I love Christmas.
I love everything about it.
I love family, my family time.
And, most of all, you know I love what this season means, which is it was the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
And that's really what this season means.
Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Transportation Nation.
I'm your host, Caitlin Fulks, along with my co-host, Lee Gentry.
Hello, Caitlin.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
Hi, Lee.
So we have a very exciting episode today.
Today is an episode about Christmas and us focusing on the reason for this season.
We're going to be talking about giving, and how important that is during this time of year, and also our truck drivers and honoring them and how, without them, there really wouldn't be.
That's right.
And we also have some very special guests joining us today.
We have David Pittman, who's the president of the Bennett Family of Companies.
And we have Marcy Taylor, who is the CEO and founder of the Bennett Family of Companies.
So this is a very exciting episode today.
It really is, Caitlin.
You know, this time of the year, it's very special.
You know, it's a great time for people to see family and all that.
But we also know that it could be a sad time, a tough time for people.
So during this episode, we want to make sure we encourage people and share the great gospel and what's going on with, you know, the birth of Jesus Christ.
So it can be a sad time, but today we want to make sure we share some items that will encourage those who may be having a rough time during this time of the year.
Yeah.
So before we get to our guest Caitlin this morning, I want to share some really neat statistics that I thought I'd share about what the drivers do this time of the year.
I mean, I think people take it for granted that you know they see the trucks on the road and they get annoyed sometimes with the trucks.
But if it wasn't for the trucks, we wouldn't have Christmas.
So let me share some cool statistics with you this morning.
So 72% of all holiday goods move by truck.
Wow.
Three billion packages flow through the U.S. supply chain.
Thirty to forty percent of annual retail sales depend on on-time deliveries.
Tens of thousands of drivers are on the road Christmas week and they put on millions of miles logged in to keep America moving.
And I know Dave is going to talk a little bit about Wreaths Across America during this episode, but I wanted to share this about Wreaths Across America.
Wreaths Across America this year have 5,500 locations.
Trucks will deliver 3,100,000 wreaths on 800 loads.
Wow.
Thank God for our truck drivers.
We couldn't put those wreaths at those grave sites if it wasn't for our truck drivers.
And many drivers will miss Christmas at home, so others won't miss that very special morning.
So drivers, thank you for all you do.
We couldn't do it without you.
Yeah, I know.
You think about this Christmas season.
Like you said, the kids.
They think Santa Claus brings all the presents.
But the real Santa is the truck drivers.
Good point.
And I know that there was times in my own childhood that some of my presents didn't arrive on time.
And you're like, oh, Santa didn't make it.
But it's just the industry, too.
It's shipping.
It's everything.
So our industry that we're in is so crucial to Christmas.
And so, like you said Lee, we have to be reminded of how thankful we are of our truck drivers this time of year.
And they're busy.
They don't get to be with their families.
But Bennett does a lot of things to appreciate and recognize them during all the busy season, especially right now.
Yes, yes, they are very special.
And we can, like I said, we couldn't do it without them.
So good point.
Well, Kaylin, let's get started.
We're excited today.
We have, as you mentioned, Marcy Taylor and David Pittman.
So welcome to Transportation Nation.
Thank you, Lee.
It's an honor to be here and a pleasure.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
So, Grandma, I guess we'll start with you.
So, Grandma, what does Christmas mean to you?
I know this is a very special season for you personally.
So what does it mean to you?
You know, Caitlin, I love Christmas.
I love everything about it.
I love the music.
I love the lights.
I love everything family, my family time and, most of all, you know, I love what this season means, which is it was the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and that's really what this season means, and it's also the season of giving.
You know, I wait For the Christmas spirit.
I don't know if anybody else has that issue or not.
But every year at Christmas, I'm loving everything about it.
But I'm waiting to get that Christmas spirit, to get that feeling that you get this time of year.
Whenever you think about the hope of Jesus Christ coming, what that means and how that affects us.
And sometimes it's a song.
Sometimes it's David's poems over here that will help me find that Christmas spirit.
And it's also family.
Being a third generation family that 51 years in this business, There's never much time for family.
And so for about 45 years now we have taken Christmas, between Christmas and New Year's and had family time.
We've taken our family and gone somewhere, tried to not talk about work, although that's pretty impossible when everybody works here.
Yeah.
That's why it's called a family business, right?
I guess it is, yeah.
But we've just tried to have that time together to just enjoy Christmas and what it means and been together.
And, of course, you spent most of those years with us.
I know those are great childhood memories.
And, like you said, for me personally, when I think of Christmas, I always look forward to our time together.
It is a very special memory that we carve out that time and, you know, we have fun.
We reflect on the season and are just giving thanks to one another and, and yeah, just just having a good time together.
