Five good things that happened in trucking this week – Feb. 19

This week was exceptionally difficult for many across the U.S. An Arctic polar vortex crippled communities in Texas and others throughout the country that aren't typically used to extreme cold. But as always, the industry showed up for those in need. It is my honor to share how the trucking community showed the true depth of their hearts this week in support of each other, especially during extreme circumstances.

Knight-Swift packed 1,600 food boxes in Phoenix

This week, Knight-Swift Transportation employees volunteered at St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix, whose mission is to alleviate hunger, encourage self-sufficiency, collaboration, advocacy and education. The employees helped pack about 1,600 humanitarian food boxes to those in need in the community.

In a tweet on Feb. 18, St. Mary’s Food Bank, founded in 1967, thanked the employees who “volunteered to help us fight hunger in Arizona!”

Water tanker supplies medical center with water during Texas blackouts

Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, Texas worked diligently to protect its patients as millions across the state lost heat due to widespread blackouts.

Susan Wade, vice president of infrastructure and support services, explained that while she worked to get a generator to power the hospital, a large Western Star truck sitting in the parking lot of the center is the reason the hospital had heat.

“That is actually providing water to our boiler system," explained Wade. "We also were able to take water off of that time to use for our freshwater for toileting and that kind of thing."

According to KTXS12, it may be days before the City of Abilene’s water is safe to drink again, but Wade reassured that the center has “plenty of water in their reserves to keep patients and staff hydrated.”

"We feel very, very confident that we'll have more than enough water to get us through the boil notice," Wade added.

Werner truck driver celebrates wedding with a company-themed cake

Werner Enterprises professional driver, James T. recently got married and celebrated in the most Werner way possible – with a cake decorated with his Werner cab on the front.

Congratulations on your big day!

XPO Logistics driver reunites lost dog with its family

Billy “BG” Green, a Canadian truck driver for XPO Logistics, started off his morning just like any other when he happened to get a visit outside his cab from a lost dog named Lucy.

Green went above and beyond and reunited Lucy with her family.

Thanks Billy!

Navy pickup trucks haul hundreds of freezing sea turtles in Texas

While Texas has been victim to devastating power outages this week, the work of protecting the community never stopped – including the protection of wild animals. Frigid waters along the coast of Texas has caused an overwhelming amount of distressed sea turtles to swim to shore.

Will Bellamy, an Army and Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Haiti, saw some turtles on Feb. 16 with his son Jerome, but knew he couldn’t help them alone.

According to the Washington Post, he alerted Captain Christopher Jason, the commander of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in southeastern Texas, and his wife, Cheryl Jason. The commander grabbed his kayak, paddled into the cold waves and retrieved a lapful of cold-shocked turtles.

However, there were too many turtles for this crew, so Bellamy recruited more reinforcements. “It was like an apocalypse of turtles littered on the beach,” Bellamy told the Post.

According to Bellamy, more than 1,100 turtles have since been plucked from Laguna Madre by a ragtag group of about 50 Navy pilots and flight students, military spouses, family members and military retirees, said Biji Pandisseril, the Navy installation’s environmental manager. “More turtles are still coming in,” he said. “And some have died.”

Word spread in the military community, but the movement began with Bellamy flagging down motorists to help, he said. From there, the efforts mushroomed to a full-blown operation. Bellamy said one active-duty Navy pilot trainee on scene called in other trainees with pickup trucks to haul the stunned turtles to heated storage facilities at the air station.

The cold was a challenge for the humans, too, Bellamy said, but volunteers worked all day. One man waded into the surf with his blue jeans and cowboy boots, laser-focused on the rescue, he said.

The hardships of the extreme weather, coupled with the pressure of the coronavirus pandemic, compelled the volunteers to do something tangible and positive amid the bleakness, Bellamy said.

“Things have been rough over the past year," Bellamy added. "It’s fun to see people come together focused on recovering these turtles. People just need it.”