by Kellylynn McLaughlin, on Dec 22, 2020 2:59:56 PM
Take a listen below!
As those in the trucking industry know, the Post-Trip Inspection is a time to check and see if anything has changed with your equipment since you began your trip and if there are any items that need to be addressed before continuing on down the road. It’s a time to reflect, assess, and plan what’s next.
REFLECT
This month was actually a wonderful month because I was able to check something off my bucket list! A couple of years ago I saw a picture of a Schneider Ride of Pride tractor/trailer in Arlington National Cemetery. It was parked among the graves, each white headstone was adorned with a beautiful dark green wreath, and each wreath had a bright red bow. The view was dramatic to say the least! I did a little investigating and discovered a story about the Wreaths Across America (WAA) project. The article left me with a lump in my throat and a mission…to be one of the drivers that participates in Wreaths Across America!
ASSESS
It is such a simple act to place a wreath on a grave. How does it symbolize so much? This year is my first year (not my last) to participate in the movement to place a wreath on every veteran’s grave around the world. It’s a lofty goal no doubt. Last year WAA was able to place over 3 million wreaths! Morrill Worcester, the founder of WAA, and his family are truly visionary, dedicated, hardworking, and resourceful. They are good people leading the way to do a good deed. I would have loved to be sitting at their kitchen table when Mr. Worcester was first talking about an idea he had! WOW look at that idea now!
The best part of this month’s journey was to be able to share the experience with two lady veterans. We each represented a different branch of the trucking industry, we were each from a different decade, came from different backgrounds, lived in different parts of the country, didn’t know each other prior to the trip, but had one thing in common…we each wanted to give thanks to those that had served in our country’s military. A friend once told me, “sometimes it is just important to show up”. That was the plan, and it was quite a feat to be able to make this happen during the height of a pandemic. BUT where there is a will, there is a way. Let me just say there was plenty of girl power in my tractor.
The second-best part of my journey with these remarkable women was that we each were able to place a dog tag with a loved one’s name, branch and DOB/DOD on a tree in the “tipping land”. It will stay there forever - marked with a red plastic tag on the tree next to where it hangs. Yet again…another simple act symbolizing so much.
PLAN
One of my goals as the Driver Ambassador is to raise awareness of opportunities within the transportation industry. There are opportunities as drivers to be involved at a charitable level as well as professional. As essential workers this has been a challenging year to do our job safely. While most folks were home quarantining and limiting exposure, we were crisscrossing the country dodging the invisible threat to our health, livelihood, and country. The opportunity to be part of a special project like WWA, that gives back, was a meaningful way for me to close out 2020 and put a big red bow on it. I wanted to share our experience with you and encourage you to seek out those simple acts that mean so much - not only to you but for others.