So Marcia, how is it to balance, during this holiday season, family which is important, you just said that and business?
Well, that's why we have that family time together Lee, because during this time of the year we're busy.
We're trying to see what's going to happen during the end of the year.
It's kind of crazy because over the many years business, if we're having a good year, Business will go through till the end of the year and into the next.
But some years, whenever business is slow, it'll stop about the middle of December.
And then we start worrying about how are we going to get our drivers home?
And it won't pick back up till the middle of January.
And so it's...
You never know.
Every year is a little different.
But it's always important to us that we're able to get those drivers home that want to be home for Christmas.
Yeah, that's important.
And again, like we've always talked, some drivers just can't get home because a lot of our drivers are dedicated to making sure that we're taking care of our customers.
So some can't get home.
But I know Dave is going to talk about that a little bit later, about the operational side of how we work with our drivers and how we balance that getting a home.
Yeah, it's a very special time of year.
You just celebrated Thanksgiving, giving thanks and did all that.
And all of a sudden, we go into Christmas.
But we don't want to miss the opportunity.
And you've said that, to make sure we understand that it's about the birth of Jesus Christ.
That's exactly right, Lee.
And one of my favorite passages that I always go back and look at is Isaiah 9 6, which says a child will be born and a son will be given, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor.
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.
And that's really all about the hope that Jesus is coming and what he will bring to our lives.
Darrell Bock I agree.
I agree.
That's a very rich scripture that you shared.
And yeah, again, it's a very special time of the year.
So David, what does Christmas mean to you?
Well, first of all, let me thank you all for letting me be part of this podcast.
Well, we're excited you're here.
It's an honor for me to sit here with you, Lee and Caitlin and Ms.
Taylor.
What an honor to be part of this podcast.
Thank you for including me.
I could say ditto, but that's not why you asked me to be here.
Ms.
Tater, we'll give you a little bell that'll go off and you'll get that Christmas spirit.
I know it's coming to you.
It is.
I know when you, I can see it in your face when it hits you.
It might just hit you during this podcast.
It might.
You know, you just tell me that.
But, Lee, that's a big question.
What does Christmas mean to me?
It's very simple to roll it off the tongue.
It's faith, it's family, and it's giving.
I was fortunate to be raised in a faith-based family.
A little trivia about David Pittman is when I was born in July in a local church my mom and dad were very much members of and I was baby Jesus then.
Oh, my goodness.
In a manger.
See, I can see that.
Oh, my goodness.
So you did your part well.
I did my part well.
Not in any way can I match who Alice was going to be, but...
Now you're the wise man.
I was fortunate to be raised in a faith-based family.
It's always been a fabric.
Of course, I carry that into my kids' lives now and make sure that they know how important that is.
Many years ago, I was trying to remember who gave me this idea.
The idea came from someone that passed on to me that says David, you need to go out in New York with your son, find two sticks, tie them together, make a cross and put that under your Christmas tree.
I did that many years ago, and to this year, that cross still goes under the tree.
So Christmas morning that's one of the first things we see and we know why we're there around that tree.
And obviously Christmas does starts with Christ, right?
So that's just embedded in the Christmas.
So it's hard to miss that point, right?
Um, so obviously faith is important to me.
And, and fortunately we work in a company that practices that it's demonstrated.
It's not just a placard on a wall.
That's it's practice family.
Obviously, we all enjoy our time with our families and and uh aptly named as the Bennett family of companies.
That just resonates so well with who Bennett is.
And if everyone can be a part of the Bennett family of companies, just let us know.
The door is open.
But it's a special place to be.
So family is not just my bloodline family that I spend time with during Christmas and I have the pleasure to still spend time with my adult kids, but it's family here at work.
There's so many people that are important to me, three of you in this room and many outside.
And lastly, giving is, you know, we go through seasons of life.
I mean, you're talking about Santa Claus being late, and I'll talk to your mom about that.
But we go through seasons of life where you're the receiver of gifts.
Then you're parents, you're raising kids.
You want to make sure they have the right gifts.
And then as you get to our age, you're like the gift to spending time with your family.
So the gift kind of changes in seasons of your life.
And I'm in the season of life where spending time with the family is the gift I enjoy.
And the joy of giving means more to me now than it did younger, right?
So you really...
It's not happiness in giving, it's joy in giving.
And Bennett is a very giving organization.
We'll talk more about that as it goes.
So again, it's faith, family, and giving.
That's the kind of reason we're sitting here today.
They always say it's more blessed to give than to receive.
It is.
And that's true.
I know it is for me and everybody sitting here today.
We enjoy giving.
We love to see that smile on that person's face when they are not expecting it and they receive that.
Special time of the year.
And it doesn't have to be much.
No.
It can even be just a hug.
Well, hey, Bennett, you get dinner and a hug.
