September 4, 2025 • 29 mins
Transforming America’s highways from trafficking corridors into safe passageways takes vigilance, awareness, and courage. In this powerful episode with Micah Larson, Mobile Exhibit Specialist for Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), we uncover how everyday truckers are stepping into extraordinary roles in the fight against modern-day slavery. From his journey in the arts to becoming a frontline advocate, Micah explains how TAT equips the transportation industry with the training, tools, and stories needed to recognize red flags, make the call, and ultimately save lives.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Micah’s path: from theater arts graduate to passionate anti-trafficking advocate after learning about trafficking’s nationwide prevalence.
✅ TAT’s innovative tools: the Freedom Drivers Project and upcoming Driving Change Project, both mobile exhibits featuring real survivor stories and artifacts to raise awareness.
✅ Inspiring rescues: through TAT’s Harriet Tubman Award, truckers like Joe Guayo and Kevin Kimmel proved how a single phone call can save lives—sometimes being called “guardian angels” by survivors.
✅ Key truth: Most U.S. trafficking victims are American citizens, not foreign nationals, making industry vigilance more critical than ever.
✅ Truckers’ unique role: with access to places others don’t, their trained eyes and ears are vital in spotting and reporting suspicious activity safely.
✅ How to help: visit truckersagainsttrafficking.org, download the mobile app, or bring free training resources into your company—because one call can change (and even save) a life.
Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Click here to join the conversation!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey everyone, welcome back to that's Delivered.
Today we have a special one.
We're your guests here, truckand Ray.
I have the honor to have on theshow an incredible guest that's
going to be close to our hearts, fighting human trafficking
alongside incredible people ofTruckers Against Trafficking,
and you may remember thepowerful episode that we had
(00:26):
with Kyle Allen there.
She talked a lot about herjourney and how she got to where
she's at today.
We're welcoming a new voice tothe show.
It's going to be Micah Larson.
Does a little bit of everythingfrom nonprofit strategy to
outreach and education.
He's using a wide skill set,made a big impact at TAT and
we're learning more about whoMicah is and what led him to his
(00:48):
work and what he has seen andlearned since joining the
organization and what's next forTAT.
Please welcome him to the show.
We'll talk about the truckersthat, like you listening, can
continue to make a differenceout there on the road.
So, micah, thanks for beinghere today to make a difference
out there on the road.
So, micah, thanks for beinghere today.
Micah, welcome to the show.
(01:08):
I'm glad to have you on.
How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yes, sir, thanks for having me.
I'm doing well, how are you?
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I'm doing well too.
Man, I have the honor to haveyou here and talk about your
story and your journey.
I think it's huge.
I think a lot of people canlearn from your story, so
getting to know you.
Tell us a little bit aboutyourself, let's start with.
Let's walk through a bit ofyour background and career path
and how you got joined TAT.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, it's actually a pretty small career.
I graduated from college in2020 with my bachelor's degree
in theater arts and a minor infilm and, you know, bounced
around between a couple ofdifferent jobs, and then I heard
about the position at TAT andthought that that was really
interesting.
Uh, but I didn't know the trueextent of modern day slavery
until I did research for therole at TAT, as I was
(01:52):
interviewing, um, and was justkind of mortified, um, to
realize just how big of an issueit is, not just in our country,
but around the globe as well.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Yeah, yeah.
That's a sad situation thatcontinues.
Hope, to put it to rest, bedone with it right, eliminate
these guys.
So what's some of the pivotalroles and experiences that shape
your approach to nonprofit work?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, good question.
You know I wore a lot ofdifferent hats, if you will, in
college.
You know, I'd say, being a partof so many different teams
throughout my time in universityand multiple different aspects
kind of helped prepare me fornonprofit work.
Because when you do this kindof work you really do wear
multiple different hats.
Everybody on the team is allinvested in the same work and
(02:39):
that just really reflects in thedifferent aspects that each of
us works in.
So I might be on one teamprimarily, but I work with
almost every other singledepartment at TAP one way or
another and you just kind ofhelp where you can in order to
further the work.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Nice, and what's a specific moment or story that
made you passionate about theissue with human trafficking?
Was there something that stoodout?
Speaker 2 (03:03):
the issue with human trafficking.
Was there something that stoodout?
Yeah, early on, when I was doingsome research, as I was
interviewing, I happened to reada book on human trafficking
that kind of goes into thedetails of a survivor who runs
her own organization thatprovides for victims of human
trafficking and right away inthe first chapter and right away
(03:31):
in the first chapter she'stalking to it's like a POV of
her talking to a 12-year-oldgirl who's currently being
trafficked, and it was sooverwhelming to read just a
real-life situation of a realperson I just had to put the
book down and I just cried andkind of went to my wife and was
like this, this is tough, youknow, this is tough to stomach,
it's tough to learn about, butthat makes it, you know.
That's just one of the examplesof why it's important to learn
(03:53):
about, right?
So after that I kind of knewthat, even if I didn't get the
job at TAT, that I would beinvested in anti-human
trafficking initiatives of someof some sort for some capacity
for the rest of my life, whetherthat was, uh, either in in work
in a job or in tithing ordonations of some sort.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Nice.
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's a.
I made a great impression onyou from tragedy Um, sometimes
pain can take, turn things intopower.
Yeah, a hundred percent.
That's great that it helped youin that way.
So what was some of the firstimpressions of the trucking
industry and its role in thisfight against trafficking.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Gosh, I knew nothing about the trucking industry
before starting this job, and soI just kind of jumped in blind.
You know, and I remember whensomebody told me at TAT on my
first day that soon we would beattending a trucking rodeo with
the mobile exhibit, and I knewright there that I was about to
enter an entirely new world thatI'd never really experienced
(04:53):
before.
And boy was I right.
I had no idea how much of alucrative industry trucking can
be.
I was delighted to besurrounded by so many different
truckers who have such anintense passion for what they do
.
It really just was shocking andimpressive.
Truckers put safety first.
They have a healthy amount ofpride for their skills and their
(05:15):
expertise in their area of work, and truly truckers can be some
of the just the best peopleyou'll ever meet.
And when you realize that thatpride and that passion for their
job extends into anti-humantrafficking work, it's almost
like a pair of gloves that justkind of fit perfectly together,
right.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yeah, fit like glove in the hand, hand in the glove.
That's awesome.
So, man, how nice is it to havethat perspective of being
involved with TAT.
How has it changed yourperspective working with them,
seeing that at those like rodeosand places like that?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, there was so much new, there was so much that
I didn't know, and so a lot ofthe perspective that I've gained
from this job and the educationthat I am constantly learning
on a day-to-day is that there'salways more to learn in this
industry, but just in life ingeneral, my worldview has
(06:13):
honestly changed because of thisjob.
I've gotten to travel to somany different places that I
would have never gone tootherwise.
