AKRON, OH--Roadway Express has been honored by the Department of Defense's National Committee for Employer Support of the National Guard and Army Reserve. Sergeant First Class (SFC) Jai M. Quick, Truck Master 762nd Trans. Co., U.S. Army Reserve, presented the Patriotic Employer certificate of appreciation October 13 at Roadway's corporate headquarters in Akron, Ohio. John Bronneck, executive vice president of operations for Roadway, accepted on behalf of the company.
Roadway supports employee participation in the National Guard and Reserve Force. There are currently an estimated 168 reservists employed by Roadway; 98 are on active status with 32 reservists in Iraq.
SFC Quick, currently employed at Roadway's Chicago Heights, IL facility, served in Iraq for eighteen months. He has been deployed three times in war time situations. Said SFC Quick: "Roadway was good to me. They still are good to me.... I love my job. I would do it again so everyone could have their freedom." After he thanked Roadway for its support, SFC Quick shared a motivational phrase used in the 762nd Company--"Get 'er done." These words helped rally the company to accomplish its goals.
The experience SFC Quick gained by working for Roadway was a great help to him as a reservist. A Roadway employee since 1996, Quick has worked as a switcher and dockworker at Roadway's facilities in Skokie, Elk Grove Village, and Chicago. He has two children living in the Chicago area: Diamond Simone (age 5) and Nigel Miguel (age 12).
Quick joined the active Army in 1988. He served in Iraq for the Gulf War as well as Kosovo and Bosnia. As a combat engineer, his duties involved explosives, land mines, land reconnaissance, infantry tactics, heavy equipment operator and driving trucks. The year 1996 was a busy one for him. He went off active duty, enlisted in the Army Reserve, returned to the United States, and was hired by Roadway. Called up in October 2002 for Operation Iraq Freedom, his unit was deployed in January 2003. SFC Quick has been awarded the United Nation Service Medal, Army Commendation, Army Reserve Components Achievement, Army Achievement Good Conduct, National Defense, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Medal, Liberation Saudi Arabia & Kuwait Medal, and Armed Forces Service Medal.
