Choptank Transport is proud to announce it accepted the “Ambassador of the Year” award this week at the Caroline County Chamber of Commerce 2021 Best in Business Awards dinner.

This year’s venue took on a new twist in keeping with safe-distancing protocols due to the pandemic. Instead of being held at the Preston Fire House as in previous years, it was an outdoor “movie night and dinner” event. Attendees had their choice of three different entrees provided by Tenchi, delivered to their vehicles, and popcorn and snacks were provided by Bubba Bob’s Country Treats.

“The Ambassador Award is an extremely important award because it shows the true spirit of our community! It goes to an individual, or in this case a team, that supports the Chamber and is a testament to the power of human kindness,” said Chamber Director Tracey Snyder. “We are honored to present the Ambassador Award to Choptank Transport. They go above and beyond every day to serve our community!”

Choptank Transport Executive Vice President Steve Covey has been an active member on the Chamber’s board of directors for a decade, as well as a Chamber member for many years. “We are strong supporters of the Caroline County Chamber,” he said.“And we are extremely grateful to be given this award. As John Maxwell would say, ‘A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way,’ and as one of the larger companies in the county, our responsibility as a member is to share our experiences and successes with our fellow business community. The Chamber offers a wonderful environment to do that.”

Choptank Transport is part of a $213.5 billion industry of U.S. third-party logistics companies that match a variety of freight services with shippers who have product to be transported.  Choptank specializes in truckload freight, less-than-truckload, refrigerated and dry, as well as rail, air and sea movement.  Choptank’s headquarters is in Preston, Maryland, with five other locations nationwide, including: Tampa, Dallas, Atlanta, Denver and Baltimore.  A new location in Easton, Maryland is opening this fall.

Food Logistics, the only publication exclusively dedicated to covering the movement of product through the global cold food supply chain, reveals the winners of its 2021 Rock Stars of the Supply Chain award. Choptank Transport Director of Specialized Logistics Doug VanDerveer was named as one of this year’s Rock Stars.

This award recognizes influential individuals in the industry whose achievements, hard work and vision have shaped the global cold food supply chain. This year’s list includes individuals from software providers, consultancies and academia, trucking and transportation firms, grocery retail and delivery outlets, and more, all who have met and exceeded in safety, efficiency, productivity, and innovation throughout the global cold food supply chain.

“I am thrilled and honored to receive this award,” said VanDerVeer. “Choptank’s growth in the industry comes from our expanding customer base, the hard work of our team, and through exceptional leadership from the top. We fulfill an essential need in the market and things are looking favorable for continued growth in the specialty services arena.”

Choptank Executive Vice President Steve Covey said, “Doug has taken Choptank’s cold LTL division from zero to sixty since its inception–on all fronts, in terms of world class service and rapidly increased business. He is an expert in his field and as the director of specialized services, has helped make Choptank one of the few truly multi-modal 3PLs that shippers need in today’s sophisticated supply chain.

“These professionals are making waves in an industry upended by the global pandemic. Whether it’s pivoting into a different channel or implementing emerging technologies, these supply chain leaders prove that hard work pays off,” says Marina Mayer, Editor-in-Chief of Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive. “These winners collaborated, optimized, developed, educated and played a critical role in the survival and success of their company amid a global pandemic. I am honored to recognize these individuals and continue to extend my utmost gratitude to everyone in the cold food supply chain industry for their time, efforts and innovations to keep food moving through the chain in a safe and efficient manner.”

Recipients of this year’s award will be profiled in the March 2021 print issue. Go to www.FoodLogistics.com to view the full list of all 2021 Rock Stars of the Supply Chain winners.

About Food Logistics Food Logistics is the only publication exclusively dedicated to covering the movement of product through the global cold food supply chain, focusing on trucking, warehousing, packaging, risk management, food safety and more. Go to www.FoodLogistics.com.

