TIA 3PL Samaritan Award

In 2010, the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) announced TIA 3PL Samaritan Award which will recognize a member for exceptional service and assistance to others in need on an annual basis.  The purpose of the award is to recognize the good works in which the 3PL industry is engaged by highlighting a specific 3PL Samaritan effort each year.

The recognized service or assistance can take any form from volunteering logistical support to providing manpower, resources, or financial support to others in need, sponsoring sporting events, providing scholarships, hiring disabled people as examples.

After reviewing 21 applications, Brenny Transportation, St. Cloud, MN, was chosen to be this year’s recipient.

Just a few examples from Brenny’s application show why they were chosen:

In 2008 & 2009 Brenny Transportation was awarded The Business Gives Award by the Governor of Minnesota for contributing at least 2 percent of their gross dollars to charity.

So far in 2010, Brenny has donated in January to The American Heart Association, February to the Boys and Girls Club in St. Cloud, MN, March to the local Food Shelf, April to the Area Humane Society, in May The Place of Hope, a local homeless shelter & treatment facility.

Brenny’s schedules events every year such as in October: food shelf donation, November: coat drive, December: Trucks and Toys- Toys for Tots campaign.  They have been twice awarded with The Patriotic Employer Award for exceptional treatment of our military team members and their families. Brenny also donated the proceeds of our 2008 team appreciation party to the families of military, a National Guard benefit program.

Brenny Transportation will be recognized with a trophy presented during the Humanitarian Bowl by Chip Smith, Chairman of TIA; Tom Fiorini, Chairman of TIA Foundation; and Robert Voltmann, TIA’s President and CEO.  Brenny and the runners-up will be featured in a front page article in the December TIA Logistics Journal.  As an added bonus, TIA will launch a TIA Foundation Charity Fun Run at the 2011 TIA Convention, and Brenny will be able to designate their charity as the recipient of funds raised by the Fun Run. 

The other nominees are:

ARPCO Transport Services	New Age
Bill Hunt	Rick Jones
Bounce Logistics - Tim Hindes	RTS
Breck Logistics	Smart Lines
CH Robinson Worldwide	Sunset Transportation
Cornerstone Systems	Total Quality Logistics
Duane Hilghman	Trinity Transport
Gary Short	Universal Traffic Service
Logistics Planning Services	UTi
Mike Barry	Vans Delivery Service, Inc.

Following are summaries of the other applications, all of which show real community outreach and sharing. TIA congratulates all of the nominees on their exemplary service.

ARPCO Transport Services facilitates the transportation of domestic truckload donations between donor companies and the recipient community charities nationwide.  Some of the charities supported by ARPCO are Operation Care Dallas, Harvesting International Ministries, GRACE – Grapevine Relief & Community Exchange, Happy Hills Farms, and Bowie Mission.

Bill Hunt provided mentoring to a CTB candidate.

Bounce Logistics and Tim Hindes serves the less fortunate at the South Bend Center for the Homeless, Habitat for Humanity, South Bend Restore Committee, The Logan Center in South Bend, Deserving Children's Auction , LaPorte Hospital Scholarship, Vineyard Church, Warren Backpack Program, Knights of Columbus monthly soup kitchen, March of Dimes, mission team from Eastern Illinois University, Niles area Relay for Life and the Red Cross, Read to a Child Program, Hope Mission, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, St. Joseph Hospice Center, Reins of Life, Logan Center, Saint Mary's Convent and Little League coaching.

Breck Logistics and Tim Bray has impacted the Evansville, Indiana community being involved in a number of local charities and sports groups.  A few of these are the United Way of Southwestern Indiana, Gifts in Kind, Christian Life Centers, Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center of Evansville, Holy Rosary elementary school, and the Evansville Rotary Club.

CH Robinson Worldwide employees Paul “Mo” Moline and Jim Round for raising almost $3,000,000 for cancer research through their annual Mo & Jim’s Golf Classic.

Cornerstone Systems has supported local charities, Special Olympics and care packages for soldiers in Afghanistan.  Some of the charities that received help were Youth Villages research building capital campaign; Evangelical Christian School scholarship fund for minority student; The Forsaken Children Inc. who minister to at risk children in Ethiopia; Global Hope Network International; The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; and Alzheimer’s Association.

Duane Hilghman with Service Transport Inc. was nominated for his ongoing support to his community.  Duane has been a volunteer fireman and EMT for over 18 years; an active member of the American Cancer Society and supporter of their annual Relay for Life and Golf Tournament.  He established the Bonnie Hilghman Cancer Fund and has served on the advisory Board of Caroline County Hospice and is sponsoring the first ever Men Against Breast Cancer Workshop. 

