Humanitarian Logistics Awards presented

Supply chain professionals and organizations recognized for demonstrating commitment to disaster relief efforts.    The Shippers Group, Estes Express and The Home Depot were among the honorees recognized by the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) this week.
   ALAN presented its Humanitarian Logistics Awards Tuesday during the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP) annual EDGE conference in Nashville, Tenn.
   “Each of these recipients is living proof that humanitarianism isn’t just a one-time event and that true service extends well beyond a single disaster,” said Kathy Fulton, ALAN executive director. 
   Dallas-based The Shippers Group received ALAN’s Outstanding Contribution Award for donating space and labor in Dallas and Atlanta that helped nonprofits provide comfort to families returning home after Hurricane Harvey and cleanup for Caribbean communities after hurricanes Irma and Maria.
   Richmond, Va.-based less-than-truckload carrier Estes Express and Atlanta-based home improvement giant The Home Depot received ALAN’s Employee Engagement Award for teaming up to deliver cleaning supplies, food and hydration to the Florida Keys after Hurricane Irma.
   MIT’s Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab and LIFT Non-Profit Logistics received the Director’s Partnership Award for their role in helping ALAN provide daily updates about the information and resources critical to restoration of private supply chains during hurricanes Lane and Florence.
   Alison Thompson, a former medic, math teacher and Wall Street investment banker who rollerbladed to Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001, to serve as a volunteer rescue worker, was honored with ALAN’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her subsequent 17-year career as a full-time volunteer global humanitarian.
   ALAN began the awards program last year. Founded in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, ALAN connects humanitarian logistics and supply chain resources with groups and agencies helping communities worldwide recover from natural disasters.