Wreaths Across America Announces the 2017 Escort to Arlington Event Itinerary

Medal of Honor Recipient Col. Roger Donlon and his wife Norma to serve as Grand Marshals; Chevrolet to provide 12 wrapped vehicles to transport Gold Star Families and Veterans

The Wreaths Across America escort of handmade, balsam wreaths heading to Arlington National Cemetery from Maine has become known as the country's longest veterans parade, and this year, the weeklong journey kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 9. Grand Marshals – Vietnam Medal of Honor Recipient, Colonel Roger Donlon, U.S. Army Special Forces (Retired) and his wife, Norma, a Vietnam-era Gold Star wife – will lead the caravan as it travels down the East Coast stopping at schools, memorials and other locations along the way to spread the mission to REMEMBER, HONOR and TEACH.

The escort is scheduled to make stops in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington D.C. before arriving at Arlington National Cemetery on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 16 – National Wreaths Across America Day. To view the schedule, please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/escort.

About Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization's mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at hundreds of veterans' cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.

WIT Announces its November 2017
Member of the Month
Sherri Squier

Women In Trucking Association (WIT) announces Sherri Squier as its November Member of the Month. Having begun her career as a nurse, Sherri gained an immediate life or death understanding the urgency of the word “stat.” Moving forward a few years while managing critical care deliveries on behalf of her patients, she quickly realized the same sense of urgency wasn’t often shared by the courier companies she engaged. With a dissatisfaction for the service she was experiencing, she did what every other entrepreneurial working woman with no time to waste would do, she started her own delivery company. “When we started All State Express, the initial vision was to provide superior service to several major medical facilities within the Triad Region of North Carolina. Quickly word of mouth spread and we were soon the largest medical courier business within the region,” recalls Sherri.

After successfully building the medical courier business, around the turn of the century, Sherri and her husband Spencer, expanded their company into the emerging expedite industry. The same sense of urgency that drove the medical courier business to success also fostered success within the expedite industry. “We didn’t know that much about the automotive industry or just-in-time inventory management, but we knew how to schedule and manage critical transportation shipments.”

Today, All State Express, a SmartWay certified carrier, has a fleet of over 200 units, including semis, cargo vans, sprinter vans and straight trucks offering services throughout the lower 48 along with select portions of Mexico and Canada. All State Express has been recognized by Inbound Logistics as a “Top 100 Carrier” since 2010, and was recognized as one of the fifty fastest growing companies in the triad area (FAST50) in 2012 and 2013. “If a customer has a critical shipment, then they can rely upon All State,” says Sherri, who still serves as the Company’s CEO.

“The expedite industry has changed several times since the turn of the century. Today we’re seeing time critical freight initiated less by the manufacturing or automotive industry and more often as a result of disruptions within the managed freight environment,” according to Sherri. “To us it’s just a slight shift in our customer demographic, but it’s still time critical, time sensitive freight that needs communication and management – stat.”

As a woman-owned company and a member of WIT and certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), Sherri prides herself on introducing some of the nuances a woman’s perspective can provide within an organization. “I like to think we take a little more pride in servicing our customers, drivers and employees than some organizations. Our culture is not to always put success or the bottom line results first. Rather, we want to provide quality service first and foremost, with the belief that growth and profits will result from that commitment. We follow through on our commitments – and stand by our customers, drivers and employees,” says Sherri. “We’re trying to build All State in the image of a company we’d entrust our children to work within, because in some cases they do or will someday.”