I've experienced industriesthat I never could have imagined
ever being a part of.
I've experienced industriesthat I never could have imagined
, you know, ever being a part ofand, just to be honest, seeing
the horrors of what some peoplehave to go through it's made me
(06:35):
realize just how good I have itin my life and to never take
that for granted and why thiskind of work is so important.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Nice, Nice.
That's good to hear.
So TAT's mission and momentum.
What are some of the keyprograms or initiatives that you
are currently working on at TAT?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, my position at TAT.
I basically I work within ourmobile exhibit division, so I'm
TAT's mobile exhibit specialist.
My boss, brandy, is thedirector of mobile exhibits.
The one that we currently havein our arsenal is the Freedom
Drivers Project, which travelsto different parts of North
America to just bring a littlebit more education and awareness
(07:09):
to the public and to ourcorporate partners on human
trafficking and other justpartners in the sectors that we
work within.
So this exhibit on the insidethere are artifacts from real
survivors of human trafficking,paired with some of their
stories as well as otherstatistics on human trafficking
and then the work that TAD doeswith our partners in all of
those sectors.
(07:31):
I also work with TAD'sambassador program, which is a
unique situation where ATA roadteam captains.
We partner with ATA to sendthose captains on our behalf to
events that we don't have thecapacity to attend or, if it
makes sense for a driver to givea presentation under the TAT
(07:51):
name.
So I work within that programas well.
I'm a regular guest on the DaveNemo Show, so I do a ton of
different radio interviews and alot of podcasts, just like this
one, and I attend conferencesand industry events either with
the FTP, or on my own, where Ijust give presentations on human
trafficking training and howTAT and the industries that we
(08:14):
work with help combat humantrafficking on a day-to-day
basis Nice.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, that's great.
That's great work.
I mean that trailer has a hugeimpact.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, when people are able to walk through there and
see the exhibit, read aboutthose articles, see the material
, see how those survivors time,and actually seeing one of those
(08:45):
artifacts and seeing thatperson, evidence of that
person's story in front of you,it's just, it's a really
harrowing experience and it canchange your perspective quite a
bit.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yeah, absolutely.
What's something you wish morepeople outside of the industry
of trucking understood abouthuman trafficking in America.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yeah, that's a really great question.
Human trafficking in Americayeah, that's a really great
question, I'd say.
You know, I wish more peopleunderstood that the vast
majority of sex traffickingvictims in the United States are
actually United States citizens.
It's kind of it's easy to beblindsided by the belief that a
crime like this just couldn'thappen in our country because
it's such a horrible thing,right?
(09:22):
You think, well, that doesn'thappen here, right?
When in reality there areconfirmed cases of human
trafficking in all 50 statesevery single year.
So kind of understanding thatand then understanding the
vulnerabilities that put somepeople at a higher risk of
becoming a victim of humantrafficking can really highlight
just how much you might notknow about the issue, which is.
(09:43):
This.
All took me by surprise when Ifirst started and was like, oh
man, you know, it's great thatthat work is being done to
educate people and I'm glad thatwe're still doing this kind of
thing.
We also kind of live in aculture where we've been told to
mind your own business, andthat's something that I
mentioned in a lot of mypresentations, because
traffickers absolutely use thisto their advantage in a lot of
(10:05):
my presentations, becausetraffickers absolutely use this
to their advantage.
In those presentations I alwaysjust like to remind people that
take the training.
You know we offer the training.
We offer as a first step, butthe second step is to pay
attention to your surroundingsand then use that.
Trading Don't don't mind yourbusiness is often what I'll say.
So if there's something thatjust doesn't look right or you
see, you know some of those redflags that we talk about in our
(10:26):
trading say something call thehotline, call law enforcement,
call both.
You never just you never knowthe impact that you might make
by just making one simple phonecall.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Absolutely.
I mean, that's a huge impactthat you guys are making.
Are there any partnerships orupcoming campaigns where we
should keep an eye on for you,for TAT?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Yeah, we're anticipating the release of our
brand new mobile exhibit, theDriving Change Project, which is
being worked on right now andit's been in development for the
last year about year and a half.
This exhibit will be differentfrom the FTP in that the FTP
focuses a lot on sex trafficking.
Be different from the FTP inthat the FTP focuses a lot on
(11:07):
sex trafficking because 10 to 15years ago that's where we found
the need to be placed at on anexhibit like the FTP.
But with this new exhibit it'llactually focus both on sex
trafficking and labortrafficking and it'll be a lot
more interactive of an exhibit.
So we're very excited to seewhat that looks like.
Right now we don't have arelease date for it, but we're
hoping for sometime next year.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Nice, that's awesome.
Excited for that.
Yeah, it's very cool.
You have more than one truck.
There's two out there now.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
So what's that like logistics-wise, you know, with
that trailer?
Yeah, Get those sites forpeople to see, for it to be
there, get it ready.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, gosh, it's a lot of work.
A lot of work on our end, it'sa lot of work on our partner's
end, of work on our end.
It's a lot of work on ourpartner's end.
You know, I would say,typically we attend each year
fluctuates, but we attend about40 to 60 events with the Freedom
Drivers Project in a calendaryear.
So, with two mobile exhibits,that work is.
You know, we've got a lot moreevents to go to, which is
(12:07):
awesome and great to be able tosay that we get to go to so many
more events.
But yeah, yeah, it's a lot ofwork.
You know, we we also don't movethe trailer on our own either.
We have a program called ourelite haulers program, um, in
which partners sign on tobasically be um be the ones to
haul the trailer to and fromeach event.
Um, we truly could not do thework that we do with the mobile
(12:29):
exhibits without them.
So um shout out to our elitehaulers, to quality carriers and
Walmart for um for taking thaton for us.
We really appreciate the workthat they do.
Um, just a lot of time andenergy and logistics and, um,
you know, pick up, drop off.
What time, you know, are wegoing to be open.
What time do you want us toclose Um?
Travel accommodations all that,so that keeps my boss and I
(12:50):
pretty busy.
Travel accommodations all that,so that keeps my boss and I
pretty busy.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Nice, yeah, that's awesome.
I mean I'm glad it's there.
Every time I go to an event I'mlike, hey, let me go check out
the TAT team.
Absolutely, yeah, that's great,Right on.
So for truckers out therelistening, they're tuned in.
Maybe they're listening today.
What's one of the mostimportant ways they can stay
alert and be helpful?
(13:15):
Maybe some tips to help out.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, you know, just see something, say something,
and I would say that if youaren't trained on what to look
out for, I would encourage youto go to our website at
wwwtatnonprofitorg to takewhatever training is relevant to
you and your field.
So we have an over the roadtraining, but if you're a local
driver, we have a training forthat too.
