Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85442
Making time to help Brad Chapdelaine devotes as much attention to local outreach as he does his bottom line. By Elizabeth Manning E ight years ago, Minneapolis- based Brad Chapdelaine heard a broadcast about truck convoys one day while driving. He went to his carrier, Dart Transit, in search of a way to get involved. They gave him the money to enter a convoy in Joplin, Mo. "I came back and said, 'This is a good deal. Let's try it out with Minnesota Special Olympics.' The program was already having a big conference in Minneapolis, so I thought, why not?" Chapdelaine says. He's now been on the convoy commit- Chapdelaine earned the handle "The Yankee" after years of working in Virginia and Minnesota. 44 | Overdrive | August 2012 Chapdelaine said transporting wreaths for Wreaths Across America was an honor because of his military past. tee for five years and is its ambassador. But it's not the only program to which the 58-year-old owner-operator lends his time. With four years of involvement in Toys for Tots, in which he transports toys to Salvation Army locations, and a year with Wreaths Across America's wreath- delivery effort to Arlington National Cemetery to honor soldiers, Chapdelaine has his hands full "giving back to the community," he says. "I think drivers and their carriers should turn around and give back." Sue Caine, a Dart co-worker, says the company has gained from having Chapdelaine involved in projects like the convoy. "His main priority with the con- voy is to make sure things run smoothly Renee Hennagir