In Memory

It is fitting that we recognize two from our group of founding members, who are no longer here with us on Earth. Carl Thomas and Michael Rohr.

Carl Thomas - Arkansas Freightways Vice President 1982-2002

Carl was one of the founders of Arkansas Freightways. He started as Vice President of Transportation on October 17, 1982, eight days prior to the opening day of business for Arkansas Freightways. He served in that role until he was named Vice President of Safety in 2002.

A person of great integrity, Carl was responsible for building the foundation and developing our Transportation and Safety functions to a level today that rates the best in the industry. He led American Freightways to the highest honor in safety in 2001, the ATA Presidents Safety Award.

He was well respected in the industry and widely recognized as a leading authority on state and federal regulations. As one American Trucking Association official put it, "He was a student of the regulations". The Arkansas Motor Carriers Association named him "Safety Director of the Year" in 2005, and designated an annual award associated with the state truck driving championships in his honor in 2006.

He had the unique ability to calm any person or situation, and do so by applying common sense logic. He was a mentor to many people that were privileged to work beside him.

Although committed to this company, he had an even stronger commitment to his family, community and friends. He volunteered to serve on the FedEx Freight diversity council in order to be active in promoting diversity at his company and within this community. He was committed to organizations like the Salvation Army, assisting them at every opportunity to make life better for those in need.

Mike Rohr People Development 1996 - 2007

Mike worked in the People Development at the Harrison General Office for nearly twelve years. He began his career in 1996 as a designer and programmer for Web-based education at what was then American Freightways. Mike pioneered the concept of online education for FedEx Freight, creating the first computer-based education (CBE) course in 1997 for Operations. Mike was also instrumental in the implementation of FedEx Freight’s first Learning Management System, which tracked and maintained education records for FedEx Freight employees system-wide. In 2002, he was promoted to Senior Computer

Education Specialist. As a result of his efforts, he was again promoted to Manager of Computer Based Education over a growing team of CBE developers in 2004. Mike also played a major role in the construction of this classroom in 2004, and he was dedicated to People Development’s mission - to make FedEx Freight a learning organization - and helped build a solid foundation for the computer-based education program that now provides quality education to nearly 40,000 FedEx Freight employees.

Mike was committed to God, his family and his FedEx family. He truly “walked the talk” and put his faith into action in his life. We will all miss his leadership, his laughter and his friendship.