BADEN, Ont. — The last week of August marks the end of summer and the start of a new year for most, especially Erb Transport who takes the opportunity to thank its employees for another successful year.

Every summer the company hosts employee appreciation days at its terminals across the country to thank its hard working employees and treat them to a free BBQ.

This year, its Baden terminal hosted a two-day event for its employees complete with food and socializing running from Thursday night to Friday night.

The company said it keeps the event times open (dinner on Thursday ran from 5 p.m. – 2 a.m. and on Friday there was a breakfast from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. and a lunch/dinner from 11:00 a.m. – 8 p.m.) to cater to drivers’ busy schedules.

“It’s hard when you’re trucking to hit all of the people that work here,” said Katie Erb, inside sales and account representative, Erb Transport. “Drivers are always out late, or are leaving early, so we feel bad if someone can’t make it because we only make it a certain time. So we stretch the event out to two days.”

Wendell Erb, president and CEO, attended the event and added that the event’s purpose is two-fold.

“Number one, it’s a tradition, we’ve been doing it a long time…and second, when people retired and we asked them, ‘What’s your favourite moment at Erb?’ and they say the BBQs…it’s really just a small thing to do to thank everyone for the great job they do for us every day.”

He added that the day is a great way for retired employees to stay connected to the company, as they are invited for the day’s event.

“When you work certain shifts too, you only see certain people at a time, and even though you may work with people, you only email them. With the BBQ it’s nice to be able to socialize with different employees you don’t get to see actually every day,” added Katie.

The company’s founder, Vernon Erb, was present at the Baden event. He said it was important for him to be there to greet past and present employees, and made sure to go out of his way to thank them for attending the event.

On display at the event were vintage trucks the company used to transport goods when it was first founded. Customers, who were also invited to the event, along with employees took the opportunity to tour the trucks and post photos on their social media profiles.

The company also took the time to show off its new, expanded Baden shop just beside the terminal. The new shop opened this past February and is home to nearly 40 technicians who claim to love the new and improved shop.

The expansion took two years to build and features new board rooms, a classroom, and lots of natural light.