Speaker 1 00:00:05 Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast, brought to you by P G T I University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sherry Connor and I am your host.
Speaker 0 00:00:17 Feeling
Speaker 2 00:00:18 Like My Life is making a difference that's bigger than myself. Um, caring for people I think is just a part of my dna. It's what makes me happy. It's been a driving factor for me to join the fight against human trafficking. I truly believe that everyone deserves freedom and everyone deserves a voice. I was blessed with the life I was given, and I want to use that life to make a difference in somebody else who has it harder.
Speaker 1 00:00:41 In our final episode of the Community Matters series, we met up with McKenna Tansky, who helps our philanthropic efforts here at P D T I. As an intern, McKenna pitched the idea of our organization getting involved with the fight against human trafficking. Not only did the leadership agree, but they also hired her to make this a concerted effort across our enterprise. Listen to learn more about how you can join in this effort as well. Good morning. We are here on the Clear Impact Podcast and we are wrapping up a series called Community Matters. And we've been talking around some of the nonprofit partners that we have. But today we're gonna talk about a new partnership that's emerging, a new effort and focus that we've actually been working on for a while. And so in studio we have McKenna Tansky back with us.
Speaker 2 00:01:26 Hello. Good to be back.
Speaker 1 00:01:27 Yes, good to have you back. And I know that you are super passionate about this topic. And so before we dive into that, do a little just a recap of who you are and what your responsibilities are here and then we can talk about Highway Heroes.
Speaker 2 00:01:40 Yeah. So I work as a marketing specialist in the corporate marketing group at P gti. So I do a heavy amount of corporate communications, dealer communications, excellence through partnership communications, P gti branding, social media accounts for pti. And my favorite P GTIs philanthropy nonprofit efforts is something that I'm starting to do more of. Um, I've been at P G T I for about two and a half years.
Speaker 1 00:02:07 Nice. And you actually had an internship here.
Speaker 2 00:02:11 I did. I did back in 2018. Right.
Speaker 1 00:02:14 And we talked about that in our Workforce of the Future series that was done last year. But today we're gonna talk all about Highway Heroes. So tell us about this.
Speaker 2 00:02:22 I love how I heroes. Okay. So Highway Heroes is a human trafficking awareness training program designed to educate truck drivers on the signs of human trafficking while on the road and know how to report it with the end goal of apprehending traffickers and rescuing their victims. So while human trafficking does take place in many different forms and areas in our world, our highways serve as a prime breeding ground for trafficking to really invade our society. Florida has nearly half a million commercial drivers, which is insane because that impact that they could have is huge. Wow. And the Highway Heroes Program specifically enlists the drivers that half a million drivers to fight against trafficking. And at P G T I, when we heard about this, we knew that we can make a difference in this area because we have one of the largest trucking fleets in the state.
Speaker 2 00:03:11 And we have locations in other parts of the country like Arizona, California, and now Utah, Florida and California are in the top three of states with the highest trafficking rates. So we can definitely make a difference in those areas. Joined efforts with the Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to ensure that all of our drivers and team members are trained to spot those signs of human trafficking on the roadways. And I'm proud to say that all of our drivers are certified highway heroes, but with the newest edition of Martin Door, we will need to get them through the training as well. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But our drivers are in a very unique position to make a difference and close these loopholes to traffickers who seek to exploit our transportation system for their potential gain. And that's kind of where the backing of Highway Heroes came from. Right.
Speaker 1 00:03:56 Because a lot of that activity, as I understand it happens at rest stops and gas stations and restaurants, things like that. So that's amazing. And I've been through the training, it's actually on the P G T I university site and so it's available for anyone to take any of our dealers that are interested in taking advantage of that training. It's available to you, it's there and it's better to go that route as opposed to calling 9 1 1. Right.
Speaker 2 00:04:24 It kind of depends. There is a national human trafficking hotline and they can connect you with the correct people or connect to the case with the correct people faster. So depending on where you are necessarily, I would suggest the National Human Trafficking hotline. But obviously the situation is very intense. Very, you need to respond quickly. And 9 1 1 is the fastest option that comes to your brain as most people. Right. 9 1 1 will work as
Speaker 1 00:04:46 Well because they'll dial them into the people that are trained and know how to handle those specific kinds of activities. Right,
Speaker 2 00:04:53 Exactly.
Speaker 1 00:04:54 So tell us about the 100% Club.
Speaker 2 00:04:57 So the 100% Club was started by the Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody as just a, a way to recognize and reward companies who commit to training 100% of their drivers and team members. So PGT Innovations is one of the founding members of the club because we put so much effort towards this initiative and started encouraging other businesses to do the same and really just jumped in head first and decided to take control of this initiative.
