One of dozens of truck drivers who received gift packages at the Dunmore weigh station. (CHAT News photo).

By Alex McCuaig

Delivering the goods

Gift packs given out to truckers as part of national appreciation week

Sep 15, 2020 | 4:46 PM

DUNMORE, AB – The nation’s truck drivers stepped up and delivered during the darkest days of the pandemic when fears ran rampant that the supply of food and essential items could be limited.

Tuesday at the Dunmore weigh scales saw a return of that support as part of the province’s recognition of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week with every driver receiving a package containing a snack, water, bottle of hand sanitizer and mask.

“Our drivers are really the unsung heroes,” said Dale Howard, business development officer with the Alberta Motor Transport Association.

Howard says the country’s truck drivers demonstrated they were one of the strongest links in the supply chain as the pandemic and accompanying lockdown tested the logistical strength of the nation’s economy.

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“The truck drivers travel across Canada. They are in and out of every community coast to coast and, luckily, there haven’t been a lot of cases where drivers have been infected with the COVID,” said Howard, who also highlighted that they were driving across international borders and areas with outbreaks. “That’s just part and parcel in how they do their job every day.”

Just how far each driver pulling into the weigh station had come from could be seen from the diversity of loads and the location printed on the side of each truck. In just an hour almost every province between Nova Scotia and B.C. was represented.

Brad Beerling, logistics manager with Meridian Manufacturing, showed his appreciation by helping hand the bags out. And while his company is supportive of the industry because of the need to move its agricultural equipment to farmers, it’s something he’s also seen from ordinary citizens.

“The general public has been great the last while. The Thank-A-Trucker Program, different initiatives that we had, kids writing letters – everything. Just a real appreciation for truck drivers,” said Beerling.

Truck Driver Appreciation Week has been celebrated in North America since 1998.