You get a lot of gifts.
Whether you like it or not.
Yeah, we talked about that on the last episode.
To earn your meal, you've got to get a hug.
That's true.
Usually it's several hugs.
That's true.
That's right.
That's right.
David, I love that tradition of the cross.
I didn't know that.
You did that with James and Amanda.
I might have to copy that.
That's a great tradition.
It's wonderful.
First thing we see on Christmas, always place it on top of the gift so we know that it's That's the priority.
That's the priority.
Yeah.
Is it a cross each year or is it one you carry over?
It's the same cross.
Oh, well, that's great.
That is great.
It's been around for years.
Yeah.
Wow.
That's good.
Pass it on to one of the kids.
I don't know which one will get it, but maybe they'll just throw it their own.
Yeah, traditions are so important this time of the year.
I mean, I love that.
That's one of the things that I like to do with us.
You know, having our family time is all those different little traditions that you start so that hopefully your grandchildren will carry those legacies on forward.
Are you listening?
Yeah.
There was a look at me when she said that, by the way.
What David was talking about, about giving, to me that's just the spirit of Christmas, is giving.
And one of the things about Bennett, is this is such a giving company.
People here at Bennett have the biggest hearts.
And our drivers, they give all year long, but especially around Christmas.
Some of the things that we've done for years is...
Deborah Perdue that works in our settlement department for many years.
She has been working with our drivers and they collect money for toys for tots.
We have...
Wendy just has this big giving heart and she does all these different programs for the schools and you'll go by her office and it's full of toys.
She and her husband.
We all give her money and she goes out.
They go out and shop and just help provide children with a lot of toys for Christmas and, You know, one of the things that we really believe in and is paying it forward, especially Christmas time.
So we try to give each one of our departments money and let them determine who they want to give it to.
And we try to give our folks out in the field money from our foundation and they can decide who they want to give it to.
So i think it's really important to be able to pay it forward in your giving and grandma, that giving heart starts with you.
You started that at the very foundation of bennett bennett and we talked about this on one of our episodes that bennett is a giving company all year long.
You know this christmas season the reason for this season we really focus on giving back to the community, especially the kids in need, And it's such a wonderful program.
But that starts with you.
You have such a giving heart, such a caring spirit.
And it's because of you, you get all the employees excited and you're the Christmas spirit.
I mean you bring that to the company and you help us get excited and get our hearts prepared on giving back.
So thank you for doing that.
It's important.
It's a tradition, and God has blessed us.
I've spent going on 52 Christmases at this company, and God has just blessed us.
There was years I wasn't sure we were going to make it through Christmas, and He's always seen us through, and so we have to give back.
Because God has blessed you.
Because he has blessed us.
That's right.
That's very important.
And hasn't the team Caitlin?
And when we do the gathering of the toys and all that especially, we talk about the kids and the team here that we help get toys and all that because kids can't, the families can't afford it right.
But don't we sometimes take those?
We have a team here that takes it to that home and presents it to that family.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
We've certainly done that in the past and had some interesting experiences doing that as well.
But I think now Wendy and Bart pretty much take it to the schools and they distribute it.
That's very cool.
Very cool.
Yeah.
So Marcy, do you have any favorite stories over the years that you'd like to share during this time of the year?
I mean, that's... Well...
I knew you were going to ask me that.
And I have been thinking and thinking about it.
And and I mean, there's so many stories over the year.
How do you pick one?
But I think one that that I was thinking about was just kind of laughing over.
We used to in the very beginning, we had a Christmas party for all of our employees and for our drivers.
There were some years we weren't sure we were going to be able to do that, but somehow we always managed.
In this one year, It was a big party.
We had a lot of drivers and employees there.
And we had an employee, Deborah Latt.
And Deborah worked in our settlement department, and she took care of the drivers really well.
She did that.
Yes.
So she came and she said she had met one of our owner operators and they had fell in love and they decided they wanted to get married.
So she came and she asked me.
She said hey.
She said would you mind at the Christmas party if we get married there?
She said, yeah.
She said, this is my family, the drivers, the employees.
This is my family.
So I didn't think much about it.
I said, sure, that'd be fine.
So we're kind of in the middle of this party and I mean, everybody you know drivers, know how to party.
And so we were having the bands playing, and everybody's having a good time dancing.
So all at once, everything just stops.
And the band starts playing Here Comes the Bride.
And so here comes Deborah down between all these tables in this beautiful white dress.
So everything just stops.
And Deborah goes up front, and there's a preacher there.
And they get married right in the middle of the Christmas party.
And so once it was over, the band starts back up and everybody goes back to party.
What's funny about all that is it was a built-in reception.
Yeah.
We were there.
I was there.
We were there.
And yeah.
