September 29, 2017
Just some Guys with Trucks!
Louisville Assembly Plant UAW Local 862 worker Frank Rouse knows what it is like to go through a flood. That experience led him to just make a comment to a family and a friend and the rest is just an amazing story. His brother Hyte Rouse works at Ford also at Kentucky Truck Plant UAW Local 862. Frank mentioned to Hyte that he wished they could do something to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey. The next words out of his mouth were: “You know, we don’t have thousands of dollars to send; but we do to have trucks!” Then, his wife jumps in with the idea to post on Facebook that they will be taking down items to help the relief of all the people suffering from the damage and loss due to Harvey. Immediately there were responses. Some friends of both Frank and Hyte started calling saying that they have trucks and brought other
ideas to the table. One friend, Joe Barnett called Frank and said that people wanting to donate could bring the donations to his warehouse at his business so there was a central location to start dropping off items because the response on Facebook was just over-whelming. In no time this was getting so big that Frank wasn’t sure what he needed to do to handle such a task that was quickly becoming as massive as the storm itself. Then Frank decided to call UAW Local 862 President Todd Dunn. He knew how involved Todd and the UAW are in the community, so it just made sense to call the Union Hall. Frank told Todd the story and what he felt he needed. Todd started calling other Union Presidents here in Louisville and EVERYONE was on board. Others shared the Facebook post and the word spread like crazy. A lot of businesses wanted to help as well, even Jim Beam. The next issue was Frank and his friends didn’t have enough room in their trucks and trailers for all the donations.
As usual, Todd was all over this opportunity to utilize our awesome membership and their generosity as well as the community. Our Teamsters brothers volunteered their semi-tractor trailer and then just a few hours later Jim Beam was eager to donate theirs as well. After all the donations came in and all the trucks were loaded, Frank and his crew filled two semi-tractor trailers, two box trucks along with several Super Duty trucks pulling box trailers. When interviewed by the local news stations Frank said there were so many people to thank that he could not name them all. But he was quick to not just thank all the Union help but his wife Alisha Rouse as well, which was a smart move on his part! He said this was the most stressful thing he has ever done, but if it was not for his wife and her organization this would not have come together like it did. They are both thankful for the opportunity to serve.
Frank went to say: “I don’t care if they know our name, it doesn't matter.” The humility that these guys had was so awesome. This was all about helping people that were in need. Frank told them that if they were to only help just one person it was well worth all the hard work and all the stress. This was truly a labor of love for our fellow brothers and sisters. This is the exact attitude that our country needs. How ironic it was that in the middle of all this work to loading trucks to help, Harvey was raining on the parade in Louisville. It did NOT damper one single effort by anyone. No one cared because the mission was to help those that were in need. The first thought is that people need water and food. But there are so many other items that were needed. A local church donated several pillows and blankets. Other brought pallets of dog food, shampoo, soap, diapers, paper products! Everything that you can imagine. The story just gets better, Alisha shared pictures on Facebook and even video for the trip down and back. There was so much need and devastation that it was as if they were waiting for them to arrive.
Part of Alisha’s work was finding out exactly who and where to go. She was able to hook up with a lady named Mindy Braniff who is the founder of Team Cajun Invasion. She was located right outside of New Orleans so that is where Frank and the team headed. Frank has a cousin that lives in Louisiana and he put them in touch with Team Cajun Invasion. As soon as they arrived they was an immediate connection. All the workers from Team Cajun Invasion were survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Before any unloading took place the relationships were developed. They told Frank and the crew stories about the devastation that Katrina left on them and their homes. The very warehouse that was the drop-off point had been thirty feet under water from their travesty. It was pretty awesome the connection and appreciation for the massive amount of help. They still have might-mares and some of them cannot even visit the areas they once live because of the heartache.
 
Once they started to unload they were so “Jacked Up” in Frank’s words that they were unloaded in no time. Although they had been up for hours they were running on pure adrenaline. When asked to put a dollar value on all the donations Frank and Alisha estimated easily over $200,000. They had 24 pallets of water that they bought with money that was donated and then put it all on pallets themselves. It wasn't just the Team Cajun Invasion folks that had tears of appreciation rolling down their cheeks. The Rouse’s are very quick to say that this was definitely crazy but worth every second of it and the most rewarding thing that they have ever experienced. Their community had many people get involved; Publisher’s Printing, Troutman’s Dry Goods, SO Contracting and Pink Mustard Seed; just to name a few. These are all small businesses that knew about this effort and wanted to help anyway they could. The cool thing is they knew of the UAW’s involvement as well as our fellow Union brothers and sisters and were ready to jump on- board. One of the guys that drove his truck down came from another local business that just wanted to help and be part of something to help someone running on pure adrenaline. When asked to put a dollar value on all the donations Frank and Alisha estimated easily over $200,000. They had 24 pallets of water that they bought with money that was donated and then put it all on pallets themselves. It wasn't just the Team Cajun Invasion folks that had tears of appreciation rolling down their cheeks. The Rouse’s are very quick to say that this was definitely crazy but worth every second of it and the most rewarding thing that they have ever experienced. Their community had many people get involved; Publisher’s Printing, Troutman’s Dry Goods, SO Contracting and Pink Mustard Seed; just to name a few. These are all small businesses that knew about this effort and wanted to help anyway they could. The cool thing is they knew of the UAW’s involvement as well as our fellow Union brothers and sisters and were ready to jump on- board. One of the guys that drove his truck down came from another local business that just wanted to help and be part of something to help someone Help those in need; it was Chuck’s Automotive. He jumped right in and went also. What makes this even more special is the fact this took place all in a four day span. It could not have turned out better. Every single step was forward and there were no constraints to overcome. If they had planned this over a significant period of time it could not have worked this well. Frank and Alisha both are quick to give God the glory.
Frank said trucks were so packed they could not even fit a pack of bubble gum additionally on their loads. They are recuperating from a week of no sleep and hard work. These were just some guys with a truck! |