(13:37):
We've got a training video forschool bus drivers, in-home
delivery personnel, et cetera.
So we've got all sorts ofdifferent types of trainings
that are relevant to your areaof work.
Become a certified TAP.
And, at the end of the day, inall my presentations I always
say if there's one thing youtake away from this presentation
, we'd love for you to reportpotential human trafficking
(13:59):
situations if you think you seethem, because at the end of the
day, if that's all you take,then it's absolutely worth my
time.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Tubman Award.
Let's talk about that for alittle bit.
Maybe add that in.
Yeah, That'd be effective wayof helping drivers be
incentivized or to help them seethe importance of it.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Yeah, the Harriet Tubman Award is a really amazing
opportunity that we provideevery single year.
It's an annual award that wegive out to either a member of
the trucking, bus or energyindustry whose actions have
either helped recover or improvethe lives of victims or
prevented human trafficking orsexual exploitation from taking
place.
(14:39):
Oftentimes, one of thequestions I'll get is you know
well, how many people have yousaved?
You know what's the impact ofthis kind of training on human
trafficking?
And I think that's a reallyfair question, but it's a
difficult one to answer becausehuman trafficking is such a
complex crime that tracking allthe data and everything
surrounding it can be incrediblydifficult.
(15:00):
But what makes the HarrietTubman Award so great is that
this is an example, almost everysingle year, of yet another
story of somebody who made acall right, of somebody who
noticed something wasn't right,uh, and then we're able to tell
their real life story about howthey ended up, um, making an
impact, um, and so, if it's okaywith you, I'd I'd love to kind
(15:21):
of uh, to go through one or twoof the stories, um, um, of that
award, of that we've given outin the past.
Go ahead.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Cool, like, uh, awesome.
So our recent winner uh, he isa recent winner, in 2023.
His name is joe guayo.
He's a professional truckdriver for winco foods.
Uh, and in september of 2022,joe was driving um one of his
routes in a remote area of thecountry known for its lack of
hot springs or for its hotsprings and its lack of cell
(15:52):
phone service, excuse me.
And as he was driving aroundthe curve, he saw something that
he knew was wrong right away.
What he witnessed was a veryyoung woman whose head was
completely shaved, she waslooking up at the mountains as
if she had no idea where she was, and she was wearing nothing
but a beach towel.
So, while obeying an explicitcompany policy prohibiting
unapproved riders in the cab, hecontinued driving until he saw
(16:14):
the next roadside police callbox.
Once he did, he pulled histruck over, he called law
enforcement, gave herdescription and the location
that he was at.
A few months later, joe wasactually driving the same route
again and he ended up having aweather-related accident.
Unfortunately, and as he wasconversing with law enforcement
on the scene, he actuallythought you know what?
(16:34):
I should ask the officer if heknows what happened to the woman
that I had made that call abouta couple of months prior.
Right, and to Joe's surprise,the trooper that had also
assisted in his call for thewoman was the same trooper that
was helping him with hisaccident, and they were both
kind of amazed to be reunitedwith each other, since it had
(16:56):
happened so many months ago.
And it turns out that the youngwoman was a 27-year-old victim
of human trafficking who hadbeen drugged and then dumped in
that area by her traffickers.
She was in really rough shape,and the trooper was able to
transport her to a hospitalwhere she was able to make a
full recovery.
The trooper told Joe that,because he had used the police
(17:20):
call box instead of waiting forhis own cell phone to come back
into service, he had actuallylikely saved that woman's life.
If he hadn't done that, herstory probably would have ended
very differently.
So it's because of that that weare very proud to name Joe our
2023 Harriet Tubman Award winner.
And then another example is ourstory about a truck driver named
(17:41):
Kevin Kimmel, who was a pastwinner of ours as well, who was
at a Virginia truck stop.
He saw something that he didn'tthink was right.
He saw a young woman's head popout from a curtain and then saw
her head kind of snap backquickly and the curtains were
drawn pretty abruptly.
He kind of thought to himselfyou know, I should probably make
(18:03):
a call.
That just didn't really sitright with me.
And when law enforcement got tothe scene they kind of knew
something was wrong right away.
Both of the perpetrators, lauraSorensen and Aldair Hadza, were
just really giddy with lawenforcement.
They were over-answering theirquestions, offering them cookies
and even kind of insisting thatthey sit down and relax, which
(18:24):
is not normal behavior forsomebody who's being
interrogated by police.
And there was another person inthe vehicle at the time, in the
RV, and she was a very youngwoman.
She was heavily caked in makeup, she was thin and, most
importantly, she would not lookanybody in the eye while they
were all in the trailer togetherof the window of their RV
(18:54):
towards a local landmark andthey were telling police that
they were hoping to visit thatlandmark later that day.
And it was at this time, whereeveryone's attention was pointed
out of the window of thevehicle, that she was able to
look up and signal to theofficer nearest her that she
needed help and was not okaywhen they removed her from the
vehicle, she was able to kind oftell her horrific story.
She was a very young woman whohad been kidnapped from her, her
Iowa home, weeks prior.
(19:15):
Um, these uh perpetrators werefriends of her sisters and they
took advantage of that uh andand kidnapped her and put her on
Craigslist, um, where men werecoming out to the RV and they
were raping her.
Uh, she she did not rememberthe last time she had had
anything to eat, couldn'tremember the last time she'd had
anything to drink.
Uh, and she told the lawenforcement officer that, um, if
(19:38):
she were to keep going, shefelt as though she were going to
die.
Um, and uh, doctors actuallysaid that if she had not, uh, if
that call, the law enforcement,had not been made, she likely
would have died shortlythereafter due to the
malnutrition and the torturethat she had suffered from those
people.
So you know, that's just.
It's a great example all of ourpast winners to be able to use
(20:01):
those stories as evidence thatwhat we're doing works right.
The work that we're doing trulydoes make an impact and it does
actually change lives.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, thanks for sharing that, and those are real
stories that many people canactually have a same, similar
experience if they just, youknow, like you said, see
something, say something, right,that's good how that those
individuals probably feel beingable to make that difference and
that change in thoseindividuals' lives that were
(20:33):
held against their will.
So thanks for sharing that.
Man, yeah, of course.
Yeah, they received a gift initself right there.
You know, a successful phonecall, that's, that's yeah yeah,
she actually.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
She called kevin from uh for his story.
She called him from herhospital room and and said you
know, you're my guardian angel.
And uh, he was like I'm just atrucker against trafficking, you
know doing my part.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Awesome, that's great .
So TIT TAT is known fortraining material.
How often should driversrefresh their knowledge and
what's new on the resources andmaybe on the app, or even as an
employer, what should they do?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Yeah, good question.
Even just as an employee of TAT, I oftentimes will go and
retake the trainings myself.
Our portal on our website issuper user-friendly.
