 As we all would agree, America is the greatest country the world has ever known. Without the bravery and willingness to sacrifice all which some do, America would simply not be possible. We would not enjoy the freedom that we enjoy today and so it is in moments like this for just a moment where we stop what we're doing and we feel tremendous pride to be an American and at the same time we feel deep humility for the opportunity to be here. And this is one very small way that we're trying to publicly express our support for veterans and our love for this country. There are several people that have gone into great lengths to make sure that we can in a more appropriate way recognize the many veterans that we have and recognize the veterans throughout the country that we appreciate. We couldn't do what we do as a company. We would enjoy the freedoms clearly that we have in this great country without those who have served. Thank you so much to the veterans who have served us. This wonderful honor guard who's come out to create that beautiful moment for us. We're grateful to them. A special thank you to the 831 veterans that are currently employees of light transportation. How about a hand for that group? We have 147 veterans that serve in the office and we have 684 as Corey mentioned that are over the road with us today. Chris McCarroll after serving for four years McCarroll left the Navy went on to many more adventures including selling the Caribbean with a friend. In October 2016 McCarroll started his career at night as a trainee. He subsequently worked as an experienced driver, a classroom instructor, a recruiter and driver development manager. Eventually he drives over the road. As a veteran McCarroll found many similarities between his career in the military and career at night. McCarroll said the military protects our nation and way of life while trucks apply to good so we can enjoy our way of life. Much like the military professional drivers have a unique level of independence. This independence requires them to be self starters who are reliable, punctual, disciplined and motivated. With this independence professional drivers function as an essential part of a larger team and veterans thrive in this collaborative environment. For both veterans and driving associates situational awareness and safety are paramount to keep themselves as well as those around them safe. Additionally many veterans have important skills like time management and flexibility that help them succeed in the tracking industry. McCarroll said both jobs require a level of professionalism. No two days are ever the same. The only easy day was yesterday. Tomorrow will always be a new adventure. The core values for the Department of Defense's duty, integrity, ethics, honor, courage and loyalty. I wholeheartedly says Chris believe that those same core values carry over to the tracking industry. And so as Chris continues to grow in his career here at night. Chris is a wonderful example of many other veterans who have served the country and after four years perhaps are looking to use those skills. And we want to foster an environment where this is a place that they feel very comfortable to come and grow and develop as Chris McCarroll has. And so Chris McCarroll will be the first driver of our first truck in our fleet of heroes. It's a beautiful truck. I can't wait for you to see it. This is the first of several to come. Each one will be unique. Each one will come with its own story and recognition for one veteran at a time. Thanks for being here. How about a hand for all of those veterans who serve us today? Okay. Right, they all had to have some transmission or whatever in them. Right. But it wasn't like this. Like I had a button where you could shift up and down. Like what do you do here? If you want to downshift, if you want all that kind of stuff. That's a good question. There is a manual, oh, there's a manual here. So I'll push this in and then I can use this as a paddle shifter. Oh, okay. So can you use that downshift when you're coming down canyons and stuff like that? Oh yeah, totally. I got my first wave. One thing I really like about this freight liner is the Volvo's airhawk is right here on the steering wheel. So to be able to go to that old school and do that. Do that, it's really nice. So what's there? Is it just a small horn? Yeah, so you got your city horn here on the steering wheel. We just had the air horn. Right. How long have you been driving? Three years now. And I was doing hotel security. Fun job. I was actually doing security on a private island. Really? Yep. And kind of a place that congressmen, senators, sports teams, the Kardashians. You know, we're all so up. Yeah, it was pretty cool. But I needed a change. Of course it was getting really expensive down there. So I figured what better thing to do than get paid to drive around the country. So I moved out to Phoenix. Went through truck driving school. And I decided to bring me on board to do the deficits. So have you been driving tonight the whole time? Yeah, the whole time. That's awesome. I meet so many drivers. I mean, I was a recruiter. Right now I train the recruiter, but I was a recruiter. And you would talk to drivers all the time. Right. That were former night drivers who just wanted to come back. Oh, yeah. Right? They would leave thinking, oh, this other company offered me so much money for a mile. I got to go over there. And so they would go, but they would always come back because they'd find out that it was... It's not the same, right? No, it's really not. The company is just... Well, our culture, our work culture, our work environment is so much better here than any other company that even if they're paying more money legitimately, it's still working to stay here. You know? And then you go over there and they're like, oh, yeah, we'll pay you 10 cents a mile more, but you don't get the miles. Right? So you end up making less money. But that was one of my big things that, like, most people coming into this industry, I don't know anything about night. So I'm taking a gamble, but I heard a lot of good things about night. And frankly, I always thought they had the best looking trucks on the road, you know? So thought I'd give them a chance. And once I got out there on the road, almost every day, at least once a week, but