Shannon Newton
President, ATA
The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 until Nov. 30, and as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted, this year’s season produced an above average number of storms. The devastation in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina resulted in washed away highways, disrupted businesses and halted supply chains of critical products the entire nation depends on.
Before the clouds had cleared, volunteers were loading trailers to haul hope back to communities where everything was lost. Arkansas-based companies joined the efforts.
Stallion Transportation delivered a truckload of 28 pallets of meals-ready-to-eat or MREs into Georgia, while PAM Transport collected and transported employee and community donations including water, food, clothing, pet supplies, toiletries, paper products and cleaning supplies into North Carolina.
And now as hurricane season ends, winter is coming.
Bowerman Trucking and L & L Logistics are partnering with the Arkansas Realtors Association for Operation Warm Wishes, delivering coats, socks, gloves, blankets, heaters, dehumidifiers and other supplies for the North Carolina Realtors Association to distribute to those in need.
This is what trucking does and exactly who we are. This is a glimpse into the fabric of our people that I wish more had the opportunity to see.
We don’t just move freight, we move forward. We don’t just deliver goods, we deliver good. Each trailer packed with supplies is a promise: You are not alone. We are coming.
In the aftermath of storms, when roads become rivers and homes become memories, it’s not just trucks that become lifelines – it’s the drivers who choose to navigate through chaos to those in need. They carry more than bottled water – they carry all the things we want to say to each other but can’t always express clearly and earnestly.
The men and women of our industry are often the first to volunteer when disaster strikes. They know every mile of these roads, every community along their routes. When they hear a familiar town has been hit, they’re already asking: “When can I go? What do they need?”
As summer storms give way to winter winds, these same professionals now transport warmth to those facing bitter cold. Different season, same heart. Different cargo, same commitment: to wrap our communities in layers of protection, both physical and emotional.
Because at its core, trucking is not just an industry. It’s a response team, full of big-hearted people, coming as fast as safely possible down the highway, understand that sometimes the most important and urgent cargo is hope itself.
Happy Holidays!
