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Hundreds of Residents Line the Street to Thank Their UPS Teamster Driver
UPS drivers are appreciated by their customers in cities and towns across the country, but a community in Virginia wanted to express that appreciation in a big, unique way.
One day in mid-December, the residents in Midlothian, Virginia lined the streets waiting for driver Anthony Gaskin to thank him for the great service he provides every day, always with a wave and a smile.
The event was captured on WTVR Channel 6 News, the local CBS-TV affiliate.
“Through COVID, Anthony has continued working, delivering packages at our doors, record numbers of them, over 180 times to date,” resident Patty Friedman told the news station. “I wanted to thank him personally for how much he helped me feel welcome when I moved in during a pandemic. It was terribly lonely and he was always the highlight of my day. Mentioning this to a few people and the response I got was all I needed to know I was not alone.”
That prompted Patty and her neighbors to come up with a way to show their appreciation for Gaskin. It all came together on Tuesday, December 15.
“Arriving on bikes, on foot, and in more than 75 cars, hundreds of Hallsley [neighborhood] residents lined the road and waited for Anthony to turn the corner,” Friedman said. “A humble man, he needed to be coaxed, but eventually, slowly drove his truck down the road while children and adults held up signs, screamed his name, honked their horns, and rang bells.”
“We just love Anthony so much,” resident Lexi Hanrahan said. “He doesn’t even realize how much we appreciate the small gestures like an extra smile or a wave because that’s just who he is!”
“Based on the actions of his customers, we can clearly see that Anthony represents the best of what the Teamsters Union stands for,” said Brian Peyton, President of Local 322 in Richmond, Va. “It’s nice to see the general public appreciate the hard work of a UPS Teamster, not only during the pandemic, but also during the busy holiday shipping season.”
“Anthony is a genuine person, dedicated to his job and very unassuming,” said steward Anthony “Moe” Mosby, who has known Gaskin for 16 years. “He is a great person. He doesn’t look at UPS as a job, he looks at it as a career.”
“I was in shock, I was in total shock,” Gaskin said of his customers’ show of appreciation. “I knew my customers thought a lot about me, but I didn’t know it was to that extent.”
The customers presented a basket of cards to Gaskin as a show of thanks.
