John Haley was recently named an Outstanding Trucker Buddy for the work he does with the Trucker Buddy organization corresponding with a fifth-grade class each year, sending letters and postcards to the students and more.John Haley, a truck driver for Oakley Transportation, has been honored by Trucker Buddy International as an Outstanding Trucker Buddy.
He was nominated for the award by the teacher of the class he corresponds with while on the road, Linda Johnson of Sunset School in Oak View, California.
“I have been part of the Trucker Buddy program for almost 18 years and had three Trucker Buddies before moving to California four years ago,” Johnson says. “John Haley has been paired with my fifth-grade class since 2014. I had always raved about my previous buddies, and with each new match, I always thought that I had ‘the best one.’ After the first few months of being matched with John Haley, I realized that my idea of ‘the best one’ was falling way short of what ‘the best one’ actually is. John Haley, without a doubt, is the best Trucker Buddy a class could ever wish for.”
Johnson went on to say Haley starts each school year by getting to know the new class and exchanging letters in which he tells the students about himself, his family, his career, the places he travels and the history of different places around the country. Later in the school year, he begins sending individual postcards to the students.
“Each card is personalized in a way that makes every child feel special with each mail delivery,” Johnson says. “There are some days when we receive up to 12 postcards at a time.”
Haley will be recognized for the award at the 2019 Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Texas.
