At the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., the Truckload Carriers Association conducted a special ceremony last weekend to honor Air Force veterans who are interred at the academy’s cemetery. Chris Burruss, TCA’s president, and Josh Kaburick, chief operating officer of TCA member Earl L. Henderson Trucking Co. of Salem, Ill., represented the association by placing a fresh wreath on the first of about 950 graves.
The event was initiated by Barry Pottle, president and chief executive officer of Pottle’s Transportation, Inc. of Bangor, Maine, and a TCA officer. Pottle rallied his fellow officers to contribute nearly $10,000 to purchase the wreaths. Earl L. Henderson Trucking Co. transported the greenery to Colorado Springs via a donated truck and the services of two if its drivers.
“A few months ago, our officers had held their annual planning meeting at the academy and were tremendously impressed with the cadets and their outstanding dedication to this country,” says Burruss. “They thought this would be an appropriate and moving way to show the truckload industry’s appreciation for their sacrifices, and it certainly was.”
The ceremony complemented the Wreaths Across America program that TCA and many in the truckload industry actively supports. Wreaths Across America. Each year in December, a long convoy of trucks – including some donated by TCA members – carries thousands of fresh wreaths from Maine to burial sites across the nation. TCA has produced a 30-second television commercial that highlights the generosity of the trucking companies who transport these wreaths each year. TCA members often arrange for this commercial to air in their local communities, thus ensuring that the general public is made aware of this positive and patriotic aspect of the trucking industry.
“Trucking supports our veterans – there’s no doubt about it,” says Burruss. “Both the military and trucking provide critical services to our country, albeit in different ways. We’re both working for America.”
