November Contractors of the Month
Ed Chapman's "Old Blue"
Contractors of the Month: Montie and Carolyn Hale
Stacey Chapman writes:
I am the daughter of a Mercer driver, and I would like you to publish this in your next newsletter if it is possible. It would really mean a lot to my family. Attached is a photo of my Dad's truck. He just had her repainted and he was so proud of how good Ol' Blue looked. - Stacy Chapman
My name is Stacy Chapman, and my father was the late Edward Chapman of West Virginia, Unit 6364, who passed away in Texas on October 24, 2008. I am writing to thank Montie and Carolyn Hale, a Mercer family from Texas; dear friends of our family, they are a special couple who embody the family values that Mercer holds as a top priority. I am also deeply grateful to Mercer Transportation, a company that dominates the owner-operator industry and deeply values and cares for its drivers and their families. It is this type of company that one can count on to stick by you in a devastating crisis.
Together, Mercer and the Hale family secured my Daddy’s truck, then Montie and Carolyn picked up my Mommy from the hospital and helped her reunite with the only connection to our family she had there, our dog Josie, who was being watched by kind trucker, who I only know as Jenny, who pulled off the pavement to help a family in crisis. Mercer arranged a flight for my Mommy to bring her home to her children, and for that I am deeply grateful. I can only hope that no other couples who ride together experience such a loss out on the road, with no family there to support them.
My Dad had recently achieved all that he desired in his life, the most important being his loving wife of 37 years and constant partner on the road, Rhonda. He loved her more than anything, and everything he did, he did for her. They were together 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and they loved each other every minute. Daddy gave us, his three children, our home, love, courage, and gave us the skills he knew we would need when our lives threw us a curve. I loved my Daddy, and I talked to my Dad and Mom every day. A couple months ago I told him that he was the wisest person I knew; being the surrounded by academic scholars for the last 7 years, I should know that no one could hold a candle to my Daddy.
Mercer Transportation gave my Dad the opportunities to be with his family as often as he wished, and to do what he loved. He could never be home for too long, he was just itching to get back out there and see the great things the country he loved and fought for could show him. Personally, no matter what successes come from my academic pursuits, I will always have that picture of my Daddy in his hat, and a newly gussied up Ol’ Blue’s doors emblazoned with “Mercer Transportation, Louisville, Kentucky”. It symbolizes honorable and hard working Americans, like Montie and Carolyn, who lovingly take care of others in times of crisis; and companies like Mercer, who value family above all. On behalf of a great man who became a true “legend”, Edward Chapman, I thank you again, Montie and Carolyn Hale, and Mercer Transportation, for being remarkable people.
Do you know someone who should be nominated as Mercer's Contractor of the month? Please call Johanna Inman at ext. 6381.