Friday, April 19, 2024

Lantana UPS driver delivers with a smile

There’s a special man, father, provider, UPS driver that I would like to share details about. I have recently seen a YouTube video about a UPS driver giving a little boy a large riding toy. It shows the admiration that the child has for the UPS man and how kind and gentle the UPS driver is to him. Well, I’m fortunate enough to be married to a true hero of a UPS driver. Justin Box is his name.

I know! Ironic to have the last name Box considering his profession but also a blessing because people always get a giggle out of it. Justin is unlike any other UPS driver. He absolutely loves his job! He always has a smile on his face! And he goes above and beyond happily delivering packages within the community of Lantana for 7 years now. 

When he graduated from high school, he knew college was not an option for him. He knew he wanted to make real money considering he grew up in poverty. He started in the warehouse in the Denton UPS center. He served his time in the warehouse and became a driver right when he turned 21. As an employee of UPS for 13 years now, he takes such pleasure in his career. 

Justin has grown to love the community that he delivers in so much that he moved his family into Lantana last April. Keep in mind the community of Lantana does not have many, if any, blue collar homeowners. Justin is the sole provider for his family of four. Lantana had always been a distant dream for him to provide a home for his family but it was finally obtainable with Justin’s conservative spending and hard work. 

Justin is a true family man and loves to brag how he has five extra hours a week with his family now that his family lives in Lantana. It’s priceless time that most fathers don’t have the opportunity to enjoy.

Justin has such pride in his job that he goes the extra mile to please each of his customers. He gives everyone his personal cell phone number so that if he misses them at their house and a signature is required, they can meet him later in the day to ensure they get their package the same day. 

He researches and asks around when a package has the incorrect address to ensure customers get their packages versus the package going back to the sender. He even recently held on to a package for a few days at his home because a man didn’t want his wife to see a gift he had purchased for her. His customers have become his extended family. He loves to do favors for them. He truly loves it!

Outside of providing excellent service to his customers, he has been there to save the day a handful of times. He has carried groceries in for elderly women. He has helped catch dogs that have gotten loose. He has even helped track down the Fed Ex guy for a person desperate to find him. But one incident really speaks volumes.

Justin’s job requires him to work quickly. But one day everything had to be put on hold when he witnessed an old man running on a trail in Lantana and he began to sway. Justin watched the man from his side mirror and witnessed him have a nasty fall. Abandoning his work truck, Justin sprinted to him. The man was banged up and refused to let Justin call for help. The man was embarrassed, of course, and didn’t want attention but was in no shape to walk back home. Justin scooped him up and carried him five blocks to his house. 

Justin entered the garage code for him and sat him down on a stool because the man was adamant about not getting blood on his wife’s carpet in the house. The wife didn’t carry a cell phone so Justin was not able to call her. She was at the country club having lunch with friends so Justin contacted his acquaintances up there to get a message to her to hurry home. While they waited, Justin cleaned the man up. Justin was truly a hero that day.

Justin isn’t recognized often – seeing as though his customers have become accustom to his ways of service. But Justin is never one to complain. He takes such pride in his job each and every day. This time of year is typically stressful for a UPS driver with extremely late nights. But Justin doesn’t mind the late nights because the hours will provide Christmas gifts for his sons.

The part Justin isn’t so crazy about this time of year is that he barely gets to see his wonderful customers. Justin has helpers that deliver packages on golf carts and, although Justin is thankful for the help, he sure does miss seeing the friends to whom he delivers. 

People around here know him as the white sunglasses and pushup UPS guy. Sounds odd, I know, but Justin maximizes the benefit of a job that keeps him in shape. Along with sprints to and from his truck, he fits in as many pushups as time allows. He has the six pack to prove it.

Our sons and I know him as the best daddy in the world. He always rushes home right after work full of energy and with a huge smile on his face. He really is the ultimate UPS driver, father and husband!

 

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