It’s not too often that C.H. Robinson’s customers have celebrity status, but Robinson recently had the opportunity to work with the Minnesota Twins and Johan Santana, two-time Cy Young Award winner and pitcher for the MN Twins.
Kevin Six, Robinson--Corporate Sales, read an article in a local newspaper about Santana’s recent fire truck purchase for his hometown of Tovar, Venezuela, which did not have an engine. The article indicated that they had yet to find a way to transport the truck. Six saw this as a great opportunity to utilize Robinson’s global expertise and to help out the community of Tovar.
With support from Chris O’Brien, vice president of transportation, Six contacted the Twins and offered to donate Robinson’s services and cover all transportation costs to move the fire truck to Venezuela. Six then worked with Nathan Shutes, of Minneapolis International, to execute the high-profile move.
Six said, “For me this project all started with heart being the theme. I read an article in the newspaper while recovering from open heart surgery – an experience that had a significant impact on me. Recognizing that we are global in our coverage and expertise, that we accept and thrive on challenges, and that our people rally around good causes, I felt this project was a perfect fit.”
 Shutes reached out to the Robinson network to execute the move from Minnesota to Venezuela, working with fourteen other Robinson employees to get the job done. Minneapolis Transportation assisted with the movement of the truck between storage facilities and the Metrodome, the Sartell branch used their expertise to find a flatbed to move the truck from Minnesota to Texas, Houston International assisted with Customs documentation in the U.S., and our Valencia, Venezuela office helped with customs clearance in Venezuela.
Before the truck made the journey to Tovar, it was re-upholstered, detailed, and artwork was added, including C.H. Robinson’s logo. Once completed, the fire truck was brought back to the Metrodome for Santana to view. Santana was all smiles as he climbed into the fire truck for the first time. He was interviewed by local media and posed for photos with Robinson employees.
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The truck remained in storage until the Twins’ season came to an end to ensure that Santana could be part of the truck’s arrival in Tovar. It was loaded with equipment donated by the Coon Rapids Fire Department (CRFD) as well as the Brooklyn Park Fire Department (BPFD). Derek Doherty of the Minneapolis Transportation branch and volunteer fire fighter for the BPFD, arranged for the BPFD to assist with the loading of the equipment. Doherty said, “We had twelve volunteers helping load and package the equipment. We felt honored to be able to help the community of Tovar.”
The day the truck began its journey to Tovar, Robinson held an employee and media event at the Eden Prairie offices. Employees and local media gathered outside in front of the truck, while Chris O’Brien addressed the crowd. O’Brien said, “Thank you for coming out today and showing your support. We are very excited to be helping the people of Tovar and to support Johan and the Twins. This is a wonderful way to use our global expertise and resources to help Tovar’s community.”
Santana, who was unable to attend, said, “To C.H. Robinson, I am very happy for everything you have done, not just for me, but for my whole community. I want to thank you and let you know we appreciate that we were able to trust everything to you.”
Six said, “Nate [Shutes] played a vital role in cultivating a relationship with Johan. Johan had been looking for a fire engine to donate to his home-town for two years. This project meant a lot to him, and he was very grateful that he was able to trust Nate and the C.H. Robinson team.” Santana was so grateful to Shutes, Six, and the employees at Robinson for their help that he invited Six and Shutes to Tovar to participate in the unveiling ceremony and celebration in December.
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| When Johan explained to the fire department in Merida that Robinson had donated the transportation of the truck to Tovar and that Nathan Shutes was there to be a part of the donation ceremony, two of the firemen tore the service patches from their uniforms and handed them to Nathan as a gift. |
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The vessel sailed from Houston to La Guairá, Venezuela in early December. Shutes took Santana up on the offer to celebrate the engine’s arrival. While in Tovar, Shutes met with firefighters and paramedics from Merida and Tovar, members and sponsors of the Johan Santana Foundation, and countless residents. Augusto Vivas, Robinson-Valencia, who is from Santana’s hometown, met him at Santana’s house.
At 1:30 a.m. on Sat., Dec. 16, the fire truck arrived in Tovar. Together, Santana and Shutes added the 2006 Cy Young sticker to the fire truck to go alongside his 2004 nomination. “To be a part of this project was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The look of joy and gratitude on the faces of the people of Tovar was something I’ll never forget. Knowing that they will now have the equipment to combat fires and natural disasters is amazing. I am so proud to be a part of the project and to work for a company that truly cares about communities around the world,” added Shutes.
The following afternoon, over 12,000 residents from Tovar and the surrounding communities gathered at the local soccer field to participate in the festivities. New baseball equipment was donated to local Little League teams and toys were given to all the children. Several bands provided live music for the crowd. Around midnight, standing center stage with Santana, Shutes and Vivas delivered the following speech:
“C.H. Robinson is proud to support the Johan Santana Foundation and the city of Tovar, and we feel privileged to be a part of this celebration today. Since July, over fifteen of our employees have worked on this project including our very own Augusto Vivas, who is from Tovar. Every time a life is saved as a result of this truck, we will take pride in knowing that we played a small role in it. In the time we have been working with Johan, we have come to know him as a truly genuine and humble man with a generous heart. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Johan and Tovar and hope this is the beginning of even bigger things to come.”
Shutes said, “I was overwhelmed by the response from the people of Tovar and felt very blessed to be a part of the celebration. It was an experience I will never forget. As I left, the people I had come to know said to me, 'Amigos por vida' – friends for life."
 Six said, “I hope to someday meet the people from Tovar. Heart is still the theme for me today but in a different way. I am a better person for experiencing this project and was fortunate to have been involved. It confirms to me that people still do amazing things in selfless ways. Thanks to the people of Tovar, Johan and the many people of C.H. Robinson.”
This six-month process would not have been successful without help from the following people:
Chris O’Brien, Kevin Six, Nate Shutes, Derek Doherty, Randy Gabrick, Steve Marinis, Ben Altemus, Cassi Holmes, Maria Batista, Sara Landazabal, Egidio Caruso, William Garcia, Wendy Welsch, and Augusto Vivas.
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