TA Using Restaurant Placemats to Educate Motorists

WESTLAKE, Ohio -- When it comes to the role truckers play in the U.S. economy, TravelCenters of America LLC is laying it all out on the table.

As part of an exclusive online partnership with MiniTime, a travel website dedicated to helping parents plan affordable family vacations, TravelCenters will provide kid's meal menu placemats that focus on trucking facts. These placemats also will feature games such as Truck-Tac-Toe and a seek-and-find picture highlighting items that trucks transport.

"We love professional drivers and are striving to aid in raising the image of professional drivers at every opportunity," said John Ponczoch, senior vice president of food marketing and operations at TravelCenters, which operates 192 truck stops under the TA and Petro Stopping Centers brands. "Our partnership with MiniTime is just another opportunity to inform the general public of the hard work professional drivers do, day in and day out, to keep America moving."

This summer, TravelCenters also is partnering with RadioDisney in the Cleveland, Indianapolis and Detroit markets to inform families about TA and Petro Stopping Centers travel centers and just how important trucking is to America. At events in these communities, families can pick up a pamphlet that discusses motorist safety when sharing the road with trucks, and information about professional drivers and their contributions.

In addition, TravelCenters recently launched its Citizen Driver Award program to recognize and reward the best truckers in the industry for their efforts both on the job and in their communities.