Transportation company marks official date of its 50-year anniversary with celebrations across the country
COOKEVILLE – Transportation company Averitt Express recently marked the official date of its 50th year of service on Oct. 1, 2021. As the culmination of a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary, Averitt marked the special day with celebrations at its facilities across the country, including at its corporate headquarters in Cookeville, TN.
On Oct. 1 and dating back to National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sept. 12-18), the festivities at Averitt’s facilities included special ceremonies, grab-and-go meals and employee prize drawings for wireless headsets, GPS units, gift cards, televisions, iPads and more.
For the grand company-wide prize, five over-the-road drivers had their names drawn to be assigned a brand-new 2022 Freightliner truck. The winners were Hickory, NC driver Crystal Austin; Little Rock, Ark. driver Rey Cabigquez; Greensboro. N.C driver Troyshawn Downey; Charlotte, N.C. driver Tim Johnson; and Jackson, TN driver Rebecca Sanders.
In 1958, Thurman Averitt founded the company as Livingston Merchant’s Co-Op in Livingston, TN. In 1969, Averitt incorporated his company and called it Averitt Express. While making regular deliveries in Nashville, Averitt became acquainted with Gary Sasser, who at the time was a young dockworker. Sasser happened to ask Averitt one day if he would be interested in selling his company. After some thought, Averitt said yes.
On Oct. 1, 1971, Gary Sasser, at the age of 21, purchased Averitt Express, which at the time consisted of two associates, three tractors and five trailers. Today, Sasser serves as Averitt’s chairman and chief executive officer, and Averitt Express is one of the nation’s leading transportation and logistics providers. The company now employs more than 9,000 people and operates approximately 4,600 tractors, 15,000 trailers and 140 facilities across the country.
“In 1971, I was just a 21-year-old kid who was going to night school, but I knew that I wanted to be in the transportation industry,” says Sasser, who also took logistics training while serving in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. “I was surprised when Mr. Averitt agreed to sell, and it didn’t take long to face my first challenge: how to make payroll. We actually sold the trucks and leased them back just so we could have some operating capital to give everyone a paycheck. We learned a lot in those early days.”
One of those lessons had to do with the cost of doing business. Sasser is often asked why he never changed the name from Averitt Express.
“The simple answer is it was too expensive. By the time we could afford it, the Averitt brand was well-established, so there was no reason to make the change,” says Sasser.
“From day one, we surrounded ourselves with good people, people who shared our vision. The industry had a reputation for not being service-minded. We wanted to change that,” adds Sasser. “We sat down as a group and figured out what we could do best, where we wanted to go and how to get there. From early on, we knew we weren’t in the trucking business; we were in the service business. Trucks were just the tool, like computers, telephones and forklifts.”
“The two most important things we committed to from the very beginning was to focus on people and service. It’s people who deliver the freight, not trucks. And when our people provide outstanding service, customers trust us with more and more of their business, allowing us to grow. That’s what secures our future,” says Sasser.
As the years progressed, these three elements – Our Customers, Our Associates, Our Future – were chosen as elements of Averitt’s Winner’s Circle. The company’s culture and values still hold true 50 years later.
“There are four statements of belief that are foundational to our team,” says Sasser. “We believe these statements make our team unique. They set us apart from every other organization in our industry and across all industries.”
Averitt’s four statements of belief are:
- “Always Averitt” – Building on our unique culture of helping people succeed, including our customers and our associates
- “Profit Sharing” – Sharing financial rewards with our associates
- “Associate Sharing” – Giving back to our communities through Averitt Charities, including Averitt Cares for Kids and the Team Up Community Challenge
- “The Averitt Way” – Recruiting the best of the best and promoting from within
“The thread that runs throughout these beliefs is our philosophy of ‘Our Driving Force Is People.’ Hiring, coaching and retaining the right people is one of the most important things we do,” says Sasser.
Building relationships with associates is so important that Sasser personally welcomes aboard every new hire. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, all new full-time associates were brought to Cookeville for orientation, and Sasser met each one and shook their hands. While health and safety guidelines don’t allow for that today, he still calls each new associate to welcome them to the Averitt team.
“October marked our celebration of 50 years as a team, and that’s a milestone we are proud of. It’s been a team effort, and it will continue to be a team effort as we challenge ourselves to be innovative and creative.”
Sasser concludes, “We like to say, ‘We’re proud of our past and even more excited about our future,’ and that’s because our future is very bright. We look forward to many more successful years and milestones together.”
Though originally based in Livingston, Averitt moved its corporate offices to Cookeville in 1981.
“We would like to say thank you to all the communities of the Upper Cumberland for their support over the years,” says Averitt President and Chief Operating Officer Wayne Spain. “We are proud to be based in Cookeville, even though the entire world is now our workplace, the Upper Cumberland will always be our home.”
Averitt employs more than 1,000 people in the Upper Cumberland area. Many of those have logged decades with the company.
Averitt’s Over 20 Team is a special group of active associates who have been part of Averitt for at least 20 years. This team includes more than 1,400 people across the U.S., and its members represent all facets of Averitt.
Thirteen of those are 40-year associates who are based in the Cookeville area: chairman and CEO Gary Sasser (50 years), purchasing fuel management leader Grant Sasser (50 years), road tester Ralph Bryant (43 years), driver David Adams (43 years), vice president of pricing and traffic Mark Davis (43 years), maintenance invoicing associate Angie Hester (41 years), president and chief operating officer Wayne Spain (41 years), preventive maintenance associate Randy Duke (40 years), executive vice president of sales and marketing Phil Pierce (40 years), preventive maintenance associate Ricky Masters (40 years), customer information leader Sandy Fleming (40 years), driver Danny Lesko (40 years) and driver Bruce Whittaker (40 years).
Celebrating 50 years in 2021, Averitt is a leading provider of freight transportation and supply chain management with international reach to 100+ countries. In its 50-year history, Averitt has grown from a small, local LTL carrier to a global logistics provider specializing in delivering customized transportation solutions that include LTL, truckload, international, distribution & fulfillment, dedicated, production and event logistics services. Averitt’s technology offerings include a full suite of web-based shipping tools, electronic data interchange (EDI), warehouse management systems (WMS), and transportation and operations management systems. Together, these services and technology solutions provide “The Power of One” to shippers, allowing them access to multiple transportation solutions from a single provider. For more information, call 1-800-AVERITT (283-7488) or visit AverittExpress.com.
More information about Averitt’s 50th anniversary is available at the following websites:
- Customers and the general public: AverittExpress.com/50
- Averitt associates: InsideAveritt.com/50
- Prospective Averitt associates: AverittCareers.com/50