So, I mean, it just all happened right in the middle of our Bennett Christmas party.
And so there you are.
That shares with you how important family was.
This was her family.
She wanted to share her wedding.
She was all for it.
So she said they were playing, and all of a sudden we stopped.
The preacher got up front, and she came down, and everybody cheered her.
It was a crazy night, and they went back to partying, and she had her own built-in reception.
That reminds me of the song I saw, Mommy Christmas Kissing Santa Claus.
I think everybody might have even put their beers down long enough for her to get married.
I think they might have.
But it was fun.
That was just one of many, many stories.
That's a cute one.
I've never heard that.
Oh, you've never heard that one?
All my years, I've never heard that story.
We probably have pictures here somewhere.
Oh, I'm sure we do.
Yeah.
That is great.
Was that your home?
No, it was at an event.
We were up at the Lee Market and had an event center there, that big building that had an event center.
So we rented that out.
And we had a lot of people there.
And we packed the place.
It was a hoot that night.
I remember that night.
That was a hoot.
We had a good time.
It was fun.
That was just Bennett.
That's just how it was.
I was going to say too.
I wish I would have mentioned this earlier when y'all were talking about traditions, but I think a really great Bennett tradition that I can remember coming up here as a kid was Santa.
In the early days of Bennett...
When Bennett just you know, it was the early days of Bennett you had employees that would volunteer to dress up as Santa.
And the kids would all sit on Santa's lap.
I mean, we were kind of questioning, is this the real Santa?
Because the beard wasn't the greatest.
Bill Ford was Santa for many years.
And then I think J.R.
I don't know who else was.
Were you ever Santa?
No.
You got out of that somehow.
I did enough of my stuff.
But that was so fun.
You get the ugly Christmas sweater contest.
Yeah, that's always fun.
And then, you know, one of the other traditions, I'll just bring this up, you know.
After those Christmas parties.
If there was any drivers, that was here on Sunday my mama and my mother and Miss Draper, who was
Russell and Phyllis Draper were drivers for us and they would stay with us when they came into town.
And so Mother and Miss Draper would get up really early on Sunday morning and any driver that was left over would come to our house for Sunday dinner.
So that was a tradition for many, many years until finally it got too big and we couldn't do it anymore.
And now we do just a lunch here with all of our employees.
Everybody who's here, employees and drivers on the yard and everybody.
By that time, if you're not in the spirit of Christmas, you're going to get in the spirit of Christmas.
You're hugging people and sharing and asking people how they're doing and they're prepared for Christmas and all that.
And saying all that, David...
The truck drivers this time of the year can be challenging.
So share with us how the culture's working.
How are we working with our drivers and helping them get home for Christmas?
I know you're working with their operational teams.
How's that working?
Well, unlike retail stores, this is a 7 by 24, by 365, and it never stops.
And we often talk about the trucking business, but i think about the aviation industry as well.
There's so many folks that work throughout the season so that we can be home or so that gifts can deliver where they need to be, and And the whole logistics industry helps the fabric of this world come together.
And they don't get the times off that some of us do, and they often miss the time with their families.
Fortunately, Christmas is a national world matter, right?
And many factories, many industries recognize that and they start shutting down near the Christmas time so their families can be at home as well.
And, of course, that slows down freight.
So our drivers have a chance to get home, and not all of them, but many of them.
You still see them on Christmas Day, going up and down the road late.
So not everyone finds a way to get back home, but I think many do.
What I find somewhat humorous is we get into early January, Ms.
Taylor will start calling up Bonita, have the drivers come back to work yet?
And it's not tell the drivers to come back to work.
She's asking, have the drivers come back to work yet?
Because we value their time that they've worked hard during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
They miss a lot of ball games.
They miss a lot of Christmas parties.
I mean, birthday parties and anniversaries that...
But I try not to miss.
I'm not driving a truck.
I have the benefit of sitting around the table on Christmas Day.
And I feel for those who don't.
We always remember those who don't.
So the culture of this company, obviously, we have, you know, Ms.
Titor has some thousand employees all across this nation.
And we recognize that during the last couple weeks of the year people go home to be with their families.
We don't shut down the business, but we scale it back.
This is 7 by 24, 365.
But make no mistake, Christmas has already started here.
Ms.
Tater and Caitlin got together with some committees earlier this week and had a luncheon for them.
And next week, some folks are going to... I'm sorry, this week, some folks are going up to ACE.
Spend time with Jim's Christmas party, and that's where Ms.
Tedder usually got her Christmas spirit, so I know you're going to miss it.
There's snow on the ground there, too, I hear, by the way, so that'd be a good time to be there.
Go on to visit Joplin, go on to visit Louisiana.
There's just so many chances for us to get out and not really check on the business but check on the people.
That's the culture right now.