And the trainings, you know,they're built to give you some
video, some education, but thenalso answer some questions.
They're really quite useful.
(21:31):
So I would say just retakingthe training on our portals is a
big one, but then alsodownloading some questions.
They're really quite useful.
So I would say just retakingthe training on our portals is a
big one, but then alsodownloading our app.
Our app is a really greatresource that's got tailored red
flag content on it.
It has local service providerinformation relevant to wherever
you're at in the country.
So if you think that somebodyyou're experiencing a situation
(21:53):
where somebody might need to goto, uh, you know, a home that
might be able to provide forthem, you can look up in the
service provider information tosee if there's, uh, an
organization or a nonprofitthat's nearby that provides
those kinds of services.
Uh, so our app is really aphenomenal tool.
Um, you know it's.
I like to say it's all the goodparts about our physical
materials that we provide, butall on a digital one app all
(22:16):
together, you know.
So I would say those are thetwo things.
You know, our portal is reallygreat, really great tool, but
then our app is really useful aswell.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Nice.
Oh man, that's a great tool.
If you've taken the training,why not retake it so?
That's because we always needreminders, keep things fresh.
Conversations from the road,what, what trucking shows or
individual events that you'vebeen industry events have you
been a personally part of thatthat you've seen recently and to
(22:48):
see the impact?
Speaker 2 (22:50):
have you been a partially part of that that
you've seen recently and to seethe impact?
Yeah, good question, it's.
It's been one crazy year.
You know we've.
We've gotten to go to somereally great events or recently
have attended several corporateevents with Walmart, ruan
Transportation, lindy, pepsicoand CN Railway.
I'm actually going to a UPSfacility in Chicago in two days.
(23:11):
You have the cash facilitythere, so I'm looking forward to
doing that event.
But then we've you know we'vealso.
We went to the Indy 500 thisyear thanks to our partnership
with Bridgestone.
That was a major event and acrazy milestone where hundreds
of people were able to gothrough the trailer.
And then we were also a part ofthe Iowa 80 Walcott Jamboree in
July as well, and that's alwaysgreat to be a part of as well.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Nice.
I think they put the dates outfor next year, 2026, for men.
Oh, right on, yeah.
Oh, yeah, yeah yeah, see youguys there too.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah, we'll definitely be there.
I think my boss actually wasjust talking today about how
they just reached out.
We're getting our booth detailsand everything like that all
settled, so we'll definitely seeyou guys there.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Nice, how nice.
I was thinking too that a lotof people maybe, if they're not
a part of it, they could be apart of it.
So the conversation is alsogoing into what kind of feedback
have you received from driversor companies when you speak at
these events or when you guysare there?
What things can they lookforward to?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Yeah, the response that I get is always just a
great reminder as to why youknow we do this.
It's always amazing to seedrivers, employees or even just
parents go through the exhibitand take in all the information
that we have to offer.
It's just always really veryheartwarming to kind of see the
community rally behind an issuelike this, especially the
(24:37):
transportation family, thetrucking, bus and energy
industries.
They really just take thismatter to heart and you feel
that when you go to an event,especially in my capacity with
the mobile exhibit we actuallyhad a driver recently who said
he was surprised at how littlehe actually understood about
human trafficking and that therewere things that he thought he
understood about it that wereincorrect.
(24:57):
We always hand out tons ofmaterials, we have great
conversations and I'm alwaysjust surprised to see how many
cash donations or donationsthrough t-shirt sales that we
get and the companies that we dothese events with are just all
in.
You know they do everythingthat they can to make each event
(25:20):
as successful as possible andit's always very encouraging to
see the amount of effort that somany corporations just go
through to promote the educationthat we have to offer and
support the work that we do Niceto promote the education that
we have to offer and support thework that we do Nice.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
So, looking ahead, where will TAP be in the coming
months?
Any events or appearances,maybe, or goals you would like
to highlight so that people canbe there?
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Yeah, absolutely yeah .
So, like I said, I'll be inChicago in two days.
I think it's this Thursday.
I fly on Wednesday, but it'sthis Thursday.
I'll be in Chicago at the UPSfacility the cash facility on
August 14th.
So if there are any feederdrivers out there listening,
come and see me in the FTP atthe event.
I'm excited to be there andtalk to you guys about human
trafficking.
We also have some prettyexciting events coming up in the
next month or so.
We'll be at the IntermodalAssociation of North America's
(26:06):
annual expo in Long Beach,california, from September 15th
to the 17th.
We'll also be at ATA's MC&E inOctober and also WIT Accelerate
Conference in November as well.
So there's a number of otherevents that we're attending as
well that I just can't think ofoff the top of my head.
But if you're interested inseeing where the FTP will be for
(26:26):
the rest of the year, I wouldsay check out the Freedom
Drivers Project landing page onour website at
wwwtatnonprofitorg.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Wow.
And how can companies orindividual drivers you know how
can they get involved if theyhaven't already?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Yeah, Our website's a really phenomenal resource.
I think I just looked at it foran entire week when I got hired
and was taking in so muchinformation.
It's truly, really well built.
So I'd go to our website, takethe training that we have
available on there.
I kind of talked about the appa little bit.
That's another really great wayfor you to learn more and get
(27:03):
involved.
If you haven't been, in apretty easy, less intense way, I
feel like most people.
They have their phones on themall the time and getting on a
computer is actually, you know,so much harder than it used to
be back in the day.
But with our app and with ourphone, it's just so easy.
The content is right there infront of you and you can utilize
(27:24):
those resources that weprovided completely free of
charge.
So if you're interested indonating to TAT as either a
company or as an individualdonor, you can always send me an
email at mlarsen that'sM-L-A-R-S-E-N at tatnonprofitorg
and we can just start thatconversation, get you invested
in what we're doing in theindustry Nice.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Yeah, you know they say your freedom of speech can
also be displayed by where youput your money.
So that's good, your supporthelping individuals out to
continue to do what they'redoing, to help those that are,
you know, that need to help,that are being exploited.
Yeah, micah, that's awesome andwe'll just wrap it up.
(28:09):
I know you did a great job oftelling about your mission and
the work you're doing.
I really appreciate you joiningus sharing much of your insight
.
You're doing a great andimportant work.
We'll hope that the drivers outthere walk away with this
episode feeling empowered andthey can also play their part in
stopping human trafficking,like I said, using the app and
also going on the website,retraining if you have already
(28:30):
taken the training, and alsosharing it with other
individuals that don't know that, have questions.
So yeah.
I appreciate that so much,anything else.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I was just going to say I appreciate you for having
me on and thank you to you andall the other truckers who are
listening.
I have an immense amount ofrespect for what you guys do.
If you've seen it, if you'vetasted it, if you've touched it,
if you smell it, it probablycame in on a truck at some point
.