Speaker 1 00:05:23 Nice. Well, I know all of our drivers, all of our sales team and all of our field service, like anybody that's out on the roads for a significant amount of their work day has gone through the training. And I think the a hundred percent means everybody. Right,
Speaker 2 00:05:39 Right. Okay. Right. Yeah. So we're still in that process. Technically the a hundred percent means all of our drivers. So we have accomplished that minus the acquisition of Martin. And then we kind of exceeded that expectation by saying we want to train all of our team members on spotting the signs. So we do encourage our team members, members to watch and be a certified highway heroes, but we are working on a more generalized, less truck driver focused training for the general population of employees that they can go through that training.
Speaker 1 00:06:09 Yeah, no, I think it's, I mean it's powerful. I've watched it a couple times now
Speaker 2 00:06:12 It's, it's very moving. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:06:14 It's heart wrenching actually. Yeah. I mean I have
Speaker 2 00:06:17 Daughters so Yeah, I know when you put yourself in that situation, it kind of changes the game. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> like you want to do something about it because you can't imagine,
Speaker 1 00:06:25 Oh no, it's
Speaker 2 00:06:26 Terrible. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1 00:06:27 Terrible. So how can other organizations take part in this or can they, or like what would be your recommendation if there's a dealer listening to this and they're like, Hey, that's a great idea, let's do that. What would you say to
Speaker 2 00:06:40 Them? Yeah, well everyone can take the training as we just said, and become a certified highway hero. All of us are on the roadways every day driving to and from work, going on a family road trip, stopping to get gas or eat at a restaurant along the highway, flying in and out of an airport. I'm staying at hotels like these are all very hot spots for human trafficking to occur or for the transportation of victims. So if you understand exactly what trafficking is and then know the signs, just spot it. You'll know what to do if you do witness a situation that just doesn't feel right. Trafficking is actually so prevalent and hidden that odds are one out of every five people will have unknowingly witnessed or seen trafficking take place. Which is crazy because if you know that what you're seeing, you know what you're witnessing, you can put an end to it, you can stop it.
Speaker 2 00:07:30 And so the more people that understand that, the more people that are trained, educated will be able to make a difference. Only about 1% of victims actually make it out alive. And a lot of trafficking involves children as the average age of a person who enters trafficking is between 11 and 14 years old, which is sad, like beyond sad. Oh, that's so sad. This is when they're just the most vulnerable, the most easily influenced by the traffickers. And these victims only have a life expectancy of seven years. So once they are trafficked, the odds are they'll only live for seven years.
Speaker 1 00:08:04 Oh my
Speaker 2 00:08:05 Gosh. Yeah. So really just educating yourself, spreading awareness, donating to trusted nonprofits who are fighting against this, staying up to date with what's going on. Um, there's a lot of different news articles that you can subscribe to. Like you can subscribe to the Truckers Against Trafficking Monthly newsletter and they'll send you just updates on different areas in the United States where trafficking has been detected, where authorities have gone in and arrested traffickers or broken up a trafficking ring. Um, just like being in the loop can all be helpful. I would also recommend reading the book Disposable People by Kevin Bales. It was recommended to me by Brian Lingle actually. Okay. And I'm so glad I read it. It's a really hard read. It's not a long book, but it took me about four months to read just because every three pages I would would have to put it down cuz it's so intense. But it's worth it just so that you can understand and know the depth and darkness of trafficking and what it is. So I would definitely recommend reading that book. And there's a lot of other resources and books and blogs and podcasts and charities, non-profits that put out helpful information as well. Is
Speaker 1 00:09:13 There a specific organization that we're partnering with? Be sure to tune in for upcoming episodes to help you understand the fest industry, what you need to know when buying windows and doors and other related topics. You can find out more about
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Speaker 2 00:09:34 The Highway Heroes Effort were us partnering with the Florida Alliance Against Human Trafficking. Okay. Who works closely with Ashley Moody, the Florida Attorney General, and they work heavily to and the legislative system of Florida to make sure that laws are protected to protect the victims and traffickers can be more heavily prosecuted, stuff like that. So like the laws, the government legislations and everything is very much influenced by the Florida Alliance Against Human Trafficking in the Florida Attorney General. And we're also partnering with A 21, which is a national nonprofit. So not just necessarily in Florida but national. And they are fighting to end human trafficking as well and they will be the ones most likely to create our more generalized employee training program.
Speaker 1 00:10:20 And we didn't necessarily prep for this question, but do you know like what are some common signs?
Speaker 2 00:10:26 Yeah, I actually did prep for
Speaker 1 00:10:28 This question. Oh, you did prep. You anticipated my non-scripted question. I
Speaker 2 00:10:32 Did. I like it. I did. This is just a very frequently asked question, so I get this a lot, but some of the main signs are evidence of being controlled physically or psychologically? Psychologically. Yes. So if somebody's being controlled, you know, like they are very submissive to somebody else. They can't do something on their own, they don't hold their id but their passport, somebody else has that identification for them, that's a big sign. An ability to leave their home or place of work alone. So if somebody is consistently being picked up from work, dropped off at work, can't drive of their own car, can't leave their own home, like will only work virtual, something like that, odds are that they are in a, some sort of trafficking ring, most likely labor trafficking if it has to do with working the inability to speak for one's self or share one's own information.
