MNTDL participated and attended the Annual Membership Meetings and Conference recently for the Maryland Motor Truck Association. MNTDL found great value in attending and learned a great deal about the Transportation Industry in Maryland. Maryland is preparing for the expansion of the Panama Canal to expand Port Business and become one of largest if not the largest Port on the East Coast. There was also a significant amount of discussion and education concerning alternative fuels, especially CNG. United Parcel Service provided a great seminar on Alternative Fuels, and how UPS is taking the reins as a leader in the industry. There was also some great information learned about Affordable Health Care and how it will impact not only the Employer, but also the Employee.

Often professional CDL drivers do not receive proper appreciation for their efforts and sacrifices. Without Truck Drivers, the USA would shut down, and the affects would be evident within mere hours (no gas at the gas stations, no groceries on the shelf, not even a cup of coffee at Starbucks) but too often these simple things are really not thought about.

If one stops to think about what they have or use on a daily basis and really dig into how they got it in their hands, it would be evident of how they actually got it. From production of the raw materials hauled to the manufacture, then once the product is manufactured it is transported again to a DC, and then again to the store where it was purchased for example.

Sacrifices, as a driver myself, I cant count how many times I had to make sacrifices to spend time with friends and family on holidays, or missing a special event. There are also those times where I had to work in the blistering cold, snow, ice, and pouring rain. Drive through very dangerous situations, weather, etc… the list goes on and on. Sacrifices were made daily, all in the effort to make sure that the customer got their delivery so that the consumer could have their stuff.

Moments Notice Truck Driver Leasing was proud to be a part of a Driver Appreciation Event in Tampa and Cary Watkins had a great time interacting and showing appreciation to the dozens of drivers that participated. The Florida Trucking Association was the main organizer of this event, and did a great job of providing a plethora of food, information and swag for the professional drivers. Also participating in this particular event was Florida Rock & Tank, Wilson Truck Lines, Vertical Alliance, Travel Centers of America, Florida Highway Patrol, Walmart, Mercer, Tommel Transport and many more.

I believe that driver appreciation should be all year long and ongoing and not concentrated to 1 week per year. Please take a moment, and THANK A TRUCK DRIVER each and every day. Think about all of the “things” that you have and know that it was brought to you by a truck and a Professional Truck Driver.

THANK YOU PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FOR ALL THAT YOU DO TO DELIVER THE GOODS…