When wildfires consumed the Hawaiian island of Maui in August, Anthony Shipp’s reaction was immediate, and powerful.

“I felt a deep connection to the situation,” recalled Shipp, president and CEO of Oahu-based logistics company M. Dyer Global. “Maui is not just another island but part of our ohana,” he said, invoking the Hawaiian word for family.

For one M. Dyer employee, the family connection was genuine; inbound commercial coordinator Tasha Kaiwi is from Maui, and four generations of her family living in the town of Lahaina lost their homes in the fire. The Aug. 8 wildfires completely destroyed Lahaina.

Shipp’s own mother also urged him to act. “Once the news hit, we talked and she said, ‘Tony, you have to find a way to help these people; if anyone can do it, you can,’ ” Shipp said. “My mom may not fully understand what I actually do for work, but she knew I had some trucks, people and the ability to move whatever I could to Maui.”

Shipp is being recognized as one of Transport Topics’ Trucking’s Frontline Heroes for 2023 on Oct. 17 during American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition in Austin, Texas.

Shipp knew an immediate response to the wildfires was needed, “and it had to be big,” he said. He deployed the company’s logistics capabilities and physical assets, and launched a social media campaign urging people to bring donations directly to M. Dyer in Pearl City, where the company could sort goods, load them onto ocean containers and send them to Maui. M. Dyer covered all costs. For the full story visit: https://heroes.ttnews.com/articles/2023-heroes-anthony-shipp

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