DRIVER PAY + TRACKING CONTACT +1 (256) 255-5500 ABOUT SERVICES JOIN RESOURCES SHOP Driver Resources CONTACT US TRACKING + PAY CONTACT US FOR ELD/SAFETY DOCUMENTS Driver Relations Recruiting Safety Loss Prevention / Claims Tags / Permits Orientation Equipment R.E. GARRISON BLOG Word on the Street Food Bank Egg Delivery By Magan Bartlett • 16 Jul, 2020 On Monday, July 10 at 2:00 p.m., R.E. Garrison Trucking, Inc. delivered 54,000 eggs, donated by Cal-Maine Foods, to the Food Bank of North Alabama. This initiative was implemented to help Alabama families and people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries and the Alabama Trucking Association’s members, all 280,000 eggs will be delivered throughout the state. “R.E. Garrison Trucking is proud to be a part of this initiative – we help feed America every day,” said Chief Operating Officer Wayne Burden. “Today we saw the product being delivered and will be distributed to fellow Alabamians struggling through this pandemic. It’s always great to get out and visit the communities we are impacting.” Keith Wise, Director of Sales & Alabama Trucking Association board member thanked the Alabama Trucking Association for organizing the delivery. “Throughout this pandemic, Americans have realized the vital role the trucking industry plays in keeping our economy moving and seeing it directly help those in our sate reinforces why we do what we do.” Special thanks to Pattie Lara, local driver for R.E. Garrison Trucking since 2012, for going above and beyond to ensure everything was ready for the delivery. R.E. Garrison Trucking, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is known as one of America’s most trusted refrigerated carriers. Over sixty years later, servicing 48 states with a fleet of 600+ trucks, the principals of honesty, hard work and fair play ring true today. A Trucker's View By Kevin Lee-Hesse • 14 Sep, 2017 Even though I travel some of the same roads over and over again, each time I see them differently. The road I followed today I’ve been over several times, 3 times in just the past few days. Yet as I came though the lava fields of southern Utah I saw a landscape new to me. As the sun settled behind the ancient volcanoes they came to life. The sky was dimming and only the glow from behind them lit the sky. It is easy to imagine that molten rock flowing down the back side of these mountains is what's causing them to glow in the twilight. Even the sliver of moon, hanging just above the crest, is orange from the heat of the erupting earth. As I left the violent, ancient land the sky turned black and the world around me condensed to a small sphere around my headlights. The road began to twist and turn, rising and falling without warning. I’m passing through the Virgin River gorge. The headlights flash on heaved and folded rock. I can’t see more than a few feet off the road but I can feel the mountains looming over me, watching me pass through the wound caused by the flow of the river over eons of time. Between the undulating road and the wild visions of the distorted mountains I feel like I’m in a funhouse at an amusement park. Not sure if I’m going up or down, gravity seems to be of no help in figuring it out. The road now opens up to the desert. I stop atop a rise to pause and look at the night sky. There are no man made lights to be seen. The stars are so bright and thick they blur together. It’s easy to feel what the first of our kind must have felt looking up to the sparkling sky. There is no evidence of mankind out here at night. Not until I notice a few of the stars blinking. They are all in a line like they were strung on a necklace across the sky. The planes lined up on final for the Las Vegas airport. I get back on the road and follow them across the desert. In the distance the sky begins to brighten. A man made dawn, rising from the south behind another wave of mountains. As I crest the last rise I am looking down on a lake of electric lights. The stars fade away, giving up this part of the sky to the artificial galaxy below. It’s a long steep grade down to the shores of this lake. I half expect to make waves in the lights as the truck plunges into them. It’s amazing how sharp the line between the modern world of man-made spectacle and the power and beauty of the unspoiled mother is out here. Just a few minutes drive and I’ve traveled hundreds of thousands of years. Life and You; A Lesson to Learn By Shawn Nelson • 14 Sep, 2017 Most of us are always on our guard against contagious diseases of the body, but we are exasperatingly careless when it comes to the even more dangerous, collective diseases of the mind. Sometimes the relationship you need to rescue the most, is the one you have with yourself. Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have. What holds most people back isn’t the quality of their ideas, but rather their lack of faith in themselves. You have to live your life as if you are already where you want to be. It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves, every minute, every hour, of every day. Unconsciously, we tell a story of who we are. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves up, or tear ourselves down, with that story every day. Life is a process of becoming. It is a combination of all of the “states” we’ve been in. A state of elation, a state of joy, a state of denial, a state of depression, etc. Where people fail, is becoming too comfortable in the good states that they quit trying to reach out for new goals and they, in essence, die on the vine because of inactivity. It’s surprising how many people go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings towards other people are largely determined by their feelings toward themselves. If you’re not comfortable with yourself, you can’t be comfortable with others. You are as amazing as you let yourself be. Whatever you believe about yourself on the inside is what you will manifest on the outside. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”. Never sacrifice who you could be in the future for who you think you are right now. Identity isn’t found, it’s made. It is never too late to be what you might have been. Now get up and get started. Life, unlike your TV, has no remote. Get up and change it yourself. Happiness By Shawn Nelson • 31 Aug, 2017 As we grow older, and hence wiser, we slowly realize that wearing a $300 or a $30.00 watch - - they both tell the same time. Whether we carry a $300 or a $30.00 wallet/handbag - - the amount of money inside is the same. Whether we drink a bottle of $300 or $15 wine - - the hangover is the same. Whether the house we live in is 300 or 3000 sq. ft. - - loneliness is the same. Whether you drive an $8,000 Honda or an $80,000 Benz --they both serve the same purpose. You will realize, your true inner happiness does not come from the MATERIAL things of this world. Therefore, I hope you realize, when you have soul mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, who you chat with, laugh with, talk with, have sung songs with, talk about north-south-east-west or heaven and earth - - That is true happiness!! SIX UNDENIABLE FACTS OF LIFE Don't educate yourself