At Harrells Community Park, appreciation is shown to truck drivers.

At Harrells Community Park, appreciation is shown to truck drivers.

<p>Teisha Rich delivers a meal to a trucker. Royal Chapel Missionary Baptist Church hosted an event to deliver meals to truckers.</p>

Teisha Rich delivers a meal to a trucker. Royal Chapel Missionary Baptist Church hosted an event to deliver meals to truckers.

<p>Community members hold up signs for truckers traveling through Sampson County.</p>

Community members hold up signs for truckers traveling through Sampson County.

<p>Members of Royal Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.</p>

Members of Royal Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.

<p>Meals are prepared by Royal Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.</p>

Meals are prepared by Royal Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.

HARRELLS — As big rigs passed through town, Teisha Rich and members of Royal Chapel Missionary Baptist Church held up signs to show their support.

After the truckers pulled over, they received a warm meal cooked by members of the Ivanhoe-based church. For several hours on Saturday, the church showed their appreciation to truck drivers who play an important role in America’s economy. In the United States, the trucking industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

“It was great,” Rich said about the event held at Harrells Community Park. “I’m glad that my church got the opportunity to do this for the truckers. We really appreciate everything that they do.”

Terrell Bryant, pastor of Royal Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, showed gratitude by talking about how people wouldn’t be able to buy groceries at stores or home improvement items at hardware places without truckers. The event is one of several events hosted by the church to show appreciation to essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier during the year, the congregation hosted drive-through parades for Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, Sampson Regional Medical Center in Clinton.

“We just want to get outside of the walls of the church and show appreciation to those who are out there on the frontlines,” Bryant said. “Often times, the truckers are forgotten about. They’re the ones spending late nights away from home, on the road.”

Dallas Pridgen, of Service Transfer, Inc., hauls containers going to Walmart stores. The company was founded in 1970 and now has terminals located in Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., and the North Carolina cities of Wilmington, Charlotte, and Greensboro. Pridgen’s work is helping to keep shelves filled for regional customers. Like many truckers, Pridgen has driven from the east coast and west coast in the past.

“If we weren’t trucking, everything would be shutdown quick,” he said.

According to the American Trucking Associations, truck drivers hauled more than 70 percent of freight in the country, which equated to 11.84 billion tons. Statistics from the United States Department of Transportation showed that truck freight accounted to $772 billion of transborder freight in 2019 for North America.

D.J. Maynor, a driver for Solid Rock Carriers of La Grange, also appreciated the love shown during the day.

“Tucks keep the world moving,” Maynor said.

This story first ran in Tuesday’s e-edition. It is offered here for the first time in print. Reach Chase Jordan at 910-249-4617. Follow us on Twitter at @SampsonInd and like us on Facebook.