About Choptank Transport Choptank Transport is a leading third-party logistics provider headquartered in Preston, Maryland. As a full-service 3PL, the company specializes in the transportation of truckload, both temperature-controlled and dry van, less-than-truckload, intermodal, flatbed, port/drayage, and cross-border shipping services. Choptank employs over 400 logistics professionals and has five regional offices located in Tampa, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, and Baltimore with a new location in Easton, Maryland opening this fall.

Choptank Transport is pleased to announce the appointment of President & CEO Geoff Turner to the state’s Maryland Economic Development Commission (MEDC).

The MEDC uses the expertise of Maryland’s business leaders to make recommendations to the Governor regarding policy, programs and to help prioritize spending. Commission members work with the Administration, the General Assembly, Maryland’s business community and the general public to advocate pro-business policies.

“This is quite an honor,” said Turner. “As a strong advocate of business growth in my own community, I look forward to sharing my experiences and expertise as a business leader with hopes of bringing about positive change to some of Maryland’s current and future economic policies.”

The MEDC’s mission is to establish economic policy and drive innovation and growth in Maryland’s business community. The Department “oversees Maryland Commerce’s efforts to support the creation, attraction and retention of businesses and jobs,” according to the MEDC website. The Department also monitors an established set of economic indicators to strategically support strong economic growth throughout the state. To become a part of the 25-voting-member commission, a candidate is appointed by the Governor of Maryland, Senate President, and House Speaker, two non-voting members, one appointed by the Senate President and one by the House Speaker; and four non-voting ex-officio members who represent Commerce, the Department of Labor, the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO), and the Technology Development Corporation.

The MEDC meets four times a year in Annapolis. Dates are currently scheduled for March 27, June 14, September 13 and December 6.

Choptank Transport is a leading third-party logistics company headquartered in Preston, Maryland.  Celebrating its twentieth anniversary, Choptank has five regional offices, including Tampa, Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, and Baltimore. The company is about to open its seventh location in Easton, Maryland this fall. For more information, go to www.choptanktransport.com

The brutal winter weather that hit Texas last week left thousands of residents without power or water for days—but Choptank Transport was able to lend a helping hand.

Before working as a sales representative at Choptank’s Dallas office, Coleman Stafford was employed by Houston-based Brother’s Produce. He has maintained a good relationship with his former employer, checking in frequently to see if Choptank could assist with any of the produce company’s transportation needs.

Stafford was surprised to get a call from his friends at Brother’s last week, since the produce market is not yet in full swing.

It wasn’t produce, however, they needed transportation services for—but bottled water to go to the thousands of people in need due to the winter storms that have devastated Texas.

“Electric companies were shut down, which meant that water companies did not have power,” Stafford said. “Many people were forced to boil the water they could get and use melted snow to flush toilets. One of my co-workers didn’t have power for three days and still doesn’t have water. That is how bad it’s been in Texas.”

Photo: Dallas, Texas office manager and sales rep who, with the help of the Preston, Maryland office, covered 7 truckloads of bottle water for the Astro Foundation water delivery event.

Stafford outlined the requisite logistics: “They needed four trucks on Friday and three more on Saturday. The freight was to be picked up in San Antonio and delivered to a distribution center in Houston.” From there, Stafford explained it was picked up by the Astros Foundation (spearheaded by Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman) for a Saturday relief event at the Astros Youth Academy.

The weather over the weekend fluctuated between below zero and single digits, with rolling blackouts. “It is not easy conducting business when you don’t have access to reliable Internet services,” said Stafford, “but with the help of our regional offices I was able to secure trucks for all seven loads pretty quickly.”

https://abc13.com/astros-alex-bregman-water-distribution-cares-reagan-free-bottled/10353881/

About Choptank Transport

Choptank Transport is part of a $213.5 billion industry of U.S. third-party logistics companies that match a variety of freight services with shippers who have product to be transported. Choptank specializes in truckload freight, less-than-truckload, refrigerated and dry, as well as rail, air and sea logistics.  Choptank’s headquarters is in Preston, Maryland, with five other locations nationwide, including: Dallas, Tampa, Atlanta, Denver and Baltimore.