SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 11, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This Veterans Day, Unishippers Global Logistics, LLC – the first and one of the largest small package and freight third party logistics companies in the U.S. – announced the winner of their Veterans Franchise Giveaway contest. The contest aimed to award a deserving, qualified military veteran a free Unishippers National Franchise and was in collaboration with USA Cares, a charity that provides financial and advocacy assistance to post 9/11 active duty US military service personnel, veterans and their families. The contest entry period concluded on September 3, 2013 with over 50 entries. After careful evaluation and consideration, the Unishippers team selected U.S. Air Force veteran Terrance Turner from Niceville, FL as the winner.
During his time with the military, Turner served as a Logistics Superintendent for the U.S. Air Force, a Master Scheduler/Planner for the Crestview Aerospace Corp, and as a Logistics Manager for the Department of Defense regarding foreign military sales. Outside of the military, Turner also worked as a Logistics Manager for COLSA Corporation, a technology services and solutions company.
"Military veterans exhibit the kinds of high caliber characteristics we're always looking for in our franchisees, such as being well-organized, disciplined and driven," said Kevin Lathrop, President of Unishippers. "We are grateful that Terrance entered our Veterans Franchise Giveaway contest. His military service coupled with his private sector experience will translate over well as a Unishippers franchise owner, and with 11 veterans already in our system, Terrance will fit right into our Unishippers family."
To be qualified for the contest, veterans had to submit an entry explaining why they were interested in owning a Unishippers franchise and how their military experience would help them be a successful Unishippers franchisee. After the top five semifinalists were selected, the Unishippers corporate office flew them out to Salt Lake City for a special Discovery Day event where they met Unishippers executives, department leaders and the panel of judges face-to-face. Due to the high quality of the other four semifinalists, Unishippers is now working to assist them with additional financing options, including partnering them with larger franchise groups in the organization who have expressed interest in helping veterans start businesses of their own.
"Now couldn't be a more perfect time for me to start my own business," said Turner. "After working in the logistics industry for 30 years and soon graduating with my Bachelor's degree in logistics, it's great to see all of my hard work paying off. This is truly a surreal experience and I'm very eager to start my journey with Unishippers."
About Unishippers
Founded in 1987, Unishippers has grown to the largest reseller of shipping services in the nation with more than 290 franchise locations. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, the Unishippers concept is simple – work with major carriers including UPS®, Saia®, Estes®, YRC Freight™ and UPS Freight® to handle the pickup, transport and delivery of customers' shipments. All the while, franchisees work to provide customers with service and support. By leveraging the combined shipping volume of all its customers, Unishippers gets deeply discounted rates from its carriers, resulting in lower shipping costs. Unishippers serves more than 50,000 small to mid-sized businesses, and has been recognized as a top freight broker by Transport Topics and a top franchise by Entrepreneur, Franchise Times and the Inc. 5000. For information on Unishippers, including information on franchising opportunities and price quotes, visit www.unishippers.com.
About USA Cares
USA Cares is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that helps post-9/11 veterans, active military service members and their families with basic needs such as food, shelter and utilities. USA Cares operates four core programs, Combat Injured, Jobs Assistance, Emergency Assistance and Housing. USA Cares has received over 40,000 requests for help and responded with more than $10 Million in grants. Learn more at http://usacares.org/">http://usacares.org/.