How are you doing?
Glad you're here and thanks for being part of this organization that recognizes Christ in Christmas.
That's the culture.
Agreed.
You know sometimes David, I don't get my Christmas spirit until I see all those wreaths that are laid in Andersonville.
If you don't get your Christmas spirit by being there and seeing that.
That's it.
Sometimes that's it.
That's where it's at.
It's a reminder of those who aren't here because of the sacrifices that they make so that we could be here and live in a safe country.
We're blessed to be at these times in our lives.
You hear, if you turn on the news, you get depressed, right?
Don't turn on the news.
Just be with family, friends, and loved ones, and lift each other up.
I mean, that's the joy of the season.
Some folks might be in hospitals.
Some might be ill, can't get home.
Cherish the time we have together.
Oh, boy.
Cherish the time.
We've got to make sure we take care of our family and friends.
Yep.
So, by the way, david um, i know we've got a group of drivers going to maine and i was down at the driver's lounge uh, first part of the week and i saw carl lawrence.
He's a driver, he's been with us for over 25 years, wow.
And he um, came here, was coming in to pick up her trailer.
He is, he's going to pick up the trailer with the American presidents on it and he was so excited about going to Maine and picking up a load of wreaths and I just think it's incredible what you guys have done this year to be able to cover all those grave sites and I think we all need to be praying for our drivers going up there, because it looks like there's a snowstorm and the weather may get bad.
And then we have our group here from the home office going as well.
We're continuing a tradition that Lee started nine years ago.
Yes.
He brought Rays Across America to us, and it's been embraced by this organization immensely.
And I think Lee's going to talk about that here in a moment more.
Unless you want to talk about it now.
We're into it.
I guess we are into it.
It's an exciting time.
I know Brad and Jason and others and Griff.
Griff's going to Maine.
But it's a special time up there.
I think we've got... what, six trucks that'll be up there, one that's going to Arlington.
Pat and Tom Teddy are going to be hauling that precious load of wreaths to Arlington our first year to do that.
We've been on the waiting list for quite a few years and we finally have that opportunity to do that.
But I always share with people and Dave, you know how I feel about it to get the whole picture of the wreath program.
No, we don't really know how you feel about it.
Why don't you tell us?
Yeah, I guess so.
But you got to go to Columbia Falls, Maine to start there.
And take a warm jacket with you.
And take a warm jacket.
I was talking to Jason this morning.
I said, are you going to dress warm?
He was sharing the weather forecast.
You're right.
It's snow and bitter cold in Maine.
I mean, you won't snow on the ground when you go to those reefs.
You do.
You do.
So anyway, Colonia Falls is a very special time.
I know they've got the tour all set up and to visit how they build the wreath at Ten Point Wreath.
And it's just very special time up there.
So I'm excited.
I'm going to miss going up.
I always enjoyed going, but it's time for other people to take that opportunity to go and experience that.
And so when they get here, I always say when you start that journey, you start in Columbia Falls, and when Jason and Brad and Griff get there, all those drivers probably don't know each other, but they get to know each other.
That very first night we had that special dinner, everybody's together and they share the reason why they're there.
And so by the time they do all that and they travel here, and then we have our programs here, and then they go to Andersonville and then they place that wreath, they understand why we do what we do.
That's right.
And that's why I told Carl.
I said Carl, this is going to be an experience that you will never forget.
Almost made me tear up talking to him about it, because it's just so incredible.
It is that for sure, is that for sure, you know?
I really want to give a shout out to some folks lee because, as you know um, there's there's cycles of this exercise.
One is a fundraising piece and the other is what's about to happen now, the actual picking up the race and delivering them.
But so many people made this happen.
This year it was uh, we lost a pretty big sponsor from two or three years ago, as you know, But we filled that gap pretty mightily.
There was, I want to star stripes and white lines.
I mean, David Lowery and many others hosted an amazing truck show at the Lanter Motor Speedway.
Drivers from across this nation brought some of the best looking rigs to the Lanter Motor Speedway.
They acted like little boys driving their tractors around.
I mean, some of the best videos I've ever seen about drivers was created by that star stripes and white lines.
And that group helped donate 25% of the money for the wreaths.
That was impressive.
It is.
Another organization I'm just going to mention, Patriot Mobile.
We wrapped a van for them this year.
I know that Jerry's looking forward to seeing that van.
He's going to be here with us, I think, next week to be part of the celebration.
So so many folks that are really not in the house have been at Patriot Mobile, have embraced Greece across America.
They know one of our core values is patriotism and we don't just say it right.
I'll always remember one of the Gold Star mothers giving, I think, you and I both a coin that says put sorry in motion.
Don't say I'm sorry, put it in motion.
And I've still got in my office a sticker that says that.
