Professional drivers and trucking companies give so much to the nation. In December, arguably the busiest time of the year for the transportation sector, the Wreaths Across America mission brings them together in an effort of unparalleled unity. Combined with a “can-do” work ethic, that unity makes it possible for Americans to honor millions of veterans laid to rest here at home and overseas. With over 2,700 participating locations and Arlington National Cemetery, transportation logistics are immense.

It's emotional and personal when Charles White speaks of his father, U.S. Army veteran Lt. Col. (Ret) Charles L. White Jr., laid to rest at the Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia. Known by friends and colleagues as “Chuck,” Charles entered the trucking industry as a second career choice, and he credits his father for the move. “I was a high school teacher and football coach for fifteen years,” Chuck shared. “I loved the football part of it, but I had two young kids at the time and wanted to make more money than I was making as a teacher. My father had a friend in the household moving industry, and he was looking to bring someone on to help with his new business. I took a chance and worked for him for eleven years when he suggested I get involved with a trade association. I started serving on the Board of Directors with the International Association of Movers. Four years later, a staff position within the Association opened up.” 

The rest, as they say, is history, and now Chuck is the President of the International Association of Movers (IAM). Through the years, he worked his way to the top. “There’s nothing I haven’t done in the moving industry from driving a forklift to getting my CDL,” Chuck laughed. “Then I got really smart and realized that would probably kill me. I have tremendous respect for truck drivers because that is a hard job. I love being an advocate for the trucking industry. It’s a critical element to the economic survival of this country.” Chuck is excited to be supporting the logistics behind the mission to remember, honor, and teach in 2021 and beyond. IAM recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Wreaths Across America.

Chuck describes the International Association of Movers as the “united nations” of moving. “IAM has a world-wide footprint and a huge networking group around the globe. At our last association meeting we held in-person in 2019, we had over one hundred and ten countries in attendance. The Wreaths Across America mission to remember, honor, and teach is near and dear to my heart. I’ve been a Wreaths Across America volunteer for the past few years, placing wreaths at Quantico. I’m excited that the Association can have a part in developing the mission, not only here in this country but in cemeteries in other countries where our fallen are laid to rest. Locations that they may not have had the best access to in the past. The mission has so much synergy with what our Association does and represents.”

Thank you, Chuck, and members of the International Association of Movers for all you do to support the mission. You can hear Chuck’s full interview on Trucking Tributes, heard every Trucking Tuesday exclusively on Wreaths Across America Radio at 11:00 AM and again at 4:00 PM eastern.