Wreaths Across America's Trucking Tributes Presents Michael Best with Patriot Tank Lines
Wreaths Across America is doing the right thing for the right reasons, and we’re proud to be a part of it.
Wreaths Across America's Trucking Tributes Presents Michael Best with Patriot Tank Lines
Professional drivers and trucking companies give so much to the nation. Without them, the Wreaths Across America mission to remember, honor, and teach would be nearly impossible. Veterans’ wreaths move by planes, trains, ships, and livestock trailers, but trucks and their professional drivers transport the lion’s share of America's respect. In 2023, to be specific, 717 truckloads of wreaths were delivered, representing 332 different carriers and partners.
In November and December, one of the busiest periods of the year for the transportation sector, the Wreaths Across America mission brings drivers together in an effort of unparalleled unity. With a positive, “can-do” work ethic, these professionals make it possible for Americans to honor millions of veterans laid to rest at home and overseas. In 2024, with over 4,200 participating locations, in addition to Arlington National Cemetery, transportation logistics are immense.
Many of these drivers are military veterans and say the truckload of fresh balsam-fir wreaths is the most precious cargo they transport in their careers. Wreaths Across America shares their stories in the “Trucking Tributes” feature online and on Wreaths Across America Radio and Sirius XM, Channel 146, Road Dog Trucking.
Hauling fuel is his business, but it’s probably fair to say supporting military veterans is a passion for Michael Best, who works as the Operations Manager for Patriot Tank Lines out of Albany, New York.“These are the nicest people I’ve ever worked for,” Michael described his employers. “It makes it nice getting up every day knowing I have their support. We haul aviation fuels to airports, we haul gasoline to gas stations, we haul propane to bulk facilities, and transport hazmat materials. We have one truck in Portland, Maine. We used to have two, but one driver retired. We’re a family-owned company.”
Michael says trucking is in his blood. While he enjoys the management side of operations, he misses the open road. “I started young,” he reminisced. “I have eleven uncles who drove a truck. My father drove a truck, and I was always just around it and wanted to be near it. I run a trucking company now, but I miss the days of driving where you’d wake up every day to a new adventure. I missed a lot of home time back then, but it was what fed the family, and it was something that I could do that I was good at.”
Michael also chuckled about his MOS in the U.S. Army: “In the military, I grew up fast, and it was a good experience for me. Driving got me out of a lot of leg work. I had an opportunity to go to a mechanic school out of high school, but I didn’t do that. I wanted to drive trucks, but I didn’t want to work on them, so I joined the military so I could drive trucks there, and that’s what I did. I spent my active time there, and then I joined the National Guard out of Rutland, Vermont and served five years there.”
It was word-of-mouth that introduced Michael to Wreaths Across America several years ago. “A friend I worked with at Cumberland Farms years ago, Jimmy Costa, got me involved. We went up with the Maine Professional Drivers Association and went out to Arlington National Cemetery to place wreaths on all the gravesites. It was humbling as a veteran, an experience I’ll never forget.”
Michael’s involvement with Wreaths didn’t end there. “We started sending a truck up once a year about three years ago. My wife and I go up with the driver, Andrew Hutson, and watch the truck being loaded. My safety manager, Mark Henderson, goes on the delivery end with Andrew; that way, we all play a part in it. Wreaths Across America is doing the right thing for the right reasons, and we’re proud to be a part of it. I was happy to see all the companies and drivers involved. They’re all happy to be there. It’s really something else.”
You might take note that Michael says Patriot Tank Lines hauls fuel, and Wreaths Across America’s Director of Transportation, Courtney George, has always said a tanker is one thing she cannot load with veterans’ wreaths. That’s where fabulous partnerships come in to get the job done! Michael says they team up with Joe Verdi every year, and he lends them a trailer.
Thank you, Michael Best, the Patriot Tank Lines family, and Joe Verdi with A-Verdi Storage Containers, for helping support the mission to remember, honor, and teach.
If you’d like to join the Wreaths Across America Honor Fleet, you can get started with a click right here!
You can hear more with Michael on Trucking Tributes, which can be listened to every Truckin’ Tuesday at 11:00 AM and again at 4:00 PM EST on Wreaths Across America Radio and Wednesday at 8:30 AM EST on Sirius XM Channel 146, Road Dog Trucking Radio.
Discover the Trucking Tributes archive playlist on Soundcloud.com
Contact
Message Sent
Thank you so much for contacting us! Our team will respond within 24 hours.
Invite
Share
Invite email sent.
Also, one of the most powerful ways that you can help is to share that you've volunteered to help on Wreaths Across America Day on social media. Please click on the social media links of your choice below.
Registration Complete
Your registration information was successfully submitted. To help us recruit more volunteers, please click one of the buttons below to share information on volunteering on social media.
Loading...
Wreath Sponsorship
Northrop Grumman Supported by VERITAS and Corporate Citizenship (NG) |150543|
Did you know that Wreaths Across America now offers recurring sponsorships? You can select the occurrence and cancel or pause anytime! Register now by completing this form! (https://tinyurl.com/n735zrbr)
What does it mean to sponsor a wreath? It means you are supporting a yearlong mission to Remember the fallen, Honor those that serve and Teach the next generation the value of freedom. Your sponsorship will support the new and existing programs developed to share the mission. And, it will place a wreath to honor an American hero at one of more than 3,700 participating locations this year on National Wreaths Across America Day – a day set aside to lay gathers as Americans with the same goal.
We can’t do that without your support, though. Your sponsorship will ensure that a wreath is hand-crafted of all-American balsam and hand-tied with a red velvet bow here in Columbia Falls, Maine. It will then be sent to one of our participating locations, where a volunteer will place it on the marker of a hero. That volunteer will then “say their name” to ensure that the legacy of duty, service and sacrifice is never forgotten.
So, what does it mean to sponsor a wreath? It means you have the opportunity to join a grateful nation in saying “thank you” to those who stepped up to serve.
*Please Note: Specific locations designated as "ceremonial-only" accept a limited number of sponsorships. Any additional sponsorships received beyond those used for the ceremony will be distributed to other locations.