This small towns thank you to their UPS driver will melt your heart!
Small town America is exactly what we think it is, tumbleweeds in the streets, neighbors chatting to one another across the white picket fence, 24-hour diners where everyone knows everyone’s name, and delivery workers who go out of their way to make things more special. Small town America is where one comes to find peace and quiet, where one goes to form meaningful bonds. It is where one goes to start a family; it’s where your kids play on their bikes outside in the street or play baseball.
Small town America is the “village” in the phrase it takes a village to raise a child. Growing up, I recall spending hours away from home and knowing that I was safe because there was always adult supervision, someone who knows my parents, and someone who would not hesitate to discipline me if I stepped out of line. It really was a joyful childhood. When the community comes together in support of another member, those are the times that I loved the most because we all know one another we also know when someone needs help, and we come together and help however we can.
Small town community brings UPS driver to tears
With a population of just 800, Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania, is one of America’s smallest towns. It’s one of those “blink, and you’ll miss it kind of towns,” says Joe Calhoun, a long-time resident. “But there is something very special here; it’s a small town with a big heart.”[1]
Everyone knows everyone, from the garbage man to the local police, from the butchers and backers to the UPS drivers. One particular UPS driver has made quite an impact on the community, and the community decided to show him how much he means to them.
A very special UPS driver indeed
Chad Turns has been a UPS driver for over ten years and has developed and cultivated friendships with nearly everyone in the community.[2]
“Everyone knows Chad is very special, If he thinks a package may be a gift, he will not deliver it while the children can see him. He will go do all these other deliveries and come back after hours to drop them off so the children don’t see their gift. He has literally done this more than once.”
Jenny Shickley
Jenny goes on to say that this is not an isolated incident and that Chad is well known for going the extra mile for his customers and when the coronavirus shut down the whole planet, the small community did as they were told and self-isolated themselves but continued to buy stuff online. As a result, the UPS drivers were now working as if it were Christmas every day.
The workload increased to such an extent that Chad was now working 80 hour weeks for a full year, so with the support of other community members, Jenny organized a “Thank you, Chad” event through Facebook.
“It’s funny because I meant to set it up for $300 but it was set to $500, we hit the $500 mark within two days and in total ended up with just over $1000”
Jenny Shickley
Read: Over 900 cars paid for each other’s meals at a Dairy Queen drive-thru
The perfect surprise
The UPS driver shift supervisor, Adam Kerr, assisted with the logistics of the event and ensuring that Chad would make it in time.
“Adam is not Chad’s supervisor but he deals with all the dispatch stuff and arranged for Chad’s last stop to be an on-demand pickup and the municipal building. Chad thought he was going to pick up a box but it was the community and kids waving huge thank you signs”
Adam Kerr
With face masks on and everyone at a reasonably safe distance from one another, the exceptional UPS driver was met with huge applause and roaring cheers.
“It was very overwhelming, the idea that they even thought of me to do anything, to go above and beyond and do what they did for me yesterday, is truly amazing”
Chad has said that he has received many small tokens of appreciation throughout the year, with people offering him cookies or coffee but this surprise was definitely the one that made him most emotional.
“I cried, I always call my wife after a shift and I told her what happened and she cried as well.”
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