Army Recruiting and G & P Trucking Company partner

    

Clifton Parker and Lt. Col. Stephen Christian sign the required documents to make the partnership official.

  Representatives from U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) and G & P Trucking Company signed an agreement, Nov. 3, 2017, to provide priority hiring status to qualified Soldiers participating in the Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) Program.

      “I was excited when I first found out about PaYS,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Christian, U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion Columbia Commander. “It is one of the most important but least known benefits offered to our Soldiers today. I feel certain that the outcome of today’s ceremony will be qualified veterans getting quality jobs.”

      Christian signed the agreement with Clifton Parker, CEO of G & P Trucking Company, Inc., during a ceremony held at their local office on 126 Access Road, Gaston, S.C., 29053 which is the company headquarters.

       “Our core values are in alignment with the military’s values and when you hire people that have been in the military, you get that value set,” Parker said. “There is a long history of the military being involved with the trucking industry so today is a win-win. We look forward to these recruits looking us up after their service.”

Lt. Col. Stephen Christian congratulates the Future Soldiers after the Swear in.

      PaYS is a strategic partnership program between the Army and a cross section of U.S. corporations and public sector agencies.  It was developed to help the Army attract, train and deploy talented young people who want to serve their country, but also want to help secure their future success once their Army service is complete. 

      Under terms of the agreement between USAREC and G & P Trucking Company, enlistees interested in gaining specific job training and qualifications will receive that training while in the U.S. Army.  As part of the enlistment process, recruits sign a statement of understanding of intent to work for G & P Trucking Company upon completion of their term of service.  As they near the end of their enlistments, the Soldiers will have the opportunity to interview with G & P Trucking Company for a specific job.

      Jeff Wolf, G&P Trucking Director of Recruiting and Retention, is an Army veteran himself. “I know our company is veteran friendly and there are veterans in our organization now; but, PaYS will be the vehicle to get more veterans in our door,” he said.

      G & P Trucking Company jobs are in the Army’s PaYS database.  For more information, interested applicants may visit their local recruiter or log on to www.armypays.com.

      The Army’s list of corporate partners is long and growing.  Partners include: BellSouth, Caterpillar, Lockheed Martin, Sears Logistics Services Inc., State Farm Insurance, John Deere Company, Goodyear, Southwest Airlines and other cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis, Savannah, and Tampa. G & P Trucking Company is the 674^th partner.

      “This partnership will help further strengthen the relationship between the Columbia area business community and the U.S. Army,” said Capt. Nathan Lequire, Columbia Recruiting Company Commander. Several recruiters and new recruits from his area were part of the ceremony.

Clifton Parker and Lt. Col. Stephen Christian reveal the plaques for the trucking company to display at their office.

      G & P Trucking is an international logistic company providing innovation supply chain solutions throughout the world. Founded in 1936, they are celebrating over 80 years of customer service. They have 14 office locations in six states. The company started in Greenwood, S.C., by H P Mabry and Arthur Rush, to haul cotton to Grendel and Panola Textile Mills. This is how the G & P name originated. It was purchased by W.T. Cassels, Jr. and family in September of 1986.

      The U.S. Army Recruiting Command, headquartered at Fort Knox, recruits quality men and women to serve in the Army and Army Reserve.  Approximately 8,000 soldiers and civilian employees conduct recruiting operations throughout the States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and at U.S. facilities in Germany and Asia.  www.armypays.com