So you guys really do make thecountry run and I just
appreciate you guys for what youdo.
(29:02):
Wow, thanks man.
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Great.
Appreciate that.
So big shout out to all thetruckers out there and, if
you're listening, please goahead and head on over to
truckersagainsttraffickingorgand check out their free
training resources at upcomingevents.
You never know where life canlead you.
You can help someone save theirlife.
You can do this by just beinginformed and aware.
(29:26):
So great resources and also, asan employer, you guys can get
more involved and help outdrivers and help your workforce
be informed as well, so of thethings that they can be aware of
out there to save someone'slife.
So thank you so much for thisepisode of that's the Limit and
stay safe out there and keepyour eyes open and we'll catch
(29:48):
you next time.
Awesome.
Hey everyone, welcome back to that's Delivered.
Today we have a special one.
We're your guests here, truckand Ray.
I have the honor to have on theshow an incredible guest that's
going to be close to our hearts, fighting human trafficking
alongside incredible people ofTruckers Against Trafficking,
and you may remember thepowerful episode that we had
(00:26):
with Kyle Allen there.
She talked a lot about herjourney and how she got to where
she's at today.
We're welcoming a new voice tothe show.
It's going to be Micah Larson.
Does a little bit of everythingfrom nonprofit strategy to
outreach and education.
He's using a wide skill set,made a big impact at TAT and
we're learning more about whoMicah is and what led him to his
(00:48):
work and what he has seen andlearned since joining the
organization and what's next forTAT.
Please welcome him to the show.
We'll talk about the truckersthat, like you listening, can
continue to make a differenceout there on the road.
So, micah, thanks for beinghere today to make a difference
out there on the road.
So, micah, thanks for beinghere today.
Micah, welcome to the show.
(01:08):
I'm glad to have you on.
How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yes, sir, thanks for having me.
I'm doing well, how are you?
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I'm doing well too.
Man, I have the honor to haveyou here and talk about your
story and your journey.
I think it's huge.
I think a lot of people canlearn from your story, so
getting to know you.
Tell us a little bit aboutyourself, let's start with.
Let's walk through a bit ofyour background and career path
and how you got joined TAT.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, it's actually a pretty small career.
I graduated from college in2020 with my bachelor's degree
in theater arts and a minor infilm and, you know, bounced
around between a couple ofdifferent jobs, and then I heard
about the position at TAT andthought that that was really
interesting.
Uh, but I didn't know the trueextent of modern day slavery
until I did research for therole at TAT, as I was
(01:52):
interviewing, um, and was justkind of mortified, um, to
realize just how big of an issueit is, not just in our country,
but around the globe as well.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Yeah, yeah.
That's a sad situation thatcontinues.
Hope, to put it to rest, bedone with it right, eliminate
these guys.
So what's some of the pivotalroles and experiences that shape
your approach to nonprofit work?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, good question.
You know I wore a lot ofdifferent hats, if you will, in
college.
You know, I'd say, being a partof so many different teams
throughout my time in universityand multiple different aspects
kind of helped prepare me fornonprofit work.
Because when you do this kindof work you really do wear
multiple different hats.
Everybody on the team is allinvested in the same work and
(02:39):
that just really reflects in thedifferent aspects that each of
us works in.
So I might be on one teamprimarily, but I work with
almost every other singledepartment at TAP one way or
another and you just kind ofhelp where you can in order to
further the work.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Nice, and what's a specific moment or story that
made you passionate about theissue with human trafficking?
Was there something that stoodout?
Speaker 2 (03:03):
the issue with human trafficking.
Was there something that stoodout?
Yeah, early on, when I was doingsome research, as I was
interviewing, I happened to reada book on human trafficking
that kind of goes into thedetails of a survivor who runs
her own organization thatprovides for victims of human
trafficking and right away inthe first chapter and right away
(03:31):
in the first chapter she'stalking to it's like a POV of
her talking to a 12-year-oldgirl who's currently being
trafficked, and it was sooverwhelming to read just a
real-life situation of a realperson I just had to put the
book down and I just cried andkind of went to my wife and was
like this, this is tough, youknow, this is tough to stomach,
it's tough to learn about, butthat makes it, you know.
That's just one of the examplesof why it's important to learn
(03:53):
about, right?
So after that I kind of knewthat, even if I didn't get the
job at TAT, that I would beinvested in anti-human
trafficking initiatives of someof some sort for some capacity
for the rest of my life, whetherthat was, uh, either in in work
in a job or in tithing ordonations of some sort.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Nice.
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's a.
I made a great impression onyou from tragedy Um, sometimes
pain can take, turn things intopower.
Yeah, a hundred percent.
That's great that it helped youin that way.
So what was some of the firstimpressions of the trucking
industry and its role in thisfight against trafficking.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Gosh, I knew nothing about the trucking industry
before starting this job, and soI just kind of jumped in blind.
You know, and I remember whensomebody told me at TAT on my
first day that soon we would beattending a trucking rodeo with
the mobile exhibit, and I knewright there that I was about to
enter an entirely new world thatI'd never really experienced
(04:53):
before.
And boy was I right.
I had no idea how much of alucrative industry trucking can
be.
I was delighted to besurrounded by so many different
truckers who have such anintense passion for what they do
.
It really just was shocking andimpressive.
Truckers put safety first.
They have a healthy amount ofpride for their skills and their
(05:15):
expertise in their area of work, and truly truckers can be some
of the just the best peopleyou'll ever meet.
And when you realize that thatpride and that passion for their
job extends into anti-humantrafficking work, it's almost
like a pair of gloves that justkind of fit perfectly together,
right.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yeah, fit like glove in the hand, hand in the glove.
That's awesome.
So, man, how nice is it to havethat perspective of being
involved with TAT.
How has it changed yourperspective working with them,
seeing that at those like rodeosand places like that?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, there was so much new, there was so much that
I didn't know, and so a lot ofthe perspective that I've gained
from this job and the educationthat I am constantly learning
on a day-to-day is that there'salways more to learn in this
industry, but just in life ingeneral, my worldview has
(06:13):
honestly changed because of thisjob.
I've gotten to travel to somany different places that I
would have never gone tootherwise.
I've experienced industriesthat I never could have imagined
ever being a part of.
I've experienced industriesthat I never could have imagined
, you know, ever being a part ofand, just to be honest, seeing
the horrors of what some peoplehave to go through it's made me
(06:35):
realize just how good I have itin my life and to never take
that for granted and why thiskind of work is so important.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Nice, Nice.
That's good to hear.
So TAT's mission and momentum.
What are some of the keyprograms or initiatives that you
are currently working on at TAT?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, my position at TAT.
I basically I work within ourmobile exhibit division, so I'm
TAT's mobile exhibit specialist.
My boss, brandy, is thedirector of mobile exhibits.
The one that we currently havein our arsenal is the Freedom
Drivers Project, which travelsto different parts of North
America to just bring a littlebit more education and awareness
(07:09):
to the public and to ourcorporate partners on human
trafficking and other justpartners in the sectors that we
work within.
So this exhibit on the insidethere are artifacts from real
survivors of human trafficking,paired with some of their
stories as well as otherstatistics on human trafficking
and then the work that TAD doeswith our partners in all of
those sectors.
(07:31):
I also work with TAD'sambassador program, which is a
unique situation where ATA roadteam captains.
We partner with ATA to sendthose captains on our behalf to
events that we don't have thecapacity to attend or, if it
makes sense for a driver to givea presentation under the TAT
(07:51):
name.
So I work within that programas well.
I'm a regular guest on the DaveNemo Show, so I do a ton of
different radio interviews and alot of podcasts, just like this
one, and I attend conferencesand industry events either with
the FTP, or on my own, where Ijust give presentations on human
trafficking training and howTAT and the industries that we
(08:14):
work with help combat humantrafficking on a day-to-day
basis Nice.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, that's great.
That's great work.
I mean that trailer has a hugeimpact.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, when people are able to walk through there and
see the exhibit, read aboutthose articles, see the material
, see how those survivors time,and actually seeing one of those
(08:45):
artifacts and seeing thatperson, evidence of that
person's story in front of you,it's just, it's a really
harrowing experience and it canchange your perspective quite a
bit.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yeah, absolutely.
What's something you wish morepeople outside of the industry
of trucking understood abouthuman trafficking in America.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yeah, that's a really great question.
Human trafficking in Americayeah, that's a really great
question, I'd say.
You know, I wish more peopleunderstood that the vast
majority of sex traffickingvictims in the United States are
actually United States citizens.
It's kind of it's easy to beblindsided by the belief that a
crime like this just couldn'thappen in our country because
it's such a horrible thing,right?
(09:22):
You think, well, that doesn'thappen here, right?
When in reality there areconfirmed cases of human
trafficking in all 50 statesevery single year.
So kind of understanding thatand then understanding the
vulnerabilities that put somepeople at a higher risk of
becoming a victim of humantrafficking can really highlight
just how much you might notknow about the issue, which is.
(09:43):
This.
All took me by surprise when Ifirst started and was like, oh
man, you know, it's great thatthat work is being done to
educate people and I'm glad thatwe're still doing this kind of
thing.
We also kind of live in aculture where we've been told to
mind your own business, andthat's something that I
mentioned in a lot of mypresentations, because
traffickers absolutely use thisto their advantage in a lot of
(10:05):
my presentations, becausetraffickers absolutely use this
to their advantage.
In those presentations I alwaysjust like to remind people that
take the training.
You know we offer the training.
We offer as a first step, butthe second step is to pay
attention to your surroundingsand then use that.
Trading Don't don't mind yourbusiness is often what I'll say.
So if there's something thatjust doesn't look right or you
see, you know some of those redflags that we talk about in our
(10:26):
trading say something call thehotline, call law enforcement,
call both.
You never just you never knowthe impact that you might make
by just making one simple phonecall.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Absolutely.
I mean, that's a huge impactthat you guys are making.
Are there any partnerships orupcoming campaigns where we
should keep an eye on for you,for TAT?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Yeah, we're anticipating the release of our
brand new mobile exhibit, theDriving Change Project, which is
being worked on right now andit's been in development for the
last year about year and a half.
This exhibit will be differentfrom the FTP in that the FTP
focuses a lot on sex trafficking.
Be different from the FTP inthat the FTP focuses a lot on
(11:07):
sex trafficking because 10 to 15years ago that's where we found
the need to be placed at on anexhibit like the FTP.
But with this new exhibit it'llactually focus both on sex
trafficking and labortrafficking and it'll be a lot
more interactive of an exhibit.
So we're very excited to seewhat that looks like.
Right now we don't have arelease date for it, but we're
hoping for sometime next year.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Nice, that's awesome.
Excited for that.
Yeah, it's very cool.
You have more than one truck.
There's two out there now.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
So what's that like logistics-wise, you know, with
that trailer?
Yeah, Get those sites forpeople to see, for it to be
there, get it ready.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, gosh, it's a lot of work.
A lot of work on our end, it'sa lot of work on our partner's
end, of work on our end.
It's a lot of work on ourpartner's end.
You know, I would say,typically we attend each year
fluctuates, but we attend about40 to 60 events with the Freedom
Drivers Project in a calendaryear.
So, with two mobile exhibits,that work is.
You know, we've got a lot moreevents to go to, which is
(12:07):
awesome and great to be able tosay that we get to go to so many
more events.
But yeah, yeah, it's a lot ofwork.
You know, we we also don't movethe trailer on our own either.
We have a program called ourelite haulers program, um, in
which partners sign on tobasically be um be the ones to
haul the trailer to and fromeach event.
Um, we truly could not do thework that we do with the mobile
(12:29):
exhibits without them.
So um shout out to our elitehaulers, to quality carriers and
Walmart for um for taking thaton for us.
We really appreciate the workthat they do.
Um, just a lot of time andenergy and logistics and, um,
you know, pick up, drop off.
What time, you know, are wegoing to be open.
What time do you want us toclose Um?
Travel accommodations all that,so that keeps my boss and I
(12:50):
pretty busy.
Travel accommodations all that,so that keeps my boss and I
pretty busy.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Nice, yeah, that's awesome.
I mean I'm glad it's there.
Every time I go to an event I'mlike, hey, let me go check out
the TAT team.
Absolutely, yeah, that's great,Right on.
So for truckers out therelistening, they're tuned in.
Maybe they're listening today.
What's one of the mostimportant ways they can stay
alert and be helpful?
(13:15):
Maybe some tips to help out.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, you know, just see something, say something,
and I would say that if youaren't trained on what to look
out for, I would encourage youto go to our website at
wwwtatnonprofitorg to takewhatever training is relevant to
you and your field.
So we have an over the roadtraining, but if you're a local
driver, we have a training forthat too.
(13:37):
We've got a training video forschool bus drivers, in-home
delivery personnel, et cetera.
So we've got all sorts ofdifferent types of trainings
that are relevant to your areaof work.
Become a certified TAP.
And, at the end of the day, inall my presentations I always
say if there's one thing youtake away from this presentation
, we'd love for you to reportpotential human trafficking
(13:59):
situations if you think you seethem, because at the end of the
day, if that's all you take,then it's absolutely worth my
time.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Tubman Award.
Let's talk about that for alittle bit.
Maybe add that in.
Yeah, That'd be effective wayof helping drivers be
incentivized or to help them seethe importance of it.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Yeah, the Harriet Tubman Award is a really amazing
opportunity that we provideevery single year.
