Carrier Profiles

Fun, food and bikes: Tri-State's summer party

"Well, we had good weather, but it was hot!" says Tri-State Expedited Services recruiter Phil Weiner of his company's recent Driver Appreciation event, held on Saturday, July 9th and Sunday, July 10th. 

The get together, open to all of Tri-State's contractors, employees and their family members, was held at the company's Drivers Lounge area which is situated just a short drive from the company's headquarters near Perrysburg, Ohio.

"This was the second year for the event and it ran from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on both days.

There was lots of food, music and giveaways, including the big prizes - three motorcycles," Phil says, "and we had nothing but positive comments from the attendees.  I would say that each day drew several hundred attendees and we're very grateful for the response." 

"This year, the food was catered and that allowed our Tri-State management guest chefs who worked last year to take a break for this party.  We had chicken, barbeque and the typical good summertime fare. We also had live entertainment with a local band that played a mixture of country and rock n' roll."
 
Phil also says that the event had a dunk tank and various members of management took their turns in getting splashed, including Chief Operating Officer Mark Crawford.

And, what would a party be without games of chance?  The event featured a big wheel and roulette with the payoffs in play money redeemable for prizes.

Tri-State fleet owner Paul Lowder made it in from South Carolina for his second Driver Appreciation party and stayed for both days.  He says, "My wife and I have had a wonderful time, it's a great event!"

"I've been with Tri-State Expedited since 1995, and it's great the way that the company has gone out of it's way to throw this party for the contractors and employees."

Bobby Snyder of Fyda Freightliner of Columbus brought two show trucks with him for the crowd to look over - a Freightliner M2-106 with a AA 96" sleeper and a 2003 Freightliner Classic XL tractor.

"I had a great time," he tells us, "and I got to meet a lot of owners and drivers.  I was also able to spend some time with the people in Tri-State who I deal with on a weekly basis.

I've had a great relationship with many of them for six and a half years and they're always professional and courteous.  I think that shows in their driver retention."

He adds, "Unfortunately, I was only able to attend on Saturday but,  I did see a number of Tri-State folks having a good time

Phil Weiner says that the organizers of the event deserve a round of applause for their hard work in putting it all together:
Carol McGowan of Human Resources, Lyn Drake of Contractor Relations, Larry Greenlee - Fleet Manager and Dave Paetz -  Director of Operations.

Giveaways were the order of the day on both days with the top prizes being awarded on Sunday.
 
The contestants in that drawing were  among the top Tri-State contractors based on criteria such as safety, load acceptance, on-time delivery and service.  The contestants also had to have been with the company for over a year. 

So, what was the top prize?  A Honda Goldwing motorcycle!  Congratulations to Michael Lamon of North Carolina who was the winner of this pricey first prize.

Subsequent drawings awarded a Honda Silverwing to Jimmy Jenkins of Tennessee with a Honda Scooter going to Richard Hennrick of Michigan.

Phil Weiner says that this Driver Appreciation event was even better than the first year and plans are under way for next year's party with big prizes to be won.