National Truck Driver Appreciation Week: September 8-14, 2019 Sunday, September 8th, marks the beginning of National Truck Driver Appreciation week, a time in which we celebrate those that keep our company – and our country – moving. Truck drivers haul 70 percent of the nation’s freight (about 10.5 billion tons) annually and are the core of what we do at Odyssey. Without their safe driving, Odyssey would not have the success we have today. In honor of #NTDAW, we will be featuring driver spotlights across our media channels as a small sampling of the fleet of incredible drivers on the road for us. Please accept my sincerest thanks to all our drivers and I encourage all employees to take a moment, not just this week but throughout the year, to do the same. Thank you, Bob Shellman Chief Executive Officer Odyssey Logistics & Technology Corporation /wp-content/uploads/2019/09/NTDAW_V4_2019.mp4 DRIVER SPOTLIGHTS: 9/13/2019: Robert Glover Robert is an owner/operator in the Illinois and Indiana area for ADS, a subsidiary of Odyssey Logistics. Prior to his 19-year driving career, Robert was a school teacher. As a driver, Robert has learned that driving is hard work and he wishes others would remember that truck drivers are “humans too. We are doing a job as best we can, and we try to get along with everyone.” While being on the road can be hard, Robert mentioned that working for Linden is always consistent, “they are a great group of people to work with.” When Robert isn’t on the road, he still isn’t home. Robert loves to travel and spent his last trip attending a friend’s wedding in Hong Kong. 9/12/2019: Denny Hawkins Denny is a company driver for American Fast Freight, a subsidiary of Odyssey Logistics and operates out of the Fairbanks, Alaska area. Since the age of 4, Denny has always wanted to be a truck driver and now with over 30 years of professional driving experience, he’s learned that being a professional driver is “a life, not a job. It’s not a 9 -5, its long hours and hard work, but it’s satisfying. We are out here keeping everyone safe.” His favorite part of driving for AFF is “meeting new people and making the customer happy. “It’s more like a family operation than a big business.” When on the road, Denny must always have a cup of coffee and chips while listening to classic rock. When he’s not driving, he enjoys working on cars, riding four wheelers’ and building computers. 9/11/2019: Michael London Michael is an owner/operator for Linden Bulk Transportation, a subsidiary of Odyssey Logistics. Michael says “I am trusted to do my job safely. Linden trusts me to drive for them and I plan on retiring from here.” Michael mostly operates out of Illinois, but his favorite state to drive through is New Mexico. With over 6.5 years of professional driving experience, Michael has learned there are two things he must always have on the road with him: water and whey protein. One of his favorite hobbies outside of working is singing karaoke. You may not enjoy sitting in Michael’s super cold truck, but you’ll enjoy the music. Michael listens to everything! 9/10/2019: Doug Wilson Doug is a company driver for ADS, a subsidiary of Odyssey Logistics and is also on the short haul board. Doug mostly operates in his favorite state to drive through, which is Kentucky. In Kentucky, “the roads are better and wider, with more available lanes, which makes you feel more comfortable driving.” While driving Doug enjoys listening to classic rock while snacking on apples and bananas. With over 35 years of professional driving experience, he has realized that driving “is harder than people think it is. Most people think you just drive and wait for your loads. They don’t understand traffic, etc. you need to deal with everyday. It’s way more involved than just driving.” Doug mentions that sometimes driving can be tough, but working for ADS is easy, “I like everyone that works at Area/ADS.” When Doug isn’t driving, he’s enjoying time with his family. Especially time with his wife, they both enjoy sitting outside with their coffee and watching the animals. Doug mentioned that they have some regular visitors like “Stumpy the squirrel [who will] come right up and jump in my lap. We have made friends with cardinals, blue jays, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, and a raccoon. They like when we feed them peanuts.” 9/9/2019: Jay Michael Forlino II Jay is a company driver for American Fast Freight, a subsidiary of Odyssey Logistics. The best part of driving for AFF is that “it’s a place where an individual does not have to… compartmentalize their personality. A person can be themselves.” Jay has been a professional driver for over 15 years, but what most people don’t know is that he was an E6 in the USAF. During his service, Jay was awarded a bronze star in Afghanistan. The award “came as a result of personally planning, operating and, being responsible for more than 430 convoy operations/missions.” Since beginning his career as a professional driver, Jay’s favorite part of the job is the “job satisfaction. There are roughly 327 million people living in the USA, about 3.5 million are actively engaged in CDL driving on a daily or weekly basis. That comes out to about 1.7 percent, so basically [drivers] provide for 99 percent.” Knowing this makes Jay feel like “the world’s fate is in my hands.” Apply Now: