Pride Transport is aptly named. This is a company that takes pride in so many things: the way they focus on being a family, the way they treat their drivers, the way they treat all their employees, the care and detail that goes into maintaining their fleet. They also take great pride in the community around them and stage events to enrich and support that community. Pride takes pride in a lot of things they do and well they should. If you talk to any Pride driver, they’ll tell you not only how happy they are but how proud they are to be a part of this exceptional company. Driving with Pride means something different to each and every person who works at Pride Transport.

Barry Boardman is one of those exceptionally proud drivers. Barry has been driving with Pride for over six years and now, he cannot imagine driving for anyone else. He has driven for companies where the owners will promise the world and deliver nothing. At Pride, he knows that what’s promised is exactly what’s delivered. “They tell you the truth, their true to their word and they show you a lot of respect,” Barry says, and that’s just one of the reasons why he drives with Pride.

Serving Our Country

Barry is also proud of this country and the ultimate expression of that pride was enlisting in the army. From 1987-1990, he served in the United States Army. Then, from 1990-1995, he was a member of the Army National Guard. Barry takes pride in his service to this country as well as all the men and women who serve, have served and who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

When the time came for Barry to have a custom rig, the design seemed natural. After having discussions with Jay England about what they wanted to share through the design, Barry made sure that the men and women in the armed forces were respectfully represented and remembered.

For Barry, the fact that Pride keeps its promises and delivers on the truth matters a great deal, because he has a promise that’s important to him, that he strives always to keep.

A Promise to be Kept

It’s the image of a prisoner of war silhouetted before a guard tower and barbed wire in white on a black background, the words POW/MIA over the promise: “You Are Not Forgotten.” That’s the promise Barry keeps in his heart, so it was imperative this iconic symbol was part of the custom design of his truck.

“When they came back from Vietnam,” Barry says, his voice changing from the light and easy tone he had while talking about driving for Pride, to a very direct, serious tone tinged with some anger, “they had sacrificed, lost friends and, well, frankly, they were not treated very good.” Barry has lost friends and is close to families who have waited in limbo for a word that loved ones have been found, that remains are coming home, that someone still cares.

There is a saying; “As long as we remember a person they are not really gone.” So, when the last person who remembers you die, you’re gone. The idea behind the PO/MIA emblem and that promise is that we never ever forget the sacrifice, the bravery, the duty that our men and women in uniform have given to this country. Their names may be commemorated on walls and monuments but there is more. 

Barry and many veterans understand the moment we forget there are people, loved ones, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers who have laid down their lives for the safety of others, is the moment we forget who we are as a country. “You Are Not Forgotten” is a promise that extends beyond the individual and encompasses all who have died or have been captured. This is the promise that Barry proudly displays on the side of his custom truck.

Remembering in a Design

Barry’s design with the POW/MIA emblem and the script that reads; “Proud Army Veteran” serve another purpose. His truck is a beacon to other veterans who have come back from war and are looking for a job. That beacon states that Pride is a good place, a welcoming place for veterans. As Barry extolls the positives about driving for Pride, he is clear that he wanted to make sure that other vets who are looking, who maybe need some direction, some stability, and a good paycheck, knew that Pride is a great place for vets to land.

For CEO Jay England, this made perfect sense. Pride’s care for community and country makes it an ideal place for vets to find a job. When discussing Barry’s design for his custom truck, Jay couldn’t have been more supportive. Yet another thing that makes Pride such a great company.

“When the lease is up, I’ll turn the truck back in,” Barry says, “but the design, the promise, that’s going to stay on the side of the truck forever.”

Custom designed trucks are part of the perks drivers can achieve when they work with Pride. With time and experience, a driver might earn a custom design for his or her truck. This gives the driver a chance to express themselves while sharing the Pride.

Keeping the Promise Forever

Pride promises to tell their employees the truth. They promise that when you work with them, you’re family. They promise to keep drivers safe and happy and offer the best pay around. Ask any driver and they’ll tell you, Pride keeps its promises. 

Keeping a promise is no easy task when running a business. It often seems that compromise and the bottom line can eclipse a promise very quickly. That’s just not the way Pride operates. They make a promise, they keep the promise. For Barry Boardman, keeping a promise is a way of life. Knowing that the custom design of Barry’s truck just makes sense and for Barry, driving with Pride is a perfect fit.

Help Those Who Help Us

For more information about driving for Pride check here: https://www.pridetransport.com/. And, for information about keeping the promise to never forget those brave men and women who have served this country, go here: https://www.pow-miafamilies.org/ and find out what you can do to keep that promise alive.