I look at it all the time.
That's what we do.
That's what our drivers helped do.
That's what so many folks that are connected to Bennett.
We reached out beyond the walls of Bennett, to people that might not know a whole lot about Bennett, but they were excited to know what we do and they made contributions to help make this happen.
So you're right, Ms.
Taylor.
Next week, we'll be close by here with those drivers that have picked up the wreaths.
Back in this parking lot there will be a convoy that will be unmatched by many convoys that ever happened in this county driving down to Andersonville.
Escorted by police, right?
Escorted by police.
But the most solemn moments will be when you see parents there with their kids, their grandkids, some who are there to place reefs on loved ones.
And you look at that and you say, wow, we were a part of making that happen, right?
And then to your point, Ms.
Taylor, when it's done and you look back at the reefs and if you don't have um patriotism in your heart, you don't have christmas spirit at that time, you don't have joy for an accomplishment.
You better check your blood pressure.
Something's really missing at that point in life and and i'm blessed that my family goes there with us it's just one of our, one of our things we do every year.
You know what's special there.
You know when you say about giving and we can't think enough to everyone who helped contribute right, i mean, there's a lot of fundraising going on at bennett and people contributing and you can go buy a wreath and so.
But what's What's always touched me there?
We do the ceremony there.
But as soon as that ceremony is over, I try to go place a wreath myself.
But what I enjoy and I think David, you've done this in the past I walk the cemetery and I kneel down by people that are by that gravesite as they're honoring their loved one.
And you get to talk to them and how thankful they are that they have a wreath that they can place at that tombstones, remember their loved one.
And I asked them.
You know, I said tell me a little bit about who are you here placing this wreath for our father?
I know each year there's two daughters there, and I always go see them at that gravesite.
And I said, tell me a little bit about your dad.
And they get teared up and they're so excited about sharing the love for their dad and what their dad meant to them, but mostly that their dad served this great country.
But they're also thankful that there's a wreath there so they can do that.
So I always say every wreath, every dollar is so critical, because we don't want to leave no grave without a wreath.
Because then we have a loved one that's looking at that grave site going, I didn't get a wreath.
And people need to understand that.
I share people all the time.
It's about the wreath.
We've got to get that wreath on that grave site because we want to make sure we remember everybody.
And do you know how... One thing that's amazing to me is... What is it?
20... What is the count now?
20,000.
Well, we're at 20,900.
Okay.
And how quickly... those grave sites are covered.
Oh, it's beautiful.
Once the ceremony's over and everybody moves out.
I mean you have to hurry if you want to cover grave sites because it happens so quickly.
And then you look around and there is all those white headstones with all those beautiful Christmas trees.
And David's right.
If you don't have the Christmas spirit, So then you're going to get it right then.
And Lee, you reminded us earlier, who delivers those reefs?
Drivers.
Our drivers.
All across the nation.
So I think you said 3 million reefs?
3,100,000 reefs.
Those reefs can't walk there, right?
They have to be delivered by our drivers who frankly, take the time off from their job to go make that happen.
And most of those drivers do it, and they do it free.
They do it on, you know, the companies donate those trucks and help those trucks do it.
I mean, those drivers are taking the time to go deliver those wreaths out of their own schedule.
A lot of them don't get paid, but they are honored.
Like Marcy said, they're honored because they're taking those wreaths to place in a fallen soldier's gravesite who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
David, I know Grandma was sharing with us earlier some of the ways that Bennett gives back in our internal programs this time of year.
And you had touched on some of it earlier, but I just wanted to ask you to bring it back to giving.
Is there anything you'd like to share from the giving standpoint or the Taylor Foundation?
You know, the Taylor Foundation, what year, Ms.
Taylor, do you remember?
Oh, my gosh.
I don't know, but I remember standing in the shower one morning and thinking we have to find a way to formally do our giving.
It was 2011, because I remember this.
2011, yeah.
Okay.
I'll announce now whether I was supposed to or not, but your organization will grant a million dollars this year in total.
And that's amazing what you're up to now.
We're so blessed.
And Caitlin, your mom always tells me you cannot out-give God.
That's right.
She tells me all the time.
And I have the benefit of looking at Taylor Foundation about once a quarter when Tammy provides it to me and I look at it amount of monies that taylor foundation has donated in.
Not that, benedict.
There is hard work that drivers and employees have donated into taylor foundation and uh, your grandma always asked me, did we give our ten percent yet?
So we're working towards shields.
Well, keep working towards that right.
That's right top on our list, so it.
But i look at it every year and and We're proof point that you cannot give God, because the monies that are going into Taylor Foundation and the monies that have been paid out of it, there's still a fair amount of money in it because it keeps earning money.
So God says, for every dollar you give out, I'm going to reward you with something else back in.
