Cookie Sale, Casual Day Raises Money for Contractor
Thursday, July 26, was declared "Jim Raine Day" at ATS. Jim Raine, a 22 year contractor with ATS Specialized, has been in the hospital for the past ten weeks. Virgil Sabby, Jim's Fleet Manager, with the help of other ATS staff, held a cookie sale and casual day as fund raisers for Jim. Homemade chocolate chip cookies were baked and sold in the Andies Double Nickel Cafe. In addition to this, St. Cloud staff members could buy a "Get Well Jim" sticker for a dollar, which entitled that individual to dress casual on Jim Raine day. The dollars raised at these events were matched by ATS. In all, $1,881 was raised. The proceeds have been deposited into a fund started by Jim's church to help the family with finances during Jim's hospitalization. Many drivers/contractors have made additional donations. If you are interested in helping, please send donations to: The Jim Raine Benefit Account M & I Bank Attn: Sandra Underwood PO Box 150 Neillsville, WI 54456 Jim has a wife, five children and three grandchildren. He says the best advice he ever received was "Never give up and always smile." Please keep Jim and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

ATS SOFTBALL -A Winning Team (16-1)
For those of you who like to watch softball, come out and cheer on our own ATS Team as they head to the championships. They finished the regular season with a convincing 18-11 win over the Lincoln Depot to extend their record to a fantastic 14-0 finish. To finish 1st in league play for 2001. The highlight of the game was when Lisa Puchalla hit a one out homerun in the bottom of the first inning to start the scoring. Way to go.

The first playoff game was played on Thursday-August 16th against Bubba's Bar and Grill, was a convincing 19-7 drubbing to take the teams record to an astonishing 15-0. Now it was on to a double header on Thursday-August 30th. The first game was played at 6:15. ATS won the game 11-10 Lincoln Depot in a tough fought contest. As Tim Gilbert put it "We pulled a rabbit out of a hat, we were playing three people short". The magic ran out in the night cap. ATS lost to MT's on 8th 13-6, to finish 2nd in the tournament this year with an overall record of 16-1.

Congratulations to the Players: Kyle Evenson (Vans), Billy Wyatt (Vans), Tim Gilbert (Ice), Brian Niemeyer (Road Service), Wade Evenson (former employee), Lisa Puchalla (Flatbeds), Lisa Peterson (Nat'l accounts), Tami Stender (Recruiting), Michelle Wyatt (Wife of Billy), Michelle Evenson (Wife of Kyle), Nancy Elmquist (Sister to Tim Gilbert).

Summer has taken its toll on all of us. The news is filled with stories of heat related incidents and illnesses. Heat also causes many equipment failures. With the weather often arises road surface problems. This lends itself to more wear and tear on our vehicles. Subtle little things left unattended can lead to major problems down the line. Like the ad that ran a few years ago "Pay me now or pay me later", preventative maintenance goes a long way.

It is better to take a couple of minutes out of your busy day and get your vehicle into the safety lane while in Gary or St. Cloud. A little time now may prevent extensive delays on the road.

Many of you may have noticed signs being placed in the operations departments lately. These are intended to remind us of ways to prevent accidents from occurring or methods for drivers to stay in compliance with the regulations. When Fleet Managers are in conversation with you, they will be reminding you to drive safely. Driving safely saves time, and keeps you running.

Have a safe one out there today!