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Probably, few sixth-grade students at Troy Elementary School had given much thought as to how their jeans, shirts and athletic shoes got to the stores for purchase.

Even though big rigs are commonplace on today’s highways, the students probably also had given little thought as to what’s inside those 53-foot trailers. But, they know about air horns.

The students/ request to “Blow the horn!” was honored but they quickly learned there’s more to a big rig than a tooting horn.

Jeffrey Bennett, recruiter for Wiley Sanders Truck Lines and host of TV “Truck Talk,”

Bennett was at TES Monday to talk trucks with the students in the fifth- and sixth-grade TAG classes.

But first, Bennett told the students, as a dedicated community partner, Wiley Sanders Truck Lines is committed to an even bigger and better playground for the students at TES.

Bennett said he also was at TES to “Truck Talk.” He shared with the students that there are many job and career opportunities in the trucking industry and that those jobs are available to both men and women, including drivers.

And, truck drivers are well paid.

“The average pay for a college graduate is $43,000 a year,” Bennett said. “A truck driver can make about $65,000 a year.”

Robin Sullivan, a dispatcher at Wiley Sanders Truck Lines, told the students there are many jobs available at the Troy trucking company including drivers.

“But, you don’t have to be a truck driver to work at Wiley Sanders Truck Lines,” Sullivan said.

“You could be a dispatcher, a mechanic, a cleaner, just all kinds of jobs including jobs in the area of technology.  Trucking is a major industry and it requires a lot of people working together to keep the trucks on the highways. These trucks carry many different things, like the playground equipment you have here.”

Sullivan said Wiley Sanders Truck Lines has trucks on the road seven days a week moving goods across the country.

“And, for Wiley Sanders Truck Lines, it’s always safety first,” he said.

Bennett and Sullivan told the students that as companies grow so do communities and as communities grow so do companies.

“The two go hand in hand,” Bennett said. “Wiley Sanders Truck Lines wants Troy to continue to grow. It is important to have good schools, good businesses and diverse opportunities so we can keep our people at home and our community growing.”

As a follow-up activity to the visit and presentation by Bennett and Sullivan, Danerica Hardmon, TAG teacher, said she will challenge her students to create “Trucking and Growing with the Community” posters and webpages promoting and celebrating community involvement between schools and businesses. Better schools and better businesses build better communities.