It's an annual award that wegive out to either a member of
the trucking, bus or energyindustry whose actions have
either helped recover or improvethe lives of victims or
prevented human trafficking orsexual exploitation from taking
place.
(14:39):
Oftentimes, one of thequestions I'll get is you know
well, how many people have yousaved?
You know what's the impact ofthis kind of training on human
trafficking?
And I think that's a reallyfair question, but it's a
difficult one to answer becausehuman trafficking is such a
complex crime that tracking allthe data and everything
surrounding it can be incrediblydifficult.
(15:00):
But what makes the HarrietTubman Award so great is that
this is an example, almost everysingle year, of yet another
story of somebody who made acall right, of somebody who
noticed something wasn't right,uh, and then we're able to tell
their real life story about howthey ended up, um, making an
impact, um, and so, if it's okaywith you, I'd I'd love to kind
(15:21):
of uh, to go through one or twoof the stories, um, um, of that
award, of that we've given outin the past.
Go ahead.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Cool, like, uh, awesome.
So our recent winner uh, he isa recent winner, in 2023.
His name is joe guayo.
He's a professional truckdriver for winco foods.
Uh, and in september of 2022,joe was driving um one of his
routes in a remote area of thecountry known for its lack of
hot springs or for its hotsprings and its lack of cell
(15:52):
phone service, excuse me.
And as he was driving aroundthe curve, he saw something that
he knew was wrong right away.
What he witnessed was a veryyoung woman whose head was
completely shaved, she waslooking up at the mountains as
if she had no idea where she was, and she was wearing nothing
but a beach towel.
So, while obeying an explicitcompany policy prohibiting
unapproved riders in the cab, hecontinued driving until he saw
(16:14):
the next roadside police callbox.
Once he did, he pulled histruck over, he called law
enforcement, gave herdescription and the location
that he was at.
A few months later, joe wasactually driving the same route
again and he ended up having aweather-related accident.
Unfortunately, and as he wasconversing with law enforcement
on the scene, he actuallythought you know what?
(16:34):
I should ask the officer if heknows what happened to the woman
that I had made that call abouta couple of months prior.
Right, and to Joe's surprise,the trooper that had also
assisted in his call for thewoman was the same trooper that
was helping him with hisaccident, and they were both
kind of amazed to be reunitedwith each other, since it had
(16:56):
happened so many months ago.
And it turns out that the youngwoman was a 27-year-old victim
of human trafficking who hadbeen drugged and then dumped in
that area by her traffickers.
She was in really rough shape,and the trooper was able to
transport her to a hospitalwhere she was able to make a
full recovery.
The trooper told Joe that,because he had used the police
(17:20):
call box instead of waiting forhis own cell phone to come back
into service, he had actuallylikely saved that woman's life.
If he hadn't done that, herstory probably would have ended
very differently.
So it's because of that that weare very proud to name Joe our
2023 Harriet Tubman Award winner.
And then another example is ourstory about a truck driver named
(17:41):
Kevin Kimmel, who was a pastwinner of ours as well, who was
at a Virginia truck stop.
He saw something that he didn'tthink was right.
He saw a young woman's head popout from a curtain and then saw
her head kind of snap backquickly and the curtains were
drawn pretty abruptly.
He kind of thought to himselfyou know, I should probably make
(18:03):
a call.
That just didn't really sitright with me.
And when law enforcement got tothe scene they kind of knew
something was wrong right away.
Both of the perpetrators, lauraSorensen and Aldair Hadza, were
just really giddy with lawenforcement.
They were over-answering theirquestions, offering them cookies
and even kind of insisting thatthey sit down and relax, which
(18:24):
is not normal behavior forsomebody who's being
interrogated by police.
And there was another person inthe vehicle at the time, in the
RV, and she was a very youngwoman.
She was heavily caked in makeup, she was thin and, most
importantly, she would not lookanybody in the eye while they
were all in the trailer togetherof the window of their RV
(18:54):
towards a local landmark andthey were telling police that
they were hoping to visit thatlandmark later that day.
And it was at this time, whereeveryone's attention was pointed
out of the window of thevehicle, that she was able to
look up and signal to theofficer nearest her that she
needed help and was not okaywhen they removed her from the
vehicle, she was able to kind oftell her horrific story.
She was a very young woman whohad been kidnapped from her, her
Iowa home, weeks prior.
(19:15):
Um, these uh perpetrators werefriends of her sisters and they
took advantage of that uh andand kidnapped her and put her on
Craigslist, um, where men werecoming out to the RV and they
were raping her.
Uh, she she did not rememberthe last time she had had
anything to eat, couldn'tremember the last time she'd had
anything to drink.
Uh, and she told the lawenforcement officer that, um, if
(19:38):
she were to keep going, shefelt as though she were going to
die.
Um, and uh, doctors actuallysaid that if she had not, uh, if
that call, the law enforcement,had not been made, she likely
would have died shortlythereafter due to the
malnutrition and the torturethat she had suffered from those
people.
So you know, that's just.
It's a great example all of ourpast winners to be able to use
(20:01):
those stories as evidence thatwhat we're doing works right.
The work that we're doing trulydoes make an impact and it does
actually change lives.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, thanks for sharing that, and those are real
stories that many people canactually have a same, similar
experience if they just, youknow, like you said, see
something, say something, right,that's good how that those
individuals probably feel beingable to make that difference and
that change in thoseindividuals' lives that were
(20:33):
held against their will.
So thanks for sharing that.
Man, yeah, of course.
Yeah, they received a gift initself right there.
You know, a successful phonecall, that's, that's yeah yeah,
she actually.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
She called kevin from uh for his story.
She called him from herhospital room and and said you
know, you're my guardian angel.
And uh, he was like I'm just atrucker against trafficking, you
know doing my part.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Awesome, that's great .
So TIT TAT is known fortraining material.
How often should driversrefresh their knowledge and
what's new on the resources andmaybe on the app, or even as an
employer, what should they do?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Yeah, good question.
Even just as an employee of TAT, I oftentimes will go and
retake the trainings myself.
Our portal on our website issuper user-friendly.
And the trainings, you know,they're built to give you some
video, some education, but thenalso answer some questions.
They're really quite useful.
(21:31):
So I would say just retakingthe training on our portals is a
big one, but then alsodownloading some questions.
They're really quite useful.
So I would say just retakingthe training on our portals is a
big one, but then alsodownloading our app.
Our app is a really greatresource that's got tailored red
flag content on it.
It has local service providerinformation relevant to wherever
you're at in the country.
So if you think that somebodyyou're experiencing a situation
(21:53):
where somebody might need to goto, uh, you know, a home that
might be able to provide forthem, you can look up in the
service provider information tosee if there's, uh, an
organization or a nonprofitthat's nearby that provides
those kinds of services.
Uh, so our app is really aphenomenal tool.