So it's just amazing.
Now, you all as a family set up criteria, right?
And it centers around kids. centers around faith, centers around family, women, and hospitals.
And that's where the monies go to.
And your company provides, as you said earlier, Ms.
Tater, you let every department, you let every field location participate.
And I signed a check just yesterday that's going to be given away at the Ace Christmas Party.
And I signed that check with absolute delight that The drivers, the employees, the agents help build this organization.
And they should be proud to know that this family donates a fair percentage of the money back into a foundation.
I told you I was fortunate to be raised in a faith-based family.
My father has five principles in life.
Work hard.
Pray often.
Tithe, be kind.
And i do this tax return every year and i always look at the first line and i multiply that times ten percent and i know that's what his chair will give him.
It is absolutely amazing to me.
That's wonderful.
And and now that i yeah, now that i work in an organization, that i can do the same thing here yeah, so it started in my life and it continues where i work right, so I'm not allowed to mess up.
I'm booked in by the right things to do, right?
And now I get to be a witness of what you all do through the Taylor Foundation and the people's hearts that you touch, the kind of organizations that you take care of.
And it's just a blessing to be a part of.
And sometimes I wish more employees, drivers and agents could be a witness of what I get to be a witness of.
Maybe I'll write a book about this.
You should.
You know, David, we try to give back during employee appreciation and driver appreciation.
We set aside a certain amount of money to give back, because they're the ones that helped us be able to fund the Taylor.
It's from their work that that money goes into Taylor.
And so we want to give back and so we try to do that each year as well is return some of those funds.
So we're just blessed.
And you know Lee, I know we have to close in a minute, but I just want to say how very much I know we're talking about Bennett, but how very much I appreciate our drivers, our employees, our agents and all those drivers that are out there.
They are truly the heroes, the highway heroes.
They don't always get the best recognition, and that's a shame because they do an amazing job.
They need to be respected.
Right.
And we're just very proud that we can be a company that hopefully recognizes the wonderful work that they do.
And that's why we're here today to make sure that they understand that they are appreciated more than they know.
I always say that it might be the job they've chosen, but they sacrifice every day to make sure they take care of this great country.
And I know during Wreaths Across America David, you'll be presenting awards during that ceremony here.
We call them rolling ambassadors for Wreaths Across America, and that's going to be a lot of fun watching.
They don't know yet, but they're going to be surprised when they get here.
They're so honored to do that.
It's not an event they want to miss.
That's true.
I think we're wrapping it up, David and Marcy.
Thank you for being a part of being with Caitlin and I today to share this episode.
It's pretty it's been an exciting time.
Thanks for sharing your stories with us.
I hope I behaved where I can get invited back.
Can I ask David one last question?
So I want our audience to know that David is known within the company.
David loves to sing.
You do bring the Christmas spirit, too, and that you help us.
You just help us sing these Christmas carols.
You did one this week for one of our lunches that we had here.
So I'm not going to ask you to sing on the podcast, but I want to ask what's your favorite Christmas?
Carol night yeah, holy night.
The stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of our dear savior's birth.
I wish i could sing.
And he also writes poems.
Yeah yep yeah, it's just.
You know music is a gift and is internationally.
And You know the thing about Christmas songs, you got me on a whole.
I know we're ready to close out.
One more point if I can.
Our forefathers and those who came a long time before us in the 1800s and early 1900s wrote Christmas carols that are faith-based.
Yeah, you have to really reach back to the old Christmas carols which I have on my XM radio Holiday Traditions, because that's where you hear, in the lyrics and the words, the importance of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Not to take anything away from Mariah Carey with the number one Christmas song, which I love too, by the way.
But it's amazing how important Christmas was, still is now, but how much more faith was in Christmas in the older days when they used to build beautiful cathedrals, beautiful churches that I loved to go visit during Christmas to see how they decorated it with ornate trees, and you just feel the presence of faith when you walk into these churches and So yeah O, Holy Night is one of my favorites.
I love that song.
I can't sing it well.
You can.
You have a wonderful voice, and you get us in the Christmas spirit by doing that.
So thank you.
That's a wonderful tradition that you have, that you've started here at Bennett.
And I always look forward to you singing, especially your birthdays, the way you sing.
Happy birthday to everyone.
It's very special.
We could sing happy birthday to Jesus.
You too, birthday happy.
You too, birthday happy.
You too, birthday happy, Jesus.
You too, birthday happy.
Y'all did good.
Thank you for a minute.
I was like, am I saying it right?
So David, share with us, why do you sing it backwards?
Well, it's a Pittman patented birthday song.
Yeah, it is.
I look for ways to make you feel younger.
So after you finish the song, I say, you just took a year off your life.
Well, I mean, that's going to be singing.
Sing it every day.
