As of today, it’s officially Spring. I think most of us will agree that it couldn’t come soon enough. Between steady snowfall, ice storms, and freezing temperatures, the past season was a doozy. Of course, I don’t need to tell you this – folks in our industry know better than most how tough winter can be. Even Stephen King recently tweeted his appreciation for America’s hardworking long-haul truck drivers. It turns out the famous author of over 54 books, including classics like Carrie, The Shining, The Stand, and Under the Dome, has a soft
Read more →Archive for the Thought for the Weekend Category
If you’re a regular reader of these emails, you already know that I spend a lot of time talking about superheroes (of all shapes and sizes) and their amazing powers. Sometimes I even get a little jealous, wishing I had the ability to leap over tall buildings in a single bound – I’d never get stuck in traffic again! On Monday, Mary’s email about color perception reminded me that I do have a superpower, one that’s better than anything Spiderman, Batman, or the Hulk could cook up. Best of all, you have it too.
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It seems that everyone in our industry has been affected by the problems between the Long Beach Longshoreman’s Union and the West Coast Ports. After the contract between the two parties expired at the end of June 2014, the Port’s management association accused the Longshoreman’s Union of a work slowdown – dragging their shifts out in order to receive extra pay for weekend and holiday hours. The Port wasn’t willing to pay that premium and responded by halting weekend and Monday ship operations in protest. This affected over 29 ports, stretching from Long Beach,
Read more →This Sunday, March 1st, marks the 60th day of the year and the beginning of a new fiscal quarter. It’s also a great time to take stock of our New Year’s Resolutions and see what kind of progress we’ve made toward those lofty goals we set way back in January. If you’re thinking “Resolutions? What resolutions?” you’re not alone. According to a recent study, 50% of Americans make resolutions, but 88% of those people don’t keep them. That’s 156 million failed resolutions every year. Ouch. Here at Matchmaker Logistics, we’ve been bucking the trend
Read more →The first man set foot on the moon when I was five years old. Naturally, this meant that I, along with every other five year old on the planet, wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. (My second choice was rock star. My third was transportation broker. Not bad, eh?) I was reminded of my old dream when I realized that today marks the 53rd anniversary of astronaut John Glenn’s historic flight. In 1962, Glenn completed the Friendship 7 mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, and the fifth human
Read more →As I’m sure you all know, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. (And if you didn’t know, consider this your warning!) While most of us celebrate the holiday with chocolates and flowers, there’s another gift that can be just as meaningful – and it’s free! What is this magical gift? Encouragement. I know, because I recently received it from an unexpected place: This year the Matchmaker team is taking on a challenge. Every day, we’re doing at least one thing above and beyond our daily To Do list. A few weeks ago, Mary shared that her
Read more →As you know, Matchmaker Logistics has been a bit preoccupied with superheroes for the last year or so. For example, my inner superhero is Batman, and not just because I dream of owning the Batmobile. Ever since we started this whole superhero thing, I’ve been noticing signs of my alter ego in unexpected places. Sometimes the signs are literal, like this picture sent to my inbox the other day. This isn’t just a genius Photoshop job; it’s a real place! Still, it didn’t stop me from wondering: “Would Alfred let me take the Batmobile
Read more →As you dust off your team jersey, stock the fridge with your favorite beers, and perfect your nacho recipe for this Sunday’s Super Bowl, I’d like to take to take a moment to remember the best Super Bowl of all time. The year was 1991. The Buffalo Bills were playing my favorite team, the New York Giants. The game was held in sunny Tampa, Florida. None other than Whitney Houston kicked things off with her famous rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.” And while all those details are pretty great, they aren’t the reason
Read more →Last Friday, I wrote about our Driver of the Month program, and how we’ll continue honoring the superheroes of our industry in 2015. Before we move forward, however, we need to give out one last honor. So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce Ralph Coats, our 2014 Driver of the Year! During the interview that followed his win, we learned that Ralph’s road to the shipping industry has been filled with twists and turns. A native of Dunn, NC, he earned a business degree from Campbell University, an excellent choice, especially considering
Read more →As you’ve probably noticed, the Matchmaker team has been focused on superheroes for over a year now. And why not? Their stories entertain us in theaters and comic books, and their adventures inspire us to live bigger, braver lives. In 2014, we learned a lot of lessons from our study of superheroes. The best one, however, was that you don’t need special powers to be a hero. All you need is a good heart, an honest soul, and a willingness to step up to the plate when duty calls. This important lesson didn’t come
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