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AMERICAN PRIDE TRUCK
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July 2012
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by Jennifer Pencek
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Category: Featured
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Walker, owner of Service One Transport Inc. in Florence, Ala., decided to combine two things he knows a lot about: trucking and patriotism. On Sept. 11, 2011, Service One unveiled American Pride, a bright red 2007 Peterbilt truck decorated with graphics and lettering honoring America.
"We wanted to make a statement that we are patriotic and support the people we love," Walker says. "I hope it will instill a sense of patriotism and be a symbol of pride. It's great for the morale of our company and great for the morale of the country."
With "American Pride" painted above the cab, the truck features the words "Freedom" and "In God We Trust" on both sides, along with an artistic rendering of a swooshing American flag. The truck's number, 911, holds obvious meaning, along with the words "Never Forget" below it.
Walker, who has owned Service One for seven years, spent 19 years and six months in the military, including the Navy and National Guard. When he speaks, his voice is steady and proud, his love of his country clearly visible.
His devotion to his country permeates through his entire company. The idea for the American Pride truck was a joint venture among Walker, Corporate Secretary Becky Craig, driver Robert Foshee, and company President Kelly Robinson (Walker's daughter).
Initially just excited to be getting a "red Pete," Robinson says discussions to make the truck more than a red cab quickly began.
"They were showing commercials on the World Trade Centers, and it started out with just 'Freedom' in blue lettering and an American flag on both sides of the word," she explains. "Then Robert Foshee and I were talking, and we said we needed to mention on the truck 'In God We Trust' since they are trying to remove this from so many things. Robert Walker thought of the truck number after we had the truck design in our minds."
After buying the truck from Werner Enterprises, Corey Williams at Dixie Signs and Decals Inc. in Florence was given the task of creating the final design. When approached with the idea for the truck, Williams, Dixie Signs' graphic designer, immediately had his own suggestions.
"We had a very short turn-around time to have the truck finished in, so I started a few minutes after the truck arrived by taking pictures of the truck and importing those images into my design software, then designing the graphics to fit onto the pictures of the truck," he says. "Within an hour I called Robert [Walker] to let him know I had the design finished, and they came into the office and we tweaked the design a little. After they approved the design, I measured all of the areas for the graphics and began the process of printing, laminating and contour cutting of the vinyl graphics."
From design to completion, it took Williams more than six hours to finish the project, not including the two hours it took for the printer to print the graphics. From the idea first being born, it took two months for American Pride to be unveiled.
But who would be the lucky driver to take American Pride on the road? That job went to Foshee, someone Walker says fits the bill of a patriotic driver perfectly.
"He's a family man and he understands the great sacrifices done by a lot of people," Walker says. "He's distinguished himself as a great driver and a great patriot."
Foshee, 38, has been a professional truck driver for 15 years, the past six with Service One. While he gladly gave his input on the truck's development, he was shocked when he was chosen as its driver.
"My first thought was, 'Why do I deserve this? What makes me that guy?'" he says. "It makes you feel proud to be an American and a driver in general."
Since its unveiling in September, American Pride has been seen on the roads of Alabama, Colorado, Nebraska and Tennessee. Along the way, Foshee has been given more thumbs-up signs than he can count and has even been called into two scale houses just to be told how beautiful the truck is.
"People snap pictures and drivers holler at me over the radio," Foshee says. "It's really something. I find motorcyclists just love it. They'll just drive by and look at it - maybe they can see it better than other drivers."
Williams says he has heard from several people who saw the truck after it was finished and everyone seems very excited and pleased with the results. There have even been tears of joy shed over the truck.
"We all got a little teary-eyed when the truck was finished because we never imagined the outcome would be so beautiful," Robinson says.
Walker has ideas for two other decorated trucks - one dedicated to the Marine Corps and one to the Army Rangers.
That is not surprising to Foshee, who says his boss is one to always put ideas into action.
"Robert's always been particular about his trucks, but something about the American Pride truck put a gleam in his eyes," he says. "He's the type of person who, when he gets an idea, he runs with it."
Since the American Pride truck hit the road, Walker commissioned the Support Our Troops truck, with its yellow and white-colored design, and a pink Fight Breast Cancer truck. And they hope to do more themes on their fleet in the future.
So if you are driving down the road and see any of Service One's special trucks alongside you, give the driver a wave and admire the work of some dedicated individuals.
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