almost every day, somebody's come up to me to, dude, my job sucks. I'm thinking about making a change. Can you tell me about night? And I would go through my experience. Right? Yeah. And their jaw would just drop. Oh, my God. I don't get that if I come back. I can't believe that night actually does that for it. You know, whatever it was we were talking about. And, you know, the first couple of times, okay, whatever, after it started happening over and over and over again, then Phil, I said I was actually with a really special company. And it's one of the reasons why I got off the road for a little bit and became a recruiter. I got a hat. Wonderful. Right in the wheelie on a friggin' regular bobber. That's awesome. That was for me working at night, coming from the military. Right. In the military, they treat everybody like you're a kid, right? Even when I got up higher in the ranks, the people above you would treat you like you're an idiot. You don't know what you're doing. Oh, of course. And at night, it seems like they automatically assume that you know what you're doing and they treat you like an adult. Exactly. No matter what job you're doing, they treat you like you're an adult. And I friggin' love it. So I talked to you a little bit about what you did in the Navy when we were upstairs. Right. You said you were in for four years? Is that right? Yeah, four years. Okay. And why did you decide to get out? At the time, it was just kind of the right thing. I had an opportunity with a buddy of mine to acquire a sailboat. We were sailing around the Caribbean, which was really good. And it was about time to re-enlist and the Navy wanted to send me to Corpus Christi, Texas, which nothing to guess Corpus, but it wasn't exactly some exotic locale, you know, overseas, you know, whatever. So it was the right thing. But ever since then, I've kind of regretted it, you know. It's tough because you think about it. At least for me, if I had enlisted when I was 18, I would have been fully retired by now. Right. Right? Instead of getting out with some medical retirement, right? I would have got out completely retired. And like my brother did with the Marine Corps, right? Oh, yeah. But at the same time, I appreciate what I learned from them. But I don't know if 20 years in the military, I don't know if that would have been best for me or not. I really like the experience that I had afterwards, right? I do miss it. But that's one of the reasons why I get an opportunity to do something like this, you know, that I'm proud to drive a truck like this, you know. Anything that I can do to support our troops, help them out? Well, this truck they have you in is, it's incredible. And that's something for me that is another huge thing, right? The fact that they would do something like this for one of our veterans, right? So that they can show their pride, but also so it shows to the country how proud we are of our veterans. Exactly. Exactly. And that was, so my first year at night, they do this thing where they bring in all the veterans that can come in here to the headquarters, right? Sure. They bring us all in there or they bring the whole company downstairs and then they walk us all through all everybody's cheering for you and my thanking you for your service, right? Right. My first year here, I had just retired that month. Oh, wow. Right. So walking, I got all emotional like it was tough. Oh, I bet you did. Yeah. It was tough for me, but it was really cool to see that I had a company or that I had been hired onto a company that really did appreciate my service and really did appreciate what servicemen and women do. Oh, completely. The job that I had, right, typical to get that job, there's most of the people I work with have bachelor's degrees and things like that. Right. I don't have a bachelor's degree, but they said that to them, right, that the military service more than made up for that. Oh, it does. Right. And inside the company, to get promoted, you don't have to have that bachelor's degree. What they're looking for is your work ethic and what you do, right? And how good you are at your job. Well, at the end of the day, that's really what matters at the end of the day, how good you can do it. Yeah. And that's something I like about night, too, kind of going back to what you said earlier, assuming that everybody can do their job up front. Yeah. It's really good about getting the best of the best in all the different roles, whether it's being a driver or anybody in the office or whatever department. So there really are no weak links in our chain, you know? And it only strengthens our company so much. Well, because of the way they treat everybody like adults, the weak links kind of root themselves out. The one that needs to be babysat all the time is not going to enjoy working for them because they aren't going to babysit. They're going to expect that you're a professional and you can do your job. Yes. So, yeah, I really, I don't know, I really like it. I like the culture, I like everything about it. No, I'd love to drive for night if my wife would let me get out on the road. Right. I would do it and I'll heart beat. Because I have a program for military veterans. So if you still have any of your GI bill left, they've worked it out where they can be, it's like going to school. Right. It takes a year of your GI bill but it pays you your BAH. Okay. Right? So here in Arizona it's $1,600, a little more than $1,600 a month. Right. On top of all the money you're making while you're running. Plus they pay for your CDL school. Nice. Right? So it's a pretty awesome program and I'd love to take advantage of it. But, yeah. It is a great program. I need to get some brochures on that so I can take with me on the road. Oh, yeah. I don't have a lot of military guys coming up talking about that. If you can get some of those to you for sure. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it's an awesome program. I have friends that drive for like other companies, small companies and stuff. Right. And I asked them when I got on with and I asked them, you know, why don't you come drive for, oh I'm never going to drive for a big company. I'll only drive for small companies. Because they've been burned, a lot of these big companies just treat you like a number. They do. They treat you like dirt. So some of these guys don't think that a big company will treat them well. That's another thing, right? That's awesome. About night is that every terminal is like its own company. So it's like you work for a small company. It is. But you have that backing of the biggest company in the industry. It's one of my favorite things about this, about night. It really is like working for a small company. Oh, it is. But with those benefits, right? Yeah, it's pretty awesome. I really feel like I work for a company of a hundred trucks. Yeah, and that's awesome to be able to maintain that or to be able to have your drivers feel that way. It is. It's one thing to say it, but another thing for it to actually be the way the drivers feel. Right. And that's the other thing too. Obviously I'm good friends with my terminal manager. So I go into his office anytime. And that's a good thing. But on top of that, even Kevin Knight was just here. Right? Yeah. Comes up, shakes my hand, gives me a hug. We sit and chat about this to have that opportunity here is just really fantastic. Kevin and Keith, they both have offices right there at the headquarters. Right. And every time I bring drivers through, they want to meet that driver. They do. And they come out and they find out about their family. Like it's not like just show their face and, you know, get the public or get that picture like a... Right. Like somebody in politics, right? Well, that was one of my key points when I started here was they didn't just walk down the hall and accidentally run into the new hires. You know, they actually put it in their schedule to come out and shake everybody's hand and meet them. And to me, that little gesture went so far. I think for me, the biggest thing that I noticed about Knight versus other places is how much they honestly respect you as a veteran. That is a good word there, yes. And so, not only do they have a program where a new driver can get into things and they can help you out to get your career started, which not many other companies have that ability, right? Right. Not only do they have that, but when you are here, they honestly respect you. And for me, coming from the military, that's a really big deal. Well, and it's not even just a show of respect. It's a... the fact that they actually want their veteran drivers to stand out. Yeah. You know, they go that extra step to recognize them. They do something for us every year, right? So, Veterans Day, there's always something cool they're doing for their veterans, but it's not a once a year thing, right? Right. They are always treating you with respect. They're always making sure that you know that you're valued and coming from the military and having gone to places where being a military veteran didn't mean anything or it meant anything by a mouth only, right? Like they said that was important to them. It's a coming here where you could actually feel that it made a difference. 100%. Right? And that's... and there's different programs too that different terminals do for their veterans. Again, because it's like each terminal is like its own small company. They each do different things, but all of them do something special for their veterans. 100%. Yes. So, now that you're in this new military track, you're the first one in the Fleet of Heroes track, right? Yes. So, what are your new responsibilities? What responsibilities have you assumed by taking this role? It's a special honor to be in this truck. I'll say that. But now, what we're going to be doing is heading over to military bases. We've got several events lined up. So, I'll actually drive the truck on base and we'll hold some recruiting events, talking to our vets, trying to get them to come over tonight. Basically, the conversation we were just having, talking up the company, letting them know the benefits are at night versus somebody else. And then, just the benefits of trucking in general, how it's very similar to the military culture. So, we'll be taking this to military bases. We'll also be getting involved in some different parades and some other special events like that. So, yeah, at least once a month, I'll be going somewhere to talk up our drivers. And then, on top of that, it's just the everyday lifestyle. Every time I pull into the truck stop or go to a customer, right? Obviously, this gorgeous wrap that we have on this truck is going to attract a lot of attention. So, I'll be spending a good portion of my day talking to drivers and letting them know what we have to offer. Well, I think this truck is going to be a great talking piece for you. Oh, it is. And were you with our program that we have for drivers, the referral program, you'd better have a pocket full of cards with you at all times this new, the way that we've got it set up. So, it's so easy for you to refer people, so easy for those people to get on and for you to watch their process, right? Because, again, that's something that, at night, we're family. So, you want to make sure that your family's taken care of. So, when you turn in that referral, there's a way for you to watch on your driver portal where that referral is in the process of getting hired. Oh, completely. And then that way you can help them along. You can do all sorts of really neat things for them, right? Make sure that they make it all the way through the process and getting hired. Oh, absolutely. And that's one of the things I've had fun with within this company is I was able to get off the road for a little bit and go into the office, be the DQP facilitator for orientation class, work in recruiting, you know, and then even be the Driver Development Manager for a little bit. So, to literally be able to call somebody up, talk to them on the phone, recruit them into the company, go through the orientation process with them, and then be their safety person, right? And literally follow these people as they go on their journey through our company. It's been a wonderful experience, you know? To me, it is one of the biggest honors to have Knight ask me to drive their special truck. There's a ton of drivers that we have that could handle this and the fact that they ask me to do it, I cannot be more proud of this company. And to be former military and to be able to represent our company and the military in this manner, I'm just ecstatic. I'm super proud.