Speaker 2 00:11:23 So that kind of goes back to the control aspect. A lot of these victims have been brainwashed in a way and they're just so empty mentally and drained mentally that they don't even have the capacity to share information about themselves. They don't know where they're going, they don't know why they're going there. So if you ever ask somebody, oh like how are you doing? Where you headed? Like do you live here? And they just respond with such a blank answer and just so out of it, that's a big sign of trafficking. Lots of control of one's own identification. So Id passport if they don't have personal possessions, so wearing the same clothes to work every day, you know, I don't know, that's a big sign. Wearing same clothes to work every day is a big sign. Okay. If they don't have personal possessions to take with them, a lot of traffic or, or victims of trafficking will only have like a set of clothes that they will be able to change in and out of so that they can be identified by the trafficker. They owe a large debt that the individual is unable to pay off. So if somebody is in deep debt to somebody or to a company, something like that, that is a big sign of labor trafficking. And then loss of sense of time or space. So not knowing where they are, what city they're in, what state they're in, what day it is. Just like general information, they will not be able to answer those questions.
Speaker 1 00:12:37 There are days when I don't know what day
Speaker 2 00:12:38 It is, me too
Speaker 1 00:12:39 <laugh>. I hope that, I'm glad there's more. Yeah. More things besides just that.
Speaker 2 00:12:44 Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 00:12:46 Oh gosh. But still that's great information. So that like if you are walking through an airport and you see something that doesn't feel right or is weird, like I know they have people that are patrolling airports and Homeland Security and those kinds of authorities are on the lookout for that too. So Right. You can always go, Hey, that doesn't look right. Go check that out.
Speaker 2 00:13:06 Right. Airports, it'll be like the biggest sign for airports will probably be who they're with. So if it's um, child trafficking, the child's going to be with somebody who's their uncle, not necessarily their father or their brother. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know what I mean? And there odds are if it's a girl, there'll be a woman with the trafficker who will actually like go into the bathroom with the victim and like kind of just like make it seem more normal. If that makes sense. Ugh.
Speaker 1 00:13:32 That just I uh, yeah,
Speaker 2 00:13:34 Very hidden. Very hard to spot. But if you're looking close enough and even if you just feel something's off in your gut, you know, like giving a call to the national hotline or to the police, it doesn't hurt anything. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, if anything it could be saving a life. Right.
Speaker 1 00:13:49 McKenna, do you happen to have the hotline number?
Speaker 2 00:13:52 Yes, I do. It is 1 8 8 8 3 7 3 7 8 8 8.
Speaker 1 00:13:59 Okay. Awesome.
Speaker 2 00:14:00 Yep. That is the national human trafficking hotline number.
Speaker 1 00:14:03 That's amazing. And so one last question. What is your favorite part about giving back? Either specifically around this topic or just in general? What's your favorite part?
Speaker 2 00:14:15 I would say feeling like my life is making a difference that's bigger than myself. Um, caring for people I think is just a part of my dna. It's what makes me happy. It's been a driving factor for me to join the fight against human trafficking. I truly believe that everyone deserves freedom and everyone deserves a voice. I was blessed with the life I was given and I want to use that life to make a difference in somebody else who has it harder. Once I saw the darkness of trafficking and exploitation happen literally right in front of me, it was just an instinctual gut reaction to do literally everything I could to ensure that no one ever has to experience that darkness ever again. So fighting against trafficking is really what fuels me. Like whenever I have a project I get to work on or I get to work more heavily on the Highway Heroes program or get to work with Florida Alliance Against Human Trafficking, I always get so happy and just like it's so zoned out in my work and just knowing that what I'm doing is making a difference to somebody else out there.
Speaker 2 00:15:14 And I may never know or meet them, but just knowing that kind of makes me feel like my life is worth it. That's
Speaker 1 00:15:21 So awesome. We're so lucky to have you. Aww, thank you. And I'm grateful for an organization that puts so much, you know, they show up and they believe in partnering with non-profits. And again, we've mentioned it, we've got the volunteer time off that we get paid a full day every year for serving and then to just lend our name to a lot of different community organizations as well as national now, so. Right, right. Yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker 2 00:15:43 Yeah. We have the resources that the fact that our company is so willing to use those resources to help those that need help is amazing, is staggering. Oh, for
Speaker 1 00:15:51 Sure. Yeah. I mean, not every organization has that heart behind it, so I'm super grateful. Yeah. Well, thank you for your time, McKenna. This has been a great conversation. Uh, appreciate all that you do here and I'm sure we'll chat
Speaker 2 00:16:01 Again. Of course. I see you next time. All right. Take care.
Speaker 1 00:16:03 Bye.
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