didn’t want to give up; she didn’t want to be a failure; and above all, she knew how many people were depending on her for their jobs. “We didn’t lay anybody off,” she
said. “I just got out there and kicked rocks and talked to Jesus every day.” Even after GM was back in opera-
tion, there were tough times to get through. “It was still slow, and I believe we
were probably down a total of 13 weeks in 2009, total,” she said. “We got smart- er and stronger and worked together as a team and just moved ahead. We got things taken care of.” And that spirit of teamwork paid
off. In 2011, Rich was nominated as a General Motors “Supplier of the Year,” and the carrier won the award in 2012 – a remarkable accomplishment consid- ering how small Rich Logistics is com- pared to some of the 20,000 companies that supply General Motors, companies like Union Pacific, mega-large motor carriers, international shipping compa-
nies, and the like. “Getting the Supplier of the Year
was something special,” said Richards. “And there were only five ladies out of the 83 awards given.” Today, said Richards, the company
is better and stronger for having sur- vived that era. “It’s a sad story,” she said of the
economic crisis, “but it has a happy ending.” Rich Logistics isn’t the only one
benefitting from that happy ending. Having appealed to a higher power for guidance during the hardest economic times, Richards is seeing to it others get the same kind of help she got. “That’s why I do the cereal drives
and everything; I’m giving back,” she said earnestly. “Everything could be gone in a day’s time.” She’s talking about the annual
Summer Cereal Drive to benefit the Arkansas Foodbank, and this year Rich Logistics took home top honors by donating 28,000 boxes of cereal – twice
as much as the next-highest finisher. Richards is also a regular supporter of the Dorcas House, a Little Rock non- profit that helps young women, unwed mothers and children, filling boxes with clothes and other necessities; and of the Samaritan’s Purse, an international disaster relief program. “You shop year round to put stuff
in boxes,” Richards’ husband, Tom Quarles, says from across their airy living room, smiling. “You do the shop- ping” he said grinning at Richards, “and I usually do the other stuff.” “When he’s talking about my shop-
ping, it’s that kind of shopping,” she says, smiling back. “I shop from January to October buying for them.” Richards and Quarles will celebrate
their second wedding anniversary in January. They’ve known each other since about 2006, when both were married to their previous spouses and Quarles was also involved in the truck- ing industry in Camden.
lEss frustration hErE.
morE produCtivity hErE.
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ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 5 2013
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www.driverslegalplan.com 25
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