Exchange Thanks Drivers During National Truck Driver Appreciation Week

The Exchange is saluting associates who go the extra mile—literally—to fulfill its 128-year-old “We Go Where You Go” mission during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

“Exchange drivers are our backbone,” said Jonah Thomas, the Exchange’s fleet operations manager. “The ‘We Go Where You Go’ motto is not possible without them. We’re honored to extend our gratitude and encourage our PXs and BXs to do the same for our fleet drivers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.”

Associates are invited to show their appreciation during the weeklong celebration through Sept. 16.

For store teams, personally thanking drivers during deliveries or offering tokens of appreciation such as signed cards or thank-you signs for the stockroom go a long way toward showing gratitude.

Stores can get creative with banners, gift cards, treats and other kind gestures for their drivers. General managers and store managers are encouraged to be on hand to thank drivers if schedules allow.

The Exchange operates the 13th-largest private retail fleet in the country. Of the more than 200 drivers worldwide, nearly 30 Exchange drivers have traveled more than 1 million miles delivering goods for service members and their families.

Three drivers—William Cave (Dan Daniel), Eric Hoff (Dan Daniel) and Richard MacIntosh (Waco)—have clocked 2 million miles while Bradley Wacks (Dayton) owns 3 million miles behind the wheel for the Exchange.

Wacks is one of four Exchange fleet drivers inducted into the National Private Truck Council Hall of Fame. Since 1987, the NPTC has honored 144 drivers who qualify by driving for three million miles, 20 years or 50,000 hours without a preventable accident. Only three companies have more drivers in the Hall of Fame than the Exchange.

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week was founded by the American Trucking Association in 1998 to pay respect to and thank professional drivers for their hard work and commitment in one of our economy’s most demanding and important jobs. There are approximately 3.5 million professional drivers on U.S. roads today.

Want to share your Truck Driver Appreciation Week activities with the rest of the Exchange family? Send photos to exchangepost@aafes.com and socialmedia@aafes.com to be featured in the Exchange Post and on the Exchange Associate Facebook, Instagram and X. To view a Truck Driver Appreciation Week Flickr album from 2022, click here.