As December begins, the trucking industry is filled with holiday spirit. Read more about what the industry is doing during this season of giving in this week’s Five Good Things.
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Forward Air raises $350,000 for veterans at annual Drive for Hope Golf Tournament
Forward Air Corporation recently hosted the third annual Drive for Hope Golf Tournament at Chateau Elan Winery & Resort in Braselton, Georgia. Through its charitable platform, Operation Forward Freedom, the company raised $350,000 to benefit Hope For The Warriors.
Founded in 2006, Hope For The Warriors is a national nonprofit dedicated to restoring a foundation of stability, strength, and community for post-9/11 veterans, service members, and military families.
“We are honored to join forces with Hope For The Warriors to support their life-changing work within our nation’s Veteran community,” said Shawn Steward, Forward Air CEO. “Giving back is in our DNA, and when we work with our business partners toward a common goal, we can truly make a positive impact.”
The Drive for Hope Tournament featured celebrity guests, a silent auction, and a color guard presentation at the opening ceremony. Since the inaugural Drive For Hope Golf Tournament in 2022, Forward has raised $1.25 million for Hope For The Warriors.
Defense Dept. honors Bendix employee with Patriot Award
To hear Kinjal Mistry and Keith McComsey tell it, they’re both just doing their jobs: McComsey is director of air disc brake systems and products at Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems in Avon, Ohio, and Mistry is a product owner in McComsey’s department as well as a chief petty officer in the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Through Mistry’s efforts, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve office recently recognized McComsey with its Patriot Award.
The Patriot Award, given to individual supervisors and not to an entire staff or organization, reflects the efforts made to support citizen warriors through a wide range of measures, including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families, and granting leaves of absence, if needed.
“Supporting Kinjal’s service in the reserves was an easy choice because I have the utmost respect for those who serve and sacrifice like she does,” McComsey said. “I wanted to clear the way so she could do that without feeling uncomfortable and without any thought that this might be viewed as a burden in the workplace. It’s an honor to accept this recognition, and while our co-workers and I appreciate all that Kinjal does here at Bendix, the thanks for her service to our country comes from all of us and our families as well.”
Mistry has served in the Coast Guard since 2014. She joined Bendix in 2016, and McComsey has been her supervisor since 2020. Since joining Bendix, she has also experienced an extended deployment of several months in addition to the expected reserve periods.
“I was deployed in 2017 to support Hurricane Harvey and multiple times after that. The support I received from Bendix during my extended deployments has been invaluable,” Mistry explained. “Their understanding, flexibility, and unwavering commitment to my well-being allowed me to focus on my duties without the added stress of workplace concerns. It’s rare to find an employer who genuinely supports both the professional and personal challenges that come with military service, and for that, I am truly grateful.”
Estes Express Lines wraps trailers nationwide to raise awareness for nonprofits
Estes will wrap some of its trailers to raise awareness of nonprofits Estes employees choose to support through its employee-directed giving campaign, part of the company’s community relations campaign, “Open Heart, Open Road.”
The first trailer to hit the road and benefit from the mobile billboard is the American Diabetes Association, a long-time benefactor of Estes.
“By leveraging our presence on roadways all over the country, we’re able to raise awareness and reach more people about important causes,” said Webb Estes, president and COO of Estes. “We look forward to seeing the impact of this new program and letting everyone know about the causes and nonprofits that Team Estes supports and believes in.”
In addition to the American Diabetes Association, the following Open Heart, Open Road nonprofits will be promoted on Estes trailers in the next year:
- Alzheimer's Association
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- ASPCA
- American Cancer Society
- National Forest Foundation
- Special Olympics
- Active Minds
- Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
- Operation Homefront
The wraps are scheduled to appear in various markets throughout the country, including Estes’ home market of Richmond, Virginia.
See also: CVSA announces dates for 2025 Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative
Women In Trucking Association names December Member of the Month
The Women In Trucking Association announced April Crysel as its December 2024 Member of the Month. Crysel is a professional driver for Chestnut Enterprises in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is also a member of the WIT Class of 2024 Image Team.
At the age of 45, after her factory job was outsourced to another country, Crysel began her career in the industry at Maverick Transportation, where she hauled specialized flatbed, hauling glass to 48 states and Canada. From there, she became a driver trainer/driver support team for Ryder System, Inc. She drove box trucks, flatbeds, doubles, refrigerated tankers, containers, and dump beds in this role. She then settled into working for an owner-operator, hauling containers out of the ports. Additionally, Crysel tried her hand as a safety manager and dispatcher at Global Transportation Management for two years, helping other drivers get started in their careers. She enjoyed her time in the office but ultimately missed driving and the open road.
Now, 10 years later, Crysel is thrilled to work with the people at Chestnut Enterprises, a small family-owned company with a husband-and-wife team. She loves the people she works for; they are flexible in and out of the port, and there is great camaraderie.
“Everyone gets along, and everybody helps everybody,” Crysel said. “You don’t see that as much nowadays, and that’s why I don’t want to leave.”
Crysel discovered WIT when she came across the Facebook page in 2015. Shortly after, Sandy Long became her mentor, and she became part of the mentoring Facebook page. She is passionate about helping and supporting other women, saying: “Being able to help and connect with other women so they know they have a support system here for them is so fulfilling.”
One of Crysel’s favorite parts of being involved with WIT and on the Image Team is attending the Accelerate! Conference & Expo. She has made many lifelong friendships and enjoys watching women unite and empower each other.
Off the road, Crysel has twins who are grown and have children of their own, giving her three wonderful grandchildren.
Truck driver named TCA Highway Angel for assisting police in stopping suicidal driver
The Truckload Carriers Association named truck driver John Dodridge, from West Carrollton, Ohio, a TCA Highway Angel for assisting police in stopping an apparently suicidal driver. Dodridge works for ABF Freight out of Ft. Smith, Arkansas.
On October 30, around 3:10 a.m., Dodridge was driving on Interstate 74 near mile marker 93 in Indianapolis, Indiana. A woman in a silver Toyota Yaris drove her car directly toward Dodridge on the interstate, and Dodridge came dangerously close to striking her car.
“I saw headlights up ahead of me—she was coming at me,” Dodridge said. “Once she got past me, she parked in the road.”
Dodridge said she backed up, hit a guard rail parked again, then backed up going in the wrong direction again. Next, the driver did several donuts on the road, spinning her car in circles, before heading in the correct direction.
“It was very bizarre,” he said. “The behavior was not normal. I just kept thinking, she’s gonna hurt somebody.”
Dodridge called 911 to alert authorities. He noted that several members of his immediate family had been killed in an accident by a drunk driver, so he was particularly active in stopping the driver.
“When I see people driving like that on the road, I take it very personally,” said the former U.S. Navy member. “I was determined to stop her.”
Dodridge followed the woman, who drove erratically, for approximately 25 miles on several highways. He called 911 repeatedly to alert police. Finally, the woman driver cut across several lanes of traffic and drove into a McDonald’s parking lot.
“I blocked that intersection with my semi so she couldn’t get back out,” he said. “She drove over the sidewalks, through the bushes, but I trapped her.”
Police arrived on the scene at the McDonalds, and Dodridge offered his dashboard camera footage to help.
“I’m always trying to look out for the little guy,” said Dodridge, who is 6’5”. “It’s just in my blood, I guess. I don’t like to see people get hurt.”