Um, you know it's.
I like to say it's all the goodparts about our physical
materials that we provide, butall on a digital one app all
(22:16):
together, you know.
So I would say those are thetwo things.
You know, our portal is reallygreat, really great tool, but
then our app is really useful aswell.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Nice.
Oh man, that's a great tool.
If you've taken the training,why not retake it so?
That's because we always needreminders, keep things fresh.
Conversations from the road,what, what trucking shows or
individual events that you'vebeen industry events have you
been a personally part of thatthat you've seen recently and to
(22:48):
see the impact?
Speaker 2 (22:50):
have you been a partially part of that that
you've seen recently and to seethe impact?
Yeah, good question, it's.
It's been one crazy year.
You know we've.
We've gotten to go to somereally great events or recently
have attended several corporateevents with Walmart, ruan
Transportation, lindy, pepsicoand CN Railway.
I'm actually going to a UPSfacility in Chicago in two days.
(23:11):
You have the cash facilitythere, so I'm looking forward to
doing that event.
But then we've you know we'vealso.
We went to the Indy 500 thisyear thanks to our partnership
with Bridgestone.
That was a major event and acrazy milestone where hundreds
of people were able to gothrough the trailer.
And then we were also a part ofthe Iowa 80 Walcott Jamboree in
July as well, and that's alwaysgreat to be a part of as well.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Nice.
I think they put the dates outfor next year, 2026, for men.
Oh, right on, yeah.
Oh, yeah, yeah yeah, see youguys there too.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah, we'll definitely be there.
I think my boss actually wasjust talking today about how
they just reached out.
We're getting our booth detailsand everything like that all
settled, so we'll definitely seeyou guys there.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Nice, how nice.
I was thinking too that a lotof people maybe, if they're not
a part of it, they could be apart of it.
So the conversation is alsogoing into what kind of feedback
have you received from driversor companies when you speak at
these events or when you guysare there?
What things can they lookforward to?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Yeah, the response that I get is always just a
great reminder as to why youknow we do this.
It's always amazing to seedrivers, employees or even just
parents go through the exhibitand take in all the information
that we have to offer.
It's just always really veryheartwarming to kind of see the
community rally behind an issuelike this, especially the
(24:37):
transportation family, thetrucking, bus and energy
industries.
They really just take thismatter to heart and you feel
that when you go to an event,especially in my capacity with
the mobile exhibit we actuallyhad a driver recently who said
he was surprised at how littlehe actually understood about
human trafficking and that therewere things that he thought he
understood about it that wereincorrect.
(24:57):
We always hand out tons ofmaterials, we have great
conversations and I'm alwaysjust surprised to see how many
cash donations or donationsthrough t-shirt sales that we
get and the companies that we dothese events with are just all
in.
You know they do everythingthat they can to make each event
(25:20):
as successful as possible andit's always very encouraging to
see the amount of effort that somany corporations just go
through to promote the educationthat we have to offer and
support the work that we do Niceto promote the education that
we have to offer and support thework that we do Nice.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
So, looking ahead, where will TAP be in the coming
months?
Any events or appearances,maybe, or goals you would like
to highlight so that people canbe there?
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Yeah, absolutely yeah .
So, like I said, I'll be inChicago in two days.
I think it's this Thursday.
I fly on Wednesday, but it'sthis Thursday.
I'll be in Chicago at the UPSfacility the cash facility on
August 14th.
So if there are any feederdrivers out there listening,
come and see me in the FTP atthe event.
I'm excited to be there andtalk to you guys about human
trafficking.
We also have some prettyexciting events coming up in the
next month or so.
We'll be at the IntermodalAssociation of North America's
(26:06):
annual expo in Long Beach,california, from September 15th
to the 17th.
We'll also be at ATA's MC&E inOctober and also WIT Accelerate
Conference in November as well.
So there's a number of otherevents that we're attending as
well that I just can't think ofoff the top of my head.
But if you're interested inseeing where the FTP will be for
(26:26):
the rest of the year, I wouldsay check out the Freedom
Drivers Project landing page onour website at
wwwtatnonprofitorg.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Wow.
And how can companies orindividual drivers you know how
can they get involved if theyhaven't already?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Yeah, Our website's a really phenomenal resource.
I think I just looked at it foran entire week when I got hired
and was taking in so muchinformation.
It's truly, really well built.
So I'd go to our website, takethe training that we have
available on there.
I kind of talked about the appa little bit.
That's another really great wayfor you to learn more and get
(27:03):
involved.
If you haven't been, in apretty easy, less intense way, I
feel like most people.
They have their phones on themall the time and getting on a
computer is actually, you know,so much harder than it used to
be back in the day.
But with our app and with ourphone, it's just so easy.
The content is right there infront of you and you can utilize
(27:24):
those resources that weprovided completely free of
charge.
So if you're interested indonating to TAT as either a
company or as an individualdonor, you can always send me an
email at mlarsen that'sM-L-A-R-S-E-N at tatnonprofitorg
and we can just start thatconversation, get you invested
in what we're doing in theindustry Nice.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Yeah, you know they say your freedom of speech can
also be displayed by where youput your money.
So that's good, your supporthelping individuals out to
continue to do what they'redoing, to help those that are,
you know, that need to help,that are being exploited.
Yeah, micah, that's awesome andwe'll just wrap it up.
(28:09):
I know you did a great job oftelling about your mission and
the work you're doing.
I really appreciate you joiningus sharing much of your insight
.
You're doing a great andimportant work.
We'll hope that the drivers outthere walk away with this
episode feeling empowered andthey can also play their part in
stopping human trafficking,like I said, using the app and
also going on the website,retraining if you have already
(28:30):
taken the training, and alsosharing it with other
individuals that don't know that, have questions.
So yeah.
I appreciate that so much,anything else.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I was just going to say I appreciate you for having
me on and thank you to you andall the other truckers who are
listening.
I have an immense amount ofrespect for what you guys do.
If you've seen it, if you'vetasted it, if you've touched it,
if you smell it, it probablycame in on a truck at some point
.
So you guys really do make thecountry run and I just
appreciate you guys for what youdo.
(29:02):
Wow, thanks man.
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Great.
Appreciate that.
So big shout out to all thetruckers out there and, if
you're listening, please goahead and head on over to
truckersagainsttraffickingorgand check out their free
training resources at upcomingevents.
You never know where life canlead you.
You can help someone save theirlife.
You can do this by just beinginformed and aware.
(29:26):
So great resources and also, asan employer, you guys can get
more involved and help outdrivers and help your workforce
be informed as well, so of thethings that they can be aware of
out there to save someone'slife.
So thank you so much for thisepisode of that's the Limit and
stay safe out there and keepyour eyes open and we'll catch
(29:48):
you next time.
Awesome.
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