Pilot Flying J presents check for $35,000 to the Salvation Army
December 24, 2011

Salvation Army Area Commander Major Don Vick (l-r) and Bo Shafer, Salvation Army board member emeritus, accept a $35,000 donation from Pilot Operations Manager Dan Fleming. Bo Shafer, Salvation Army board member emeritus, and Area Commander Major Don Vick were on hand to accept the donation from Pilot Operations Manager Dan Fleming. Pilot Flying J presented the check at the Pilot Food Mart on Middlebrook Pike.

KNOXVILLE -- Pilot Flying J presented a check yesterday for $35,000 to the Salvation Army as part of the annual Red Paper Kettle campaign.

Each year Pilot Flying J teams up with the Salvation Army during the holiday season to bolster the organization's Red Kettle fundraising efforts through sales of red paper Salvation Army kettles. Pilot Flying J customers supported the campaign by purchasing red kettles for $1 each at all 39 Pilot Food Mart stores in the greater Knoxville area.

"This is a fantastic addition to our overall kettle campaign," said Major Don Vick, Knoxville area commander for the Salvation Army. "This is the fourth year Pilot Flying J has run this program for us and it has made a great impact."

"We have some great managers at Pilot Flying J who are very good at getting their teams behind important community efforts like this," said Fleming. "And we appreciate the generosity of our many customers who purchased paper kettles to help make this donation possible."

The Salvation Army has seen a marked increase in need within the community, according to Vick. Aside from feeding a growing number of people who have fallen on hard times, the Salvation Army also operates five shelters in the community.

"We really appreciate all that Pilot Flying J does for the Salvation Army," said Vick. "In addition to this great campaign, Pilot Flying J employees are holiday 'bell ringers' for us throughout the community. It is so important to the people we serve, especially in tough economic times like these."

Pilot Flying J is headquartered in Knoxville and has more than 550 retail locations across North America. Pilot Flying J is also one of the nation's largest wholesale fuel providers, delivering over 500 million gallons of fuel to thousands of customers in 47 states and eight Canadian provinces. The company employs approximately 18,000 people and is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America.