Their company, Ravenwood Transport, is a contracted service with FedEx Ground, and the Petersons drive loads between the parcel hubs in Mahtomedi and Dallas, Texas ten times a month. That’s more than 20,000 miles a month. “The sunrises and sunsets. That’s my favorite thing about being in the truck,” said Tina. “You can’t miss it.”
She’s also a part of America’s Road Team, a safety-oriented public relations campaign about long-haul trucking and drivers nationwide. Through that organization, she recently got a call to take part in a White House ceremony, where President Donald Trump honored truck drivers and their efforts to keep supply chains moving during the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.
Photo Courtesy of Tina Peterson
At the ceremony, Peterson was introduced by President Trump and got to speak on the White House’s South Lawn, flanked by large trucks, including hers and Dave’s.
“We recognize and appreciate the unique position we are in,” she said that day with the president looking on.
“Even now, seeing the photos, I can’t believe it happened,” said Peterson a few weeks later. “I’m super proud and thankful.”
As part of the ceremony, President Trump presented Tina and other representatives from the other major parcel carriers with keys to the White House.
“I’m glad to be a part of (the supply chain),” said Peterson. “I’m proud to know people can stay home and stay safe and I can still be supplying what they need and they don’t have to leave.”
She also hopes the exposure her business and the industry received then and the appreciation they continue to see along their route–meals delivered at truck stops and flag-waving crowds across overpasses–will one day translate to more people looking to trucking as a career.
“It’s kind of a career that’s not at the career fair,” she said of trucking. “I’m hoping what we do will spotlight it and some kids will get interested that have never thought of it before.”
