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24 • February 15-28, 2021 Features THETRUCKER.COM T · We are expanding our Refrigerated Container Fleet with dedicated California loads from Cargill plants in Fort Morgan, CO and Schuyler, NE · 100% Owner Operator Fleet · Priority loads from Cargill plants Top solos grossing $300k · Year round freight · Fleet Owners welcome $5,000 sign on/ Performance Bonus Courtesy: GSNETX Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas is partnering with autonomous-driving tech company Waymo to deliver Girl Scout cookies in the Dallas area this year. Delectable deliveries: Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, Waymo team up for cookie transport THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES DALLAS and PHOENIX — It’s Girl Scout Cookie season, and that means it’s time for some serious decisions: Thin Mints? Samoas? Trefoils? Tagalongs? All of them? And don’t forget the most important choice: To share or not to share? During this year’s “cookie season,” thousands of Girl Scouts’ signature treats will be transported in south Dallas with the help of autonomous driving tech developer Waymo. The company is currently testing its Class 8 trucks in Texas. “The Girl Scouts’ Cookie Program has helped girls and young women recognize and pursue their dreams for more than a century, and we’re honored to now be part of that legacy,” said Becky Bucich, chief people officer at Waymo. “We’re delivering today for tomorrow’s leaders, and we’re dedicated to inspiring the next diverse and inclusive generation of engineers, coders, programmers and STEM professionals.” According to a prepared statement from the two organizations, the collaboration between Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX) and Waymo aligns with the long-standing mission of Girl Scouts to prepare girls to thrive in the world, a vision set by Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low in 1912. In recent years, that has translated to a commitment to encourage girls to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Girl Scouts of the USA, the national organization to which GSNETX is a council, has made building the STEM pipeline a priority across the country as our reliance on technology and science grows even more important. “We are excited about our partnership with Waymo,” said Jennifer Bartkowski, CEO for GSNETX. “Girls will experience a practical use for technology that is shaping our future, inspiring them to become the next generation of engineers, coders and STEM professionals. At the same, the North Texas community will see cutting-edge technology that can improve the world’s access to mobility. It is a win-win as Girl Scouts continues to change the workforce pipeline for North Texas.” As part of GSNETX’s virtual “Camp-In Camp Cookie,” a program that sets girls up for success during cookie season, Xinfeng Le, a product manager for Waymo’s trucking program, made a presentation for the council’s young members about her work at Waymo — while also giving girls an inside look at the variety of opportunities in a STEM career. GSNETX is also joining the Waymo-led public education initiative, Let’s Talk Autonomous Driving, which supports public dialogue around and understanding of autonomous driving technology. GSNETX is Let’s Talk Autonomous Driving’s first STEM-focused education partner. “We’re fortunate that Girl Scouts share our passion to cultivate a deeper understanding of the world around us, and we’re excited they have joined Let’s Talk Autonomous Driving as our first STEM-focused education partner,” Bucich said. 8 b Successes from page 23 b When asked what he’d say to those who is considering joining the trucking industry, Holmes said, “It’s a great career,” and spoke about the opportunities trucking can provide for an individual and his or her family. After learning more about the industry and what the day-to-day job of a truck driver looks like, he recommends that new drivers “jump in wholeheartedly” and “give it 110%.” Holmes also discussed the truck driver shortage and the need for more Black drivers — including Black female drivers — and mentioned the need for more recruitment at Black high schools and colleges. “A lot of young Black people don’t know about the (trucking) industry. There’s trucking jobs all over,” he said. To see additional stories celebrating Black leaders in the trucking industry in celebration of Black History month, visit TheTrucker.com. 8
THETRUCKER.COM b Values from page 23 b Transland in Missouri. We’re in the ‘best practice’ group with them, called the TPP — the Transportation Profitability Program,” Wolfrum said. “You present a best idea at each one of our meetings. This is actually one of their ideas, to have a charity truck where every mile the truck drives, we donate. In this case, it’s three cents per mile to the cause,” he said. “They had a couple trucks that they’ve done that with in the past. We really thought it was a great idea.” Keller had already developed a culture of philanthropy, having launched a veterans’ foundation that has garnered the support of the local community to the tune of $300,000 over six years. Given that track record, a charity truck felt like a good fit — provided they could come up with the right cause. Wanting the widest buyin possible, company leadership turned to the workforce for input. “We surveyed our employees, first thing,” Wolfrum said. “We put the idea out there and said, ‘We’re going to do this charity truck idea. We’ve not preselected any charity or foundation. Let us know what affects you.’ We got a ton of results in, and I’ll say an overwhelming majority mentioned autism affecting their lives in one way or another. “So, it was pretty clear to us that that’s what we wanted to do,” he explained. “At that point, we went to work doing some research and trying to understand the best way to go about it, from the design and what we wanted to support. That’s kind of how that all started.” The truck hit the road in September 2020 and since then has racked up 40,000 miles. Wolfrum said the decision was made to let the truck preach awareness rather than promote a specific organization, with the money going to projects that have a local impact. “We had someone local in the community who reached out to me who has a child with autism,” he said. “We have what’s called a splash pad, a local park with all the water toys and all that. There’s no fence around this splash pad, and children with autism tend to wander and they’re kind of hard to contain sometimes. “So, our first project we’re taking on is we’re going to build a fence around this splash pad, probably in the spring, and we’re going to fund that partially from the funds of this truck,” he continued. “The cost of that is probably going to be a little bit more than what we’ve contributed this first year with the truck alone, so we’re going to lead the fundraising efforts and get some other companies in the community involved to finalize that project.” Response to the truck has been so good, company leadership followed it up with a specially wrapped trailer, this time bringing awareness to domestic violence and human trafficking. The idea was brought to Keller’s management by the local chapter of anti-domestic violence nonprofit Zonta International. Lacey Spangler, a member of the local organization praised the company for getting on board with the effort, adding that the eye-catching graphics, which include a hotline number to report incidents of trafficking or for victims of abuse to get help, can save lives. Features February 15-28, 2021 • 25 Courtesy: Thomas E. Keller Trucking Response to Keller’s “charity truck” was so good that the company leadership followed it up with a specially wrapped trailer, this time bringing awareness to domestic violence and human trafficking. “I think that just shows great initiative on their part, to help with an issue that is ongoing and that does involve the trucking industry,” Spangler said. “There’s so much involved with trafficking that can occur in trucks, with trucking as a front. I think it says a lot [about Keller] to be involved in the community and to help the community and then, to stand up and say we realize this is an issue and we’re going to put ourselves out there to help bring some light to it. “We want people to know there is help out there,” she said. “Putting that information on a truck that drives across the state and across the country really gets that message out there.” The company plans to keep the charity truck in circulation at least until the rig is traded out, usually after five years of service. Regardless, Wolfrum said, the spirit of community service and philanthropy will always be part of how the company does business. “We support our employees who are in the community, and it comes full circle,” he said. “We’ve got a ton of social media interaction on this — and while that wasn’t intent per se, it shows we’ve got people looking out for the truck. They see the truck, they go on our Facebook page and post. We just really get great acceptance to it. “We’ve always been committed to our employees first and then our community. The support that we’ve seen from this has really been overwhelming,” he concluded. 8 Aim your camera at the code to find jobs. Find the best truck-driving as well news, videos and job resources ... all in one place!
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