Trucking Company President Bob Baylor and Family Presented with First Annual James Prout/Wreaths Across America Spirit of Giving Award

Three generations of Baylor family are actively supporting Wreaths Across America and its mission

Alexandria, Virginia:

On Saturday, December 6, 2014, the non-profit organization Wreaths Across America (WAA) presented its inaugural James Prout/WAA Spirit of Giving Award to Robert (Bob) Baylor, president of Baylor Trucking, Inc., Milan, Indiana.

The award is named in the memory of James Prout, owner of Blue Bird Ranch Trucking of Jonesboro, Maine. Prout was the first person to volunteer to haul wreaths for WAA when National Wreaths Across America Day – an effort to recognize veterans’ sacrifices by adorning their graves with fresh wreaths – was in its infancy. From now on, the award will be given annually to a deserving professional truck driver, company, or organization that has supported charitable causes in a way that will affect generations to come.

Baylor, a long-time member and past officer of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), was selected for the first Prout award because of his many years of work to further WAA’s mission to “remember, honor, and teach” about the service and sacrifices of veterans. A veteran of the U.S. Army, he arranged for his company to deliver fresh remembrance wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery for National Wreaths Across America Day, held the second Saturday of each December. He and members of his family have participated in the week-long truck convoy that carries the wreaths from Maine to Virginia, stopping at schools, veterans’ homes, monuments, and communities along the way. He has also provided manpower, equipment, and fuel to haul wreaths to veterans’ cemeteries in his home state of Indiana, as well as other nearby states, and has spearheaded fundraisers to help adorn one particular cemetery in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area. Baylor has gotten many members of his family involved in the cause, including his children and grandchildren.

Although Baylor was not able to attend the ceremony, he recorded a video conveying his appreciation for receiving the honor. In his absence, TCA’s president, Brad Bentley, accepted Baylor’s plaque from Prout’s widow, Hope.

“I’ll hold onto this for now,” said Bentley, “but next week, I’ll be handing it over to Bob’s two daughters and his 9-year-old granddaughter , who will attend our appreciation dinner for the many professional drivers and companies who hauled all those wreaths to Arlington.”

He continued: “All I can say is that the Baylors are generous, always giving back. They are the quintessential, multi-generational trucking family. The passion for the veterans’ cause may have started with Bob, but it has been quickly embraced by two more generations. This family is yet another example of how trucking moves America forward!”