Focus on Manatee | Port Manatee celebrating essential workers behind the wheel
Sometimes overlooked among the ranks of brave essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic are the nation’s 3.5 million professional truck drivers dedicated to safely delivering goods crucial to daily living and economic recovery.
At Port Manatee, these essential workers behind the wheel are celebrated each and every day. And, this Friday, Sept. 18, they are to be especially honored on Port Manatee’s fifth annual Trucker Appreciation Day.
This year’s event, like so much in today’s world, will look a bit different. Instead of being greeted by grills cooking hot dogs and hamburgers in a picnic-style atmosphere, drivers approaching the port’s main gate complex on Friday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. are to be welcomed by masked volunteers employing social distancing measures.
The drivers, while remaining in their trucks, are to be handed prepackaged lunches from Popi’s Place along with event tote bags brimming with goodies, including T-shirts created for the day, emblazoned with the words “I am an essential worker” above Port Manatee’s 50-year-anniversary insignia and the logos of sponsors.
Protective masks bearing the event motif and specially branded containers filled with hand sanitizer are among the tote bag items of particular value in these pandemic times. Also stuffed in bags are to be such everyday items as hats, earplugs, pens, notepads and calendars.
In addition, the bags are to contain valuable information, from Truckers Against Trafficking wallet cards and decals to facts about applying for CARES Act assistance, furnished by the “Mask Up Manatee!” coalition.
Each and every day for the past several months, Port Manatee has helped protect truck drivers and their loved ones with a host of new anti-spread safety measures throughout the port, meeting or exceeding guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They include a socially distant queuing configuration at the port’s access control center, where Plexiglas barriers have been installed.
Friday’s Port Manatee function coincides with the 2020 National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, designated as Sept. 13-20 by American Trucking Associations.
The chairman of American Trucking Associations, Randy Guillot, president of New Orleans-based Triple G Express, puts it this way: “National Truck Driver Appreciation Week has a new meaning this year. Truck drivers have shown unparalleled bravery, perseverance and dedication to our country, and not only has our industry remained grateful for their hard work, but the American people have taken notice and are thanking these heroes.”
The hundreds of drivers conducting business on a typical day at Port Manatee haul fuel for tanks of Southwest Florida motorists, fresh produce for consumers throughout the Southeast and even imported wood pulp that is used in the manufacture of toilet paper.
Outreach to professional drivers serving Port Manatee extends to Anchor House’s Truckers Center, opened in 2017 to add these hardworking men and women to the thousands of seafarers benefiting from the port-based ministry over the past three decades.
Joining Port Manatee in sponsoring Port Manatee’s fifth annual Trucker Appreciation Day are cement industry leader Ash Grove; stevedoring firms Carver Maritime Manatee, Federal Marine Terminals, Kinder Morgan Port Manatee, Logistec Gulf Coast and Logistec USA; Manatee Truck & Trailer Wash; fuels importer TransMontaigne Partners LP; and Port Manatee-based ocean carrier World Direct Shipping.
Participants through tote bag item donations include supply chain logistics firm ArcBest, Florida Department of Transportation’s District 1, Indian River Transport, Wildwood, Florida-based 75 Chrome Shop, South Florida Mobile Mechanics LLC, TA and Petro Stopping Centers, and Venezia Bulk Transport.
The hundreds of truckers coming through Port Manatee gates on a daily basis are among more than 27,000 people whose jobs are directly and indirectly supported by Port Manatee, which generates more than $3.9 billion in annual economic impacts for the region.
Carlos Buqueras is executive director of Port Manatee.