He’s being praised for his efforts!
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan honored the bakery truck driver who fed stranded drivers during a snowstorm, Commercial Baking reports.
Earlier this month, a snowstorm plowed through the east coast, leaving drivers on Interstate 95 in Virginia stranded, the snow shutting down nearly 50 miles of traffic. One of those drivers was Ron Hill, a Maryland truck driver who was making a delivery for his long time client, Schmidt Baking Company.
People were stuck on the highway for hours on end with no relief in sight when one couple, Casey Holihan Noe and her husband John decided to try and do something about it. The two had been traveling to visit family before John’s deployment to Germany, where he was scheduled to be stationed in the Air Force for the next four years.
After going 16 hours on the icy road with no access to food or water, the couple realized they were parked just a few vehicles behind Hill’s truck. That’s when they decided to call Schmidt Baking directly to ask if they’d be willing to share any of the food on the truck. Chuck Paterakis, co-owner of the company, eventually called them back and gave Hill permission to distribute the bread to weary travelers.
“It was an easy decision. I would want someone to offer their products,” Paterakis told reporters.
Ironically, Hill said he had been sitting in his truck just moments before Noe approached him, agonizing over what he should do in the situation.
“I was weeping and didn’t understand why. I was thinking, ‘Should I go in the back of this truck, start handing out bread, and catch the weight later?’ As I was sitting at the steering wheel thinking about it, I saw a lady walk up to the side of my truck,” Hill told Baltimore Magazine.
Hill and the couple then helped distribute a package of rolls and a loaf of bread to every person who wanted the food, trekking up and down the icy highway for an hour, delivering more than 300 packages of bread to travelers who were more than thankful, Patch.com reports.
“The young lady came up to my truck, with Chuck on the phone, and I was more than obliged to open [the truck] up. I handed out the bread, and what amazed me is that they waited for everybody else. Casey and John were actually the last ones to take their bread,” Hill recalled.
Today I presented governor’s citations to Ron Hill of @SchmidtOldTyme and Chuck Paterakis of H&S Family of Bakeries for their incredible selflessness in helping people stranded on I-95 in Virginia last week. pic.twitter.com/APwpdVvr9B
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) January 13, 2022
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Now, the good samaritan is being honored by the Maryland Governor for his efforts, Hogan granting Hill a governor’s citation for his help on that day. “Today I presented governor’s citations to Ron Hill of @SchmidtOldTyme and Chuck Paterakis of H&S Family of Bakeries for their incredible selflessness in helping people stranded on I-95 in Virginia last week,” Gov. Hogan tweeted.
Photo Courtesy of Governor Larry Hogan/Twitter
Hill said he’s been overwhelmed by the amount of press he’s received for his random act of kindness. While he doesn’t work directly for the baking company, they’ve been one of his clients for more than a decade and he refers to them as “family.” He doesn’t think they did anything special but he does believe that he was in the right place at the right time.
“I usually don’t drive in the snow like that, but I felt peace while I was driving. Some truckers have a fear about the ice. Any other time, I would too. But that day, I didn’t. My wife was shocked that I was going to go out. I said, ‘Well, there must be a reason why.’ And now I know why I was meant to be out there,” said Hill.
A longtime Baltimore Ravens fan, the NFL team has also gifted Hill with tickets for a game next season. “People were so amazed at what we were doing. I’m just glad I was there. It was like fate,” Hill said.
Thank you for your service, Ron!
Photo Courtesy of Ron Hill/Commercial Baking