Long-haul trucker Shelli Conaway has logged over 3 million miles in her nearly 30-year trucking career and also coordinates disaster relief efforts from the cab of her truck.
Conaway of Lexington, Kentucky, runs a nonprofit group called Trucks with Room to Spare. Her group delivers critical supplies, including tarps, food and ice, to those hardest hit by natural disasters in the U.S.
Right now, she is coordinating relief efforts to survivors of the wildfires that have devastated communities along the West Coast, as well as organizing aid to those impacted by Hurricanes Laura and Sally.
“It is chaotic at times, but I have some volunteers that are willing to help with social media to make sure we respond to the messages while I am on the road,” Conaway said.
Her company, D & C Transportation of Louisa, Kentucky, has been extremely supportive of her relief efforts.
“I recently went down and spent five days in Louisiana delivering supplies,” she said. “The owner only asked that I take care of the fuel.”
Immediate needs
Donations have been sparse, partly because 13.6 million Americans that are still unemployed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some motor carriers, including flatbed companies that were hard-hit by COVID-19, said they simply can’t afford to donate a driver, truck and trailer right now to deliver critical supplies.
“I find that truckers are generous and tend to step up in times of crisis,” Conaway told FreightWaves. “However, I understand that some just can’t give right now.”
Some truck drivers that are donating their time and equipment to deliver disaster supplies need help covering their fuel costs.
While Conaway said she hates asking for donations from the public to help cover fuel expenses, funds are badly needed.
Without donations, Conaway said she digs into her own pocket to pay fuel costs for truck drivers willing to pick up and deliver supplies.
“We still have our regular people that donate their time every year, but we need more truckers and companies to step up and help, if they can,” she told FreightWaves.
Her organization’s immediate needs include trucks and trailers, including both flatbed and refrigerated trailers, as well as cash donations to cover fuel expenses.
“I find that truckers are generous and willing to use their skills to deliver goods that some of these communities desperately need, but need a little assistance to help them out,” Conaway said.
Stepping in to help
Truck driver Shelle Lichti and Shelli Conaway joined forces in 2018 after Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida Panhandle and parts of Georgia.
“I posted on social media after Hurricane Michael hit that I was heading over to Florida and had room in my trailer to haul plywood and other supplies,” Lichti told FreightWaves. “I found out that Shelli was doing something similar and we met up and decided to work together.”
Recently, Lichti, who is the founder of LGBT Truckers, was in Louisiana helping deliver supplies to survivors of Hurricane Laura, when she received a weather alert that Mobile, Alabama, was in the direct path of Hurricane Sally.
“I had spent several weeks in Louisiana with my reefer delivering three tractor-trailer loads full of ice, but when I found out my place was in the direct path of Hurricane Sally, I told all of the volunteers, ‘I love you all, but I’ve got to go,’” Lichti said.
While her property sustained some damage because of high winds and torrential rains, she said she was lucky.
“We had a little damage here, but it’s nothing compared to others that are sleeping in parts of their homes with just a tarp over their heads,” Lichti said.
Litchti’s company, Hirschbach Motor Lines, headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa, has been supportive of her efforts to help survivors of natural disasters.
“When I use my truck to deliver relief supplies, the only thing Hirschbach asks is that I pay for my fuel,” she said. “It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it.”
