Truckers Deliver Nearly 910,000 Wreaths
This story appears in the Dec. 21 & 28 print edition of Transport Topics.
The trucking industry delivered nearly 300 truckloads of Christmas wreaths to 1,100 cemeteries as part of National Wreaths Across America Day, an annual event honoring the fallen members of the military.
As part of the tribute, 910,000 wreaths were placed on the graves of military service veterans nationwide on Dec. 12, including 240,000 interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
The wreath-laying tradition at Arlington began in 1992, when a businessman from Maine, Morrill Worcester, delivered 5,000 donated wreaths to the cemetery.
Wreaths Across America, a nonprofit organization, conducted the operation that required thousands of volunteers.
The Truckload Carriers Association coordinated the effort for a fifth year, dispatching the wreaths of remembrance as early as Dec. 6 to ensure that the convoy of trucks carrying wreaths from Harrington, Maine, would arrive in time.
“Our commitment to Wreaths Across America runs deep, as the trucking industry tends to be very patriotic,” said Debbie Sparks, TCA’s vice president of development. “From our trucking company donations of equipment and money, to our professional truck drivers’ donation of their time, we are committed to adorning these graves every year.”
American Trucking Associations’ Share the Road truck was among those in the convoy — with professional drivers Jerry Charron and Eddie Hosegood of XPO Logistics behind the wheel.
During the weeklong trip, stops were made at schools, monuments and veterans’ homes to educate the public about trucking safety and the mission of Wreaths Across America.
Charron and Hosegood first met during their military service as U.S. Marines when they were assigned to the same unit on a Western Pacific tour. They reconnected when both were finalists for America’s Road Team in 2009; Charron was with Con-way Freight out of Vermont, and Hosegood was with Publix out of Florida. XPO Logistics purchased Con-way Inc. earlier this year.
America’s Road Team is a national public outreach program led by a small group of professional truck drivers with outstanding driving skills and a strong desire to spread the word about safety on the highway. It is sponsored by ATA.
“ATA and Share the Road have been proud participants in Wreaths Across America for a decade. It is an honor and a privilege to be part of such a tremendous effort,” said ATA President Bill Graves.
Wreaths Across America presented Barry Pottle, the CEO of Pottle’s Transportation and a past chairman of TCA, with the annual James Prout “Spirit of Giving” Award at the event in Arlington. Pottle’s company has been a part of the organization’s trucking convoy since the idea was conceived about 10 years ago. Pottle is a vice chairman of ATA.
“I can remember at our board meetings years ago when Barry would get up and tell us, ‘I, personally, was not able to serve my country, but now through Wreaths Across America, I can at least help thank and remember those who did,’ ” Sparks recalled. “He almost single-handedly convinced the rest of the trucking industry to commit to the cause.”
Also, for the first time, trucking teamed to remove the leftover boxes and shrink-wrap for recycling rather than sending it to a landfill. The partnership included TCA, International Paper, Interstate Moving and Storage Inc. and Cowan Systems.
“We joined forces with the company that makes the shipping boxes as well as a local moving company to fill nine tractor-trailers with about 100,000 pounds of leftover boxes and shrink-wrap. What a way to reduce our carbon footprint!” Sparks said.