Gary Short with Go-To Transport is active with Northwood University not only on the Board of Governors but also served in the NU Tri-City Golf Tournament that has raised funds for scholarships.  Gary supports sports in his local area and is a founding sponsor of the Michigan Area Braves men’s baseball team.  He even sponsored female high school tennis stars to be able to play for a spot in the qualifier of the Dow Corning Tennis Classic.

Logistics Planning Services (LPS) sponsors an annual LPS Charity Golf Event.  Proceeds will benefit the Minnesota Military Appreciation Fund (MMAF), which provides cash grants to soldiers deployed in combat zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan and to families of solders who are killed in combat.  LPS also participated in the MMAF annual Appreciation Walk/Run held at the end of August.

Mike Barry with Choptank Transport volunteers with Feeding American and helps with relief efforts such as organizing transportation when Hurricane Katrina hit.  Not only does he volunteer as a Character Coach at a local elementary school, but he is a mentor for the Caroline Mentoring program and has mentored two underprivileged children from Mexico whose parents are day laborers.

New Age Transportation, Distribution & Warehousing, Inc. was nominated for tireless dedication and vital contributions to provide assistance to those in need.  New Age’s Founder, Carolyn Gable established the Expect a Miracle Foundation that provides assistance to the children of working, single parents who struggle to provide extra-curricular opportunities to their children.  Over 4000 children have been helped to date.  Another charity that has received support has been Wings, a local organization that provides temporary assistance to victims of domestic violence.

Rick Jones was nominated for helping out fellow brokers.

Reliable Transportation Solutions donated its services to transport alpaca fiber to the Gulf of Mexico to help clean the oil spill in April.  RTS picked up the alpaca fiber from the farmers and paid to have it prepared and transported to the Gulf of Mexico.  RTS has donated to groups ranging from local soccer clubs to the fire department.

Smart Lines was nominated for starting the Community Giving Program in 2007 and donates funds to non-profits serving their community.

Sunset Transportation, Inc., volunteers with the Greater St. Louis Area Boy Scouts and Scouting for Food. In 2004, when the Army could not handle the logistics of the largest single-day food drive in the country, Sunset coordinated the movement of 2.4 million pounds of food from fire houses to the St. Louis Area Food Bank.

TQL supports the Yellow Ribbon Support Center (YRSC) that prepares care packages for solders abroad.  TAL has also raised funds for YRSC’s “Let Us Never Forget” scholarship fund and Support the Troops drive for the 101^st Airborne Division, 3^rd Bridgade.  In additional TQL employees have logged hundreds of hours of community service and donate to various local charities such as the Ronald McDonald House, American Heart Association and March of Dimes.

Trinity Transport team members work continually towards fundraising efforts and volunteer within their communities.  Trinity donates annual to a scholarship fund to Salisbury University Perdue School of Business.   The Trinity Foundation created in 2005 by Trinity Transport team members supports the Delaware Youth Leadership Academy, American Cancer Society, and American Heart Association.  They also participate annually in the ACS Relay for Life, Putt-for-Life golf tournament, and the AHA-sponsored Heart Walk and Heart Ball, Habitat for Humanity, and the Delaware Youth Leadership Academy. 

Universal Traffic Service contributes to global, national, and local charities; “First fruits” donation; the officers are private pilots who make flights for Wings of Mercy, Relay for Life rallies; Golf for Life, an annual golf tournament; and have even furnished an apartment for a refugee family.

UTi contribute time and money to support causes both in their communities and in disadvantaged communities around the world.  UTi has responded to natural disasters such as the aftermath of the Asian tsunami and supported a group of 100 orphans in Sri Lanka. 

Vans Delivery Service, Inc. participates in Elves and More West Michigan that provides bicycles to under privileged children.  The bikes are delivered and stored, assembled, and delivered to pre-determined neighborhoods prior to Christmas.

Eligibility and Process

Eligibility: any TIA Member or Associate or their employees.

Process: A TIA member can nominate themselves, another TIA member company, individuals, or organizations.  A committee of TIA members will then review the nominations and make a recommendation to the TIA Foundation Board of Directors.  The TIA Foundation Board, during its summer meeting, will make the final decision on the recipient.  The nomination should be in the form of a letter outlining the charitable activity providing sufficient detail for the committee to select one award recipient.

Award: The TIA 3PL Samaritan Award will be presented at the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl on December 18 in Boise, Idaho as part of the bowl’s overall recognition of the transportation industry’s humanitarian efforts, which also includes the Truckload Carrier Association’s presentation of their Highway Angel Award.