Even on Vacation, Teammate Serves Community

For Truck Driver Joe Roberts, there’s always enough time in the day to do good deeds. When he’s not working at Watco’s Middleport Transload Terminal in Ohio, Roberts can be found volunteering his time for community events or working on his family’s two farms.

Roberts and his wife, Tara, both serve on the board of the Meigs County Fair. During the weeklong fair in August, they can be found setting up, coordinating events, and even cleaning at the end of each night.

Thanks to Roberts, in 2023 the Middleport Transload Terminal team got involved in the fair. Terminal Manager Rob Oliva said: “Every child who goes to the fair receives a gift. When Joe asked me if we could donate a bike to the cause, I told him we’d like to donate two.”

The fair may only last a week, but Roberts and fair board members stay busy year-round hosting other community events. Every October he helps coordinate a Halloween haunted house. Truck and tractor pulls are another fan-favorite that he organizes.

“Every vacation day that Joe took last year was to help at the fair or another community event,” said Oliva. “He’s dedicated to volunteering and wants to strengthen the community where he lives and works.”

When he’s not volunteering, Roberts can be found tending to his family’s farms. According to Oliva, he spends many evenings after work in the summer cutting, bailing, and stacking hay.

Oliva said, “I don’t know how he does it. I joke that Joe’s only free time is between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., when he’s sleeping.”