National Truck Driver Appreciation Week was Sept. 11-17.

“For the past 20 years, Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) has successfully trained 2,029 people for careers in this industry,” according to a release from the school. “The college’s Truck Driver Training Program is recognized by companies as a top-notch, high quality program to train the employees they want to hire.”

According to Dale Bennett, president and CEO of Virginia Trucking Association in “Heroes of the Highway” published recently, “These drivers delivered nearly 10 billion tons of freight last year, that’s about 70 percent of all the freight moved in the U.S. Here in Virginia, trucking transports 88 percent of our total manufactured freight.”

He also noted, trucking employs more than 150,940 Virginians (one out of every 20 jobs in the state) including 55,100 tractor-trailer and delivery truck drivers.

SVCC offers this training in three locations: Blackstone, South Boston and Emporia. For information, contact Susan Early at (434) 292-3101.