Welcome to the Averitt Express headquarters in beautiful Cookeville, TN. When we say Our Driving Force is People, we mean that. Our company has tens of thousands of moments of truth every day. All across the country, when our drivers and associates interact with our customers. The reason we're still here and still growing after all these years is our mission to keep our people happy, safe, and well trained so that they can take excellent care of the customers we serve. It's what we call the Power of One - Everyone working together with a common vision, toward a common goal. We get to do a lot of customer tours, and typically customers are surprised by several things. I think what customers are the most surprised with when they come to a corporate tour here in Cookeville is the feeling that they get. When they come to a corporate tour here at Averitt, they're going to feel welcome, they're going to feel understood, and going to feel like their business matters to us. Averitt's history dates back to the late 1950's when a man named Thurman Averitt started a small trucking company. In 1971, our current owner purchased that company from Mr. Averitt and at the time it had two associates and three trucks and five trailers and so our roots are very humble and we've been very fortunate through the years because of customers and their faith in us to be able to grow, and today we're proud to to be a larger organization that can meet our customers needs around the globe, but we still have that small company humble hungry attitude that we had in the early days. We have customers tell us all the time that Averitt will do things that nobody else will do. You guys are very flexible, and I think that flexibility comes back to the mindset that says we are going to earn the customer's business, we're going to do whatever it takes to provide them with the service and the information and the value that they require. The Winner's Circle is a really important part of our company history and our culture. It has three elements our customers, our associates, and our future and every decision we make we make through the lens of the Winner's Circle. Is this decision good for our customers? Is it good for our associates and is it good for our future? One of the displays here at corporate that I'm so excited to share with you is our Over 20 Team. This board displays the associates who have been here for 20 plus years, so we take great pride in that. That board tells you there's associates who have found something special in this company. Taking care of our people is a big part of our culture, and one of the ways that we do that is through investments in health and wellness and one of those investments is the fitness center that we have here at the corporate office. One of the benefits of the fitness center is simply reducing our healthcare costs both for our associates and for the company and anytime that we can reduce our costs and operate more efficiently that's going to translate down to the customer level. We're really excited to share with you also that we've got centralized teams here for all your needs. We have over 15 different teams in this building. This building is our Operations Center and our National Call Center. Technology and processes that we use for customer service are all designed to give the customer accurate information in a timely manner. One of the things that we do with our technology is what's called geographic routing and that means if you call in from a certain location instead of being routed to one of 100 different people you're going to be routed to one of maybe five or six people. Routing customers that way allows them to speak with people that are going to be more familiar with their business. They're going to know their market. They're going to know their needs and it allows them to provide more custom tailored service to that customer. Another way to benefit our customers is that we provide you with 24/7 365 customer service. One of the most memorable parts of the customer experience is what we call our Averitt Cares for Kids wall. Averitt Cares for Kids is funded completely by associate contributions that our teammates make voluntarily from their weekly paychecks. They give a dollar a week for something that is greater than ourselves. You know you may ask how can a dollar a week change anything, but when we all come together with the Power of One, one dollar goes a long way. We've donated almost nine million dollars to charities. We make a lot of investments in our facilities, in our equipment, in our uniform program for our people, but what we're most proud of is the quality and consistency of our people. Their caring nature, their humble attitude, their desire to serve, and their generosity. That's the kind of people that Averitt is committed to hiring, that's the kind of people that we want to provide service to our customers. One of the most important things that I want people to feel when they leave a corporate tour at Averitt is I want them to know that they matter. I want them to know that their business matters to us, but not just their business, but them as a person. We want to meet their needs, we want to lock arms with them, become partners with them, grow business, make memories. I wish every customer that we have, potentially and existing, could always come to our corporate office. There's just something that people get when they get here. It's just a feel that we're sincere, that we're here for you. I think the first thing they see what we do, and they are amazed that we do all these services, but when they leave they I think they think back and say, this is why they do it. And that's different. And that's what makes us more than a trucking company to our associates, our communities and our customers. The Power of One. Let us show you how the Power of One can change your business for the better. Visit AverittExpress.com or keep up with us on social media. And if you're ever in Cookeville, Tennessee we'd be honored to show you around.
