be in routine use; and trucks may not be collector or show trucks no longer licensed for commercial use.
The winning entries in each category are:
Granite
- Tas Trucking, Kitchener, Ontario
- Silverline Group, Thorold, Ontario
Anthem
- Growmark FS, Manson, Iowa
- McNeilus Steel., Dodge Center, Minnesota
Mack MD
- Fogel's Fuel Service, Bangor, Pennsylvania
- Solid Waste Applied Technologies (SWAT), Statesboro, Georgia
Pinnacle
- Marty Kissick, owner-operator with Northwest Tank Lines, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Scott Schappaugh, Schappaugh Trucking, Hannibal, Missouri
Mack LR
- Amwaste, West Point, Georgia
TerraPro
- Cyclone Trucking, The Colony, Texas
Legacy Category - Old Bulldogs Still Hard at Work
- 1987 Mack RW713 tractor -Coastal Trucking, Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
- 1987 Mack Superliner dump - Rosemar Construction, East Moriches, New York
Mitchell 1 recognizes Oklahoma State SuperTech competitor
"We were honored to sponsor this year's SuperTech Competition event and help test the skills of these talented individuals who are key to the success of our industry," said Kristy LaPage, director of Mitchell 1's commercial vehicle group.
See also: Trucking's Fountain of Youth: How to keep older assets on the road
Veach was among 24 hand-picked competitors who rotated through a series of hands-on workstations and took a written test.
"We applaud everyone who participated in the event and are pleased to provide special recognition to Bobby, the top finisher, by awarding him with a gift card," said Robert Crull, business manager of Mitchell 1's commercial vehicle group. "We look forward to supporting this talented individual as he goes on to represent Oklahoma at the 2023 National TMCSuperTech Competition in Cleveland, Ohio, this fall."
Mitchell 1 has sponsored the TMCSuperTech national competitions since its inception 18 years ago. The company annually awards the grand champion a year subscription to TruckSeries to recognize the hard work necessary to earn this prestigious achievement.
Highway Angel rescues injured women from flaming wreckage
Blunnie was training a driver on Interstate 20 in Jackson, Mississippi, when he saw a van blow a tire and veer off the road, flipping and catching fire. He had the driver trainee pull over immediately.
"I jumped out of the truck," Blunnie said. Then, grabbing his fire extinguisher, he rushed to rescue the woman. When he reached the driver's side door, the flames were inside the vehicle and approaching the injured woman.
"I went around to her side and tried to pull her out," he said, finally having to break all the van's windows to pull her out of the vehicle with the help of another person. "If he hadn't come, I don't know what I would've done—I couldn't have gotten her out by myself," Blunnie said.
Blunnie said the woman was a pizza delivery driver on her way to work, and she sustained multiple injuries in the crash.
"Her face was all bloody and she broke her nose—the airbag got her."
He said he didn't hesitate to jump into the dangerous situation to rescue the woman.
"She would've been dead," he said, if he hadn't rescued her. "Ten seconds after we got her out of the van, it was gone."
