People First, Part 2: Meet TA’s Extra Mile Award Winner, Trip Smith

Welcome back to our People First series, where we’re introducing you to our award-winning employees who embody our company core values. We’re incredibly proud of the hard-working people who make up our team — setting us apart and allowing us to provide the best possible service for shippers and carriers. In case you missed the first post in our series, take some time to meet the winner of our inaugural Make.Ship.Happen.® award, Kevin Drew. In this second post in our series, we’re featuring one of the two winners of our first-ever Extra Mile award, Trip Smith.

Trip embodies everything that the Extra Mile award represents. This award was created to recognize the employees who have played a critical supporting role in their teammates’ success and the success of TA Services as a whole. The Extra Mile award winners know that TA Services values teamwork. The recipient of this award is the epitome of a team player — always willing to step up to the plate and offer support for the greater good of the team and organization. They have a deep appreciation of one of TA’s mottos: “Every employee a brick, together a wall.”

As part of the business development team, Trip wears many hats. He promotes TA Services and its brand values. He helps businesses find solutions to meet their goals and finds avenues to grow partnerships with existing customers.

Trip goes above and beyond every day, but he was specifically recognized for his exceptional supporting role in a large military cargo transportation project. For this project, Trip travelled solo to the Galveston, TX port to act as the on-site receiving representative for TA Services. He met with every driver involved in the project that was delivering from California to Galveston, ensuring all necessary paperwork was filled out properly. Showing the true Extra Mile spirit, Trip often worked from his car, keeping track of stacks of administrative paperwork to ensure the cargo left the port safely for its European transit.

Fun fact: Our first Make.Ship.Happen. award winner, Kevin Drew, was an important leader on this same project.
Read his story to get more details on this exciting project.

We sat down with Trip to learn more about his role in this complex project and what it means to be recognized with the Extra Mile award.

Q: What does it mean to you to go the Extra Mile?
A: For me, I think going the extra mile is about being ready to step up to the plate every day, no matter what.

Q: What does the Extra Mile award represent to you?
A: This award represents one of our most important core company values: people first. And it acknowledges a job well done. You can’t be afraid to do what you have to do to get the job done — and get it done right.

Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced working on this project?
A: I had never been on-site in this capacity, so it was a new experience for me. I was there by myself working out of my rental car — not your typical working environment. Most days I had my computer and paperwork set up on the back of my car, and I had to make sure I was finding all the right people and ensuring they had everything they needed to get the job done.  

Q: And what are you most proud of on this project?
A: We got it done on time and we got it done right. Now, we’re continuing to grow our partnership with the Department of Defense because of the success of this project. Since the project ended, TA has even developed a new operations team dedicated to the Department of Defense and military loads. It was also nice to be supporting America through my work. It was just great to see it through and to be able to show Uncle Sam what we can do for him.

Q: As someone who works very closely with customers, can you tell us about your approach to nurturing customer relationships?
A: Working in logistics, you have to treat each customer on an individual basis. No human being is the same. No company is the same. Take the time to understand their unique needs, their communication style, and what they respond to. Companies are companies, but they’re represented by people, so you have to get to know the person behind the company. But, regardless of the person — or the relationship — we have to back it up with quality service. We can’t nurture the customer without support from the entire TA Services team — it’s how we are able to provide the best possible service.

Q: And lastly, what advice would you give people who are just starting out in logistics?
A: This is really advice across the board — for logistics and for life. Yesterday happened. Today is a present. Tomorrow is not promised. So just put one foot in front of the other and keep your head up.

Congratulations to Trip on his recognition. We’re lucky to have dedicated individuals like him making up the TA Services team. Be sure to tune in to the next installment of our People First series to meet another award-winning member of our team.

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