Yeah.
So, Lee, I know you're going to mention Benita in a minute, but I want to do a shout-out for Benita.
You know, Miss Benita's been with us for a long, long time.
And she's one of those folks that sits upstairs and makes sure these drivers get home at Christmas.
So...
I know you're going to talk about her, but I just want to do a quick little shout out.
That's very nice of you to do that.
Well, again, it's been a great episode.
Thanks for sharing all this great stories and great information.
It's been great and singing.
I wasn't expecting that.
That was an added addition.
That was awesome.
So very nice.
A lot of hats, right?
That's what we do.
Well, before we close, I want to share a scripture about this time of the year, if you don't mind.
So you know I was sharing with Kaylin this morning when she came and we were preparing for this episode that you know, Mary and David went to an inn to have a birth of Jesus.
And so they went to the inn and there was no room in the inn.
So the innkeeper said, well, the only thing we have is the stable outside.
You can go out there, and we have a manger out there.
So in Luke 2, in verse 7, it says, And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
She wrapped him in clothes and placed him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.
Today in the town of David's a Savior has been born to you.
He is Christ the Lord.
This will be a sign to you.
You will find a baby wrapped in clothes, lying in a manger.
Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men whom his favor is here.
What a wonderful time of the year.
It is.
Oh, holy night.
Oh, holy night.
Well, Lee, with that, I think I should close this in prayer.
What a very special way to kind of wrap up this episode.
And I can't think of a more special way than to end this podcast in prayer and to be sitting here with the three wise men and wise woman.
It just feels so fitting.
Soul hands.
Okay.
Heavenly Father Lord, just thank you for just this time of year that you allow us to just remember the reason why we're here.
The reason why we celebrate Christmas is the birth of our Savior Lord.
What a holy night it was.
Glory to God in the highest, Father.
Thank you for sending your precious Son to die on the cross for our sins.
I pray father, that you be with all of our employees, our agents and our drivers as they're out on the road during this time, that you keep everyone safe.
Keep them safe um, everyone.
Bothers are out on the road and may we just all be reminded for not the things that we don't have, but the things that we do have and the hope that we have in your son, jesus.
We ask all this in your son's name amen amen, don't go anywhere, because we have a very exciting surprise for you all.
As marcy shared a moment ago, we have a poem for the vice from the vice president of bennett motor express, benita coffee.
She does a wonderful tradition every year that she writes a poem that honors our drivers, and during the special season, so you won't want to miss it.
So with that caitlin, merry christmas, and thank you all the drivers for all that they do.
Yes, merry christmas.
Hi, I'm Benita Coffey and I just wanted to share with you a Christmas poem that I wrote.
It's a revision of Twas the Night Before Christmas, Bennett Style.
Twas a few days before Christmas and all through the lands was hustle and bustle, Christmas trees and party plans.
And here I sit in this rusty old truck, headed back home for Christmas, just running on luck.
My logbook was thrown on the dashboard without care in hopes that St.
Nick could throw some magic in there.
Just three days ago, at home, oh silent night, an agent did call and for eight grand I took flight.
Load to Vegas and back.
That was the plan.
No tarps, no permits, no hassle.
It was grand money in my pocket and a smile on my face and just enough time to spend Christmas Eve by the fireplace.
It was dark, cold, and lonely 100 miles east of St.
Louis.
I said to myself, come on, you can do this.
As I rounded the next curve, what to my wondering eyes should appear?
Yes, it was Santa and his sleigh and eight big reindeer.
I swerved to the left and cut back to the right.
I hit the brakes hard.
Everything went black as the night.
Not sure how long I was out, but when I awoke, my truck was moving and that ain't no joke.
Santa was driving.
There were elves in the bunk.
Please tell me I'm dreaming because I know I'm not drunk.
I yelled, what are you doing?
He said with a frown, it's Christmas Eve and my sleigh has broke down.
I said, you can't do this.
You can't drive this rig.
He said, there's no choice.
This is the last night of my gig.
We'll never make it.
There's too much to do.
I said, just hang on.
Bennett will come through.
I called all my friends and told them where to meet.
We divided up the toys right down to each street.
I called all the dispatchers and back to the office they flew.
They tracked us by Qualcomm and told us just what to do.
We finished the list, and yes, it does exist.
We all fixed his sleigh and headed home for the big day.
I started up my drive, but just had to stop.
There sat a brand new truck with a big red bow on the top.
Behind the wheel sat Santa, my logbook in his hand.
It was fixed with his magic pen.
It was all part of his plan.
He handed me the keys and I said, no, it's just too much.
He said, you and Bennett saved Christmas.
I can't thank you enough.
And with that, he was gone.
He took off in his sleigh.
He called to his reindeer, and then I heard him say thanks again and Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
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