to be rich. Educate yourself to be happy. So when you grow up, you will know the value of things not the price. Best awarded words: "Eat your food as your medicines. Otherwise you have to eat medicines as your food." The One who loves you will never leave you because even if there are 100 reasons to give up he or she will find one reason to hold on. There is a big difference between a human being and being human. Only a few really understand it. You are loved when you are born. You will be loved when you die. In between, you have to manage! If you just want to Walk Fast, Walk Alone! But if you want to Walk Far, Walk Together! SIX BEST DOCTORS IN THE WORLD Faith Sunlight Self Confidence Friends Exercise Rest Maintain them in all stages of Life and enjoy a healthy life. The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for. If you will read and follow the Six Undeniable Facts Of Life, you will be comfortable in life. Happiness is not having what you want, it's being content with what you have. Love you all. Good Afternoon By Bob Cohen • 31 Mar, 2017 I just wanted to send a shout out to you all today and share some old-fashioned feelings. My Father drove for R.E. Garrison for many years up until brain cancer took him away from us in 2008. He loved this company and the freedom it gave him to keep being a “trucker”. Dad was all about the small things in life, a big believer in family and he had the heart of a big ole teddy bear. He had the look too! He drove for several companies along his career, or road if you will, and Garrison felt like home. In fact, it felt like home so much to him, that it became one in the same to me. When I saw, or see, a big red truck sporting the Garrison lettering or logo, my heart races a little, because I know Dad is there. Whether it be coming home for a day to visit while on a run, or taking a detour between loads, seeing a Garrison truck nearby made me look really close for Dad. You guys may think it funny, but I still look for his grin inside a truck, or that hat, or his suspenders walking alongside a trailer at a truck stop. I am pretty sure I forever will. You guys and gals that drive for a living for R.E. Garrison, please remember that there are a lot of us family members out here, praying for your every load, wishing you home in all the right ways. We always look to see if we can spot you in a rig of a particular color, and those very colors mean so much to us. We know under those cabs, there lies our hearts, our family, our people, and in many cases, our very lives. We cheer you all on, we send you out with love and prayers, and we will always wave and even shed a tear as you drive by us. Don’t think we are stalkers, just family members remembering, missing and rooting for those still here. A little while back, we were able to get a few hats from the company as a gift from the President and even a few t-shirts. My brothers and I wear them proudly from time to time. And as much as I want to keep something like that in pristine condition, I know its rightful place is worn until it fades. We so much want to thank those involved for the gift and the memory, and may God bless and keep you every one on your road. There's Nothing Like It By Shawn Nelson • 08 Jun, 2016 There's nothing like the feeling of starting a new day. We all have different routines to get going, but the excitement is there, regardless of your situation, job, marital status, or your social-economic background. Mine has variations, as do most, but it typically goes like this: As I am ready to start the work day, I say a short little prayer, and pray for my family, my job, safety for the day, my truck (as crazy as that sounds) and all the other drivers out on the road away from their families. I then do a series of checks on the interior of my truck, followed by a quick check of the outside, including but not limited to truck damage, safety items, and preventive maintenance issues I may see while walking around the truck and trailer. As I return to the truck, I start the truck, and listen to that individual sound that every truck has. It lets you know everything is okay. I, once again, do a visual check of the interior gauges, and pull out the required regulatory paperwork, I'm required to keep, and thoroughly fill in all the required areas. Now, in any job or hobby you get involved in there is that one thing that grabs your attention, and or holds your attention enough, to keep you coming back for more. Here's the part that, not only gets my attention, but also holds my attention, everyday: When I do one last check of the gauges, and I check the mirrors, to observe my surroundings, I grasp the wheel, press down of the clutch, and slowly put the truck in gear. Here's that moment. I release the brakes, check the mirrors one last time, and start to let up on the clutch pedal. As the engine tone changes, you listen to the sounds of your work place come to life with the sounds of a brand new day. Ass the hundreds of thousands of moving parts, all start to move in unison creating a rocking motion only felt in a truck, you have just began a new day. A day that will be un-like any before or un-like any you will ever face again. When you pull out of the truck stop and down the service road towards the on-ramp, you are setting the wheels in motion to move through this day with all the excitement of a teenager setting out on his or her first date. Then, the moment of truth, as you turn on the on-ramp and roll into the throttle. You wake the engine up, and it comes to life with over 500 horsepower rumbling right below your feet. With this new beginning you have so many options. You soon learn how big the worlds is. How little and possible insignificant your part may be, but without that little piece of the puzzle, the puzzle could never be whole. You may not control the piece of freight, the price of fuel. or equipment. You may not be able to control traffic, and how the motoring public operate their own vehicle, but you can always serve as a good example to those you come in contact with. There are so many things in which we have no control, but what you can control is how you react to those situations you're confronted with on a daily basis. As I started this dissertation, there is nothing like starting a new day. It is my hope and prayer to you all: that you not let others rob you of your joy. We can't control the bad things that happen or come our way, but we can certainly control how we react to them. I hope each of you find joy in the simplest things you do. I hope this new, year is filled with 365 days of, if not true happiness, true contentment of your life and your surroundings. It's not about what you have or where you are in life, but how you accept it or have the courage to change it. Now start that truck, or that proverbial truck and let's get started on a brand new day, because there's nothing like it. Smile today. You may never know who needs one. DRIVER PAY TRACKING ABOUT SERVICES JOIN CONTACT RESOURCES SHOP R.E. GARRISON TRUCKING 1103 CO. RD. 1194 VINEMONT, AL 35179 +1 (256) 255-5500 © 2021 R.E. GARRISON TRUCKING CO., INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.