dispatch diaries

April 2017

Volume 2, Issue 1

Inside this issue:

Stress Mgmt 2

Farm Vehicle Safety 2

401K 2

Phishing Alert 3

Payroll News 3

Did you know? 3

IPASS 4

HR News 4

Operational Updates 4

Spring Safety 4

Trucks, Traffic, &

Teens

5

Employee

Recognitions

5

Wellness

Benefits

5

Injury Avoidance

Reminder

5

Pictured left to right: Dave Gibbs, President Alvin Moore, 2016 Road Division Driver of the Year Janice Ryan, 2016 Dedicated Driver of the Year Jason Rench, 2016 Bulk Division Driver of the Year Mark McLeod, CEO & Owner

“DRIVER OF THE YEAR”

2016 AWARDS

As some of you may know, Colt McLeod (shown below) has been living in the St. Louis area the past several years, taking the lead in developing the McLeod Logistics business. Colt & his wife Katie will be relocating to Decatur now and he will be working from the home office, where he will have the opportunity to broaden his experience in the business by training in other areas of the trucking company while still assuming his role as VP of Logistics. Presently Colt is spending part of his time working in the Safety & Claims area of the company.

We are pleased to have Jack Ziebarth (shown above) join McLeod Express as our Vice President of Fleet Opera-tions. In this role, Jack will have primary responsibility for our fleet service and utilization as well as equipment and terminal areas. Jack has a long history spanning 35 years of experience in transportation having worked in fleets with multiple service and equipment offerings and in many roles during his career. Jack is in the process of relocating to Decatur from Pennsylvania with his wife Christine. Please give them a hearty welcome when you see them!

Page 2 Volume 2, Issue 1

All of you know the feeling of being cut off, tailgated, and honked at. Other motorists dangerously switch lanes, forcing you to brake and miss a turn, leaving you seething. As you are aware, driving is a stressful activity in itself. Combined with other work or personal problems and feelings of anger and frustration, it can be downright danger-ous. Be on the lookout for these common stress pitfalls, which can lead to stress and possible road rage:

Skipping meals - Skipping meals while on the go is a common practice for truck drivers. While it may seem harmless, skipping regular meals can increase both short-term and long-term stress levels. In the short-term, not eating regularly can lead to hunger pangs and headaches, which provokes aggression, anxiety, and increased stress. In the long-term, missing meals results in a vicious cycle of poor nutrition, leading to increased susceptibility to infections and other illnesses, and even further stress.

People-pleasing - Trying to make everyone else happy at the expense of your own needs can be a major stress-inducer. Whether it is due to a spouse, friends, kids, or your job, many people wind up with impossible schedules and epic to-do lists because they have a built-in need to please others or an inability to refuse requests. While accommodating the wishes of others is fine, be sure you are able to reserve enough time and energy for your own well-being.

Poor organization skills - A poorly-organized home, cab, or sleeper can cost time and energy that can be utilized elsewhere. By organizing these areas, you’ll save valuable time by not searching endlessly for maps, cell phones, or paperwork. You’ll also save yourself aggravation and frustration, ultimately reducing your day-to-day stress. Awareness of the pitfalls of stress and implementation of some of the following simple modifications can go a long way toward reducing feelings of stress and tension:

Get the proper amount of rest. A well-rested person is sharper, more patient, and better prepared to manage stress.

Get a little exercise. If possible, stop, get out, and stretch or take a short walk. You’ll be amazed at the positive effect a little fresh air and exercise can have on your mental attitude.

Breathing exercises also help to reduce stress. Take deep breaths and slowly exhale while counting to ten. Repeat the process several times. Don’t dwell on things you can’t control. Instead, concentrate on the things you can control, such as your professional driving skills. Doing so can help to prevent accidents.

REMEMBER . . . Report all accidents to the safety department immediately!

401K

The majority of our McLeod employees are enrolled and participating in our company sponsored 401K program. That is great!! You are never too old or too young to begin investing in your future. TransAmerica offers a very user friendly website where a participating member can create access to your investment account allowing you the ability to track your investment activity, change your investing elections, change your contribution rate or percentage and apply for loans or hardship withdrawals. Remember you must be age 59 1/2 to be able to begin early withdrawals from your 401K account. Logon to TransAmerica today to setup your account at www.ta-retirement.com.

Your

future

Volume 2, Issue 1 Page 3

Email and Internet Security Phishing Attacks

Phishing is a social engineering scam whereby intruders seek access to your personal information or passwords by posing as a real business or organization with legitimate reason to request information. Phishing emails (or texts) quite often alert you to a problem with your account and asks you to click on a link and provide information to correct the situation. These emails look real and often contain the organization’s logo and trademark. The URL in the email resembles the authentic web address. For example “Amazons.com”.

Two types of phishing you need to be aware of are: Spear phishing is an attack that targets a specific individual or business. The email is addressed to you and appears to be sent from an organization you know and trust, like a government agency or a professional association. Whaling is a phishing or spear phishing attack aimed at a senior official in the organization. NEVER provide your password to anyone via email. Be suspicious of any email that:

Requests personally identifiable information (PII),

Contains spelling and grammatical errors,

Asks you to click on a link,

Is unexpected or from a company or organization with whom you do not have a relationship, or has a different uniform resource locator (URL) web address than the one you typically use.

Here are some more important tips for protecting yourself from Phishing Attacks! If you are suspicious of an email:

Do not click on the links provided in the email.

Do not open any attachments in the email.

Do not provide personal information or financial data.

Personal computer/mobile device Security

Use passwords on personal computers and mobile devices.

Install and update antivirus software on your home computer.

Enable the firewall on your computer.

Routinely backup and encrypt your files.

Follow the instructions in the user manual to enable encryption for your wireless router.

Install and update the latest operating system (OS) security patches. Install the latest updates for your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome)

Install a browser plugin like uBlock Origin to help block ads and tracking Keep updated other plugins: Adobe Flash, Shockwave, and Java Consider browser sandboxing software like Sandboxie to isolate your browser from

everything else on your computer.

Adapted from the US Department of Health and Human Services Cybersecurity Awareness

Training https://www.hhs.gov/ocio/securityprivacy/awarenesstraining/awarenesstraining.html

CRITICAL TIPS FROM OUR I.T. DEPARTMENT

Danielle Poling (listed above) is our new contact for Driver Payroll. We would first of all like to thank all of you for your patience and cooperation during our employee transitions in our payroll department. As with any change, change in staff comes along with some challenges. We are confident in the team we have put in place. If you have a ques-tion or concerns, please contact Danielle.

By Garnett Powell One of the many services we provide for our customer Tate and Lyle, is a 24/7 365 day operation in Lafayette, IN. At the North plant facility, Tate and Lyle makes over 200 different types of starch! At the South Plant, sugar is produced. To keep this operation flowing at both plants we provide 27

drivers utilizing 12 power units, a Yard spotter, 77 van trailers,

3 hopper bottom trailers and 2

tanker trailers to complete the myriad of tasks needed to keep

freight and product moving. Just one of the many parts of

the McLeod Team!

IPASS is assigned to the driver

throughout their employment

with McLeod Express.

If IPASS is not turned in to Lau-

rie or found in your assigned

vehicle upon terminating em-

ployment, a $50 chargeback

will be payroll deducted from

your last settlement.

If you switch to a new truck, you

must take your IPASS with you.

If there is already an IPASS unit

in the new vehicle, please re-

turn it to Laurie. Having two

IPASS’s in one unit can cause

problems with our account.

If you do a truck recovery,

please bring the IPASS up to

Laurie asap.

McLeod Express will pay all tolls

except Indiana and Ohio.

Dispatch will not route you thru

these toll areas, but if you

decide to use these toll roads,

the fees will be deducted out of

your settlement.

IPASS is good anywhere that

EZPASS is accepted.

If IPASS does not work and you

are required to pay the toll, turn

in the receipt and we will make

sure you are reimbursed.

If you have a situation where

you don’t have money to pay a

toll, please turn in ticket to

Laurie. If the ticket is not

turned into Laurie within 15

days, additional fees will apply

and be passed on to you.

Only the original toll fee will be

paid by McLeod. Any late fees

will be your responsibility.

Call Laurie at extension 5024 if

you have any questions.

By Cody Johnson

Since the first of the year, Walmart has adjusted how they manage inbound freight to their various Distribution Centers. Effective immediately, all loads delivering to a Walmart facility must deliver on the date in your load assignment. If the load delivers earlier or later than the day marked on your Qualcomm we will be considered late on that shipment.

COMPANY IPASS RULES & REGULATIONS SPRING SAFETY It is that time of year again when

children will be back out on their

bikes, ready to play at the park.

Along with children, motorcycle

riders are out as well. It is

extremely important to look twice

before changing lanes or pulling

out onto a road/highway.

Not only should children and

motorcyclists raise added safety

awareness in the springtime, but

farm equipment will also be on the

roads, getting ready for planting

season. Please look ahead for

slow moving farm vehicles as well.

Give them plenty of space. Do not

pass unless you know for sure you

have the space, power, and

advantage to do so safely.

Lastly, road construction will be

underway on about every highway

and interstate for the next 6-8

months. Please watch for signs,

get in the open lane asap, double

your following distance and go

slower than the posted speed limit

in construction zones.

STAY ALERT!!!

NO PHONES IN SCHOOL OR

CONSTRUCTION ZONES!!

Volume 2, Issue 1 Page 4

ROAD FLEET —Operational NOTES

HEALTH AND DENTAL

ENROLLMENT

Open Enrollment for benefits is behind us now. If you missed enrolling, your next available opportunity to enroll in our group benefits is January 01,

2018. In order to enroll in group benefits outside of open enrollment there must be a qualifying event, such as loss of your previous coverage. Please

remember you only have 30 days from the date of the qualifying event to enroll or you will have to wait until the

next open enrollment period.

Blue Cross Blue Shield now has “MD Live”, a virtual doctor program. This allows you to contact a

certified medical physician for any ailment you might be experiencing, with the convenience of not leaving your truck or home. There is a $45.00 fee for the virtual program which in some cases is either the same cost or cheaper than actually going to your doctor's office. The virtual visit can also allow prescriptions to be called into a pharmacy located near your location. For more information on this virtual service, please contact HR.

LOADING ON TARP We have recently had a number of instances where a driver has loaded on their tarp. This is a very costly item for both the driver and the company; the driver loses his safety bonus, along with his earnings for other loads that cannot be completed that day. From the company's perspective, we incur the cost of the tarp repair, we lose truck revenue for the day, and we fail to service the customer due to our inability to deliver loads that were ordered. So please pay attention and make sure your tarp is open before loading. PAYLOAD AMOUNTS Maximizing payloads is critical! In many cases, we are transport-ing less than 24 tons. A ton or two per load may not seem too important to you as the driver, but when that is multiplied by 500 loads per day, it is costly to the company. Aside from the shortfall in revenue per load, we are sometimes required to sched-ule an additional load to meet the customer's needs. This additional load requires truck capacity that could be utilized to deliver a load for another customer, resulting in additional driver pay and truck revenue. PLEASE FUEL IN DECATUR One last reminder; please fuel at the Pilot truck stop in Decatur on any day that your dispatch requires you to be in Decatur.

Drivers of

the Month

January 2016 Justin Doty Mark Lesley Paul Hayes February 2016 John Brady Michael Hollis Bert Jachino

Page 5

Drivers who had roadsides with

“No Violations Found” for the 1st Qtr 2017

We hosted our 2nd Annual Truck, Traffic, & Teens event the first week of

April. ADM co-hosted the event with us this year and was one of our major

sponsors.

Last year we educated 480 drivers education students from 10 area high

schools. This year we were fortunate enough to reach 734 teens from 14 area

high schools. We are proud to lead the charge on this event here in Decatur!

The Illinois Trucking Association presented the NO-Zone training, the Illinois State Police presented the FATAL FOUR training, Macon Co. Sheriff’s Dept.

presented on Peer Pressure and the Do’s and Don’ts surrounding a traffic stop,

and Street Smart placed students in an accident reenactment to show what

emergency personnel must do in order to save a life at the scene following a

crash.

The program not only reinforces what teens already learn in driver’s education

class, but also educates teens about the NO-Zone areas around a commercial

motor vehicle and brings about a hands-on experience regarding traffic safety

that the teenagers will never forget!

Without a multitude of sponsors and volunteers, this event would not have

been possible. So a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped in any way!!

REMINDER ON

Wellness Benefits

If you are enrolled in our group Dental and Health insurance please make sure you are taking advantage of your wellness benefits. Any service that your doctor or dentists codes as preventative or wellness is covered 100% by the insurance company, no expense to you. Utilizing these wellness benefits is a great way to keep your health and oral health in tip top shape, also creates an opportunity to catch a serious issue in it's infancy allowing for quicker treatment.

Alaniz, Edward

Allen, Donald

Anderson, Jerald x 4

Asbridge, Stephen

Battle, Bobby

Bishop, Toby

Buerk, Larry

Butler, Joshua

Charles, Jean x 2

Franklin, Jerry x 2

Glore, Kevin

Greene, Marc

Hoffman, John

Jones, Danny

Jordan, Richard

Monroe, Timothy

Morrow, Gaylon

Murphy, William

Oliver, Patrick

Overby, Paul

Presley, Abby

Quaid, James

Randolph, Troy x 2

Reese, Robert

Reynolds, David

Richardson, Michael

Schuster, Arthur

Shanks, Jeffrey

Singer, Scott

Steck, Derik

Stewart, William

Tyree, Michael

Waterfallen, Jason

Wiley, Don

Williams, Benny

Williams, Patrick x 2

Wright, Donald

Zini, Thomas x 2

CELEBRATING

365

DAYS WITHOUT AN INJURY!