Now that we are in 2012’s post-Olympic Games phase and a beautiful summer is beginning to edge toward autumn, there can be a tendency to feel just a little let down, a little mellowed out as it were.

I’m told that it is quite normal following emotional highs such as the Olympics to move through the next phase, a coming down, before kicking back into high gear once again.

I felt a little like that the day after the closing ceremonies (that seemed to go on for days in themselves). Suddenly it was all over, finished, complete.

This after watching events in the early morning before leaving for the office, following results on the old Blackberry throughout the day, and then tuning in for more events and evening wrap-ups when I got back home. Those were exciting times (not including Greco-Roman wrestling – sorry it that offends anyone), and then suddenly we were all back to our regular daily routines.

Of course the highs and lows that observers went through over those few weeks were nothing – nothing at all – like those experienced by the athletes themselves. The podium moments in particular must have been indescribable emotional highs, and the disappointment in failure to win a medal couldn’t be masked over by the achievement of making it to the Olympics.

Now of course, all of those participating athletes move on to the next phase of their careers, but I can’t help feeling that they must have woken up a few days after the Olympics thinking “what now?” and perhaps needing some help to raise themselves back up to their preceding emotional and physical levels.

Albeit on a different scale, a different level, there are those in our industry that experience somewhat similar ranges of emotions when they achieve special honours.

Many associations, like the PMTC, offer award programs to recognize outstanding achievements or contributions to the trucking community. The individuals who receive those awards are often quite surprised.

In many cases they are the professionals who go to work every day, do the best they can – more often than not, do a little extra – and yet don’t feel that they are particularly deserving of special awards.

Nonetheless, they find themselves standing on a stage gazing into a spotlight being celebrated by their peers and photographed with their awards. They are usually surrounded by their family and their employers, and the entire event is a once-in-a lifetime, if only momentary, very special experience for those who live their lives outside of the limelight.

Then they go home.

It’s at some point, perhaps a couple of weeks following the ceremonies, that I wonder how they feel? After the crowds have left, the writers for the industry publications have interviewed them and they’ve been feted back at the workplace.

Most of us will have had a similar experience at some point in our lives and it’s fair to say that we all get through the emotional low and return to normal, but most often we do it on our own. It’s difficult for others to understand why there is a letdown at all.

That is why I am so pleased with the efforts of the PMTC’s Hall of Fame sponsors to make the induction into the Hall a lasting memory for the drivers selected.

The inductees are the focus of the Hall of Fame Luncheon during the PMTC’s annual conference. They are singled out for recognition of their truly outstanding safety records, provided with specially made mementos, and their stories are run in a number of trade magazines.

Then their achievement is made available for all to see on the PMTC Web site in the Hall of Fame section, where it remains in perpetuity.

But the sponsor of the PMTC’s Hall of Fame, Huron Services Group, a CPC Logistics Company, provides more than sponsorship support. They are truly interested in and supportive of the Hall of Fame and they make every effort to provide the inductees with a memorable day and mementos that can be shared in the future with family, friends, and fellow workers.

Among the gifts Huron Services provides are individually monogrammed jackets, with the driver’s name and Hall of Fame designation. Any driver would be very proud to wear one of those jackets.

Then, a few weeks following the event, Huron Services sends each inductee a hard-cover, photo-filled book containing pictures of the of the induction ceremonies, beautifully inscribed by their vice-president Bob Boyich.

I seldom single out PMTC’s individual event sponsors for this type of recognition, but in this case I believe that Huron Services turns a moment in the spotlight into a lifetime of memories for these Hall of Fame inductees.

On behalf of those drivers I want to say ‘Thank you.’