Summer time is here! In the LTL freight world that means hotter temperatures, more freight bills to pick up and deliver, and time off to try to relax. When you get some time off, enjoy it…You've earned it!

By now, I am sure you have heard about our Core Values and have seen the posters hanging in each of our terminals. But culture is more than just hanging a poster and making a video. Culture is more than just a discussion or something we talk about in meeting rooms. Culture is more than just a goal or a strategy. Culture is Saia! Culture is winning together and coming in everyday to make this place better than the day prior. Culture is the reason I have been here for 42 years and the reason I am excited to be at work every day.

As we all try to relate to each other in order to support ourselves and our families, ask yourself two simple questions: “What brought me here?” and “Why did I choose Saia?” We all benefit if we remember the reason we decided to become a part of the Saia family and the commitment we made to the company. So, rather than just tell you to do this, let me tell you my answers to these two questions.

At age 17, I chose Saia because I needed to pay for my car insurance if I wanted to drive and have some spending money to go out on a date every now and then. And, most importantly, my parents told me I wasn’t going to lay around and do nothing while I was in college. Add 42 years and a little more perspective, and I realized I started at Saia to take care of myself and my family, which is why I am still here today — to take care of myself and my family. We all have similar stories or reasons of why or how we started our career here. The older we get, the greater the responsibility and the greater the desire is to be part of and contribute to a successful company.

So, what I am trying to say is…the LTL freight industry is not easy. The hours are variable, days can be long, and people and machines are not perfect. However, when we believe in one another, we are able to overcome our differences or challenges in that moment and create satisfaction for our customers and, equally as important, ourselves. That is culture!

I challenge everyone reading this to not wait for the next groundbreaking solution, the next piece of technology, or the next great strategy. Because in the end, you are the strategy! Take it as a challenge to make your workplace better every day. I read a great quote once that has stuck with me, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” and that cannot be more true than here at Saia!

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