Truck Stops and Travel Centers

Jessica Chapman, a Sapp Bros. Travel Center cashier in Junction City, Kansas, is the 2021 winner of TAT’s highest award — the Harriet Tubman Award presented by Protective Insurance.

The Harriet Tubman Award presented by Protective Insurance is named in honor of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman, whose courageous personal actions resulted in the transportation of 300 enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad and whose overall role in the freedom movement was instrumental in the freeing of thousands more. Born into slavery in 1820, Miss Tubman was the first African American woman buried with full military honors and the first to have the inaugural Liberty ship named after her – the SS Harriet Tubman – by the US Maritime Commission.

Earlier this year, Chapman noticed a woman in the travel center who seemed distressed. Seeing a man near her, Chapman caught the woman’s eye and asked her if she was all right. The woman approached Chapman and acknowledged that she wasn’t. Because the man was in the store, and so as not to arouse suspicion, Chapman took down a rewards application and acted like she was helping the woman fill it out, all the while gathering information about the situation in order to call law enforcement. Her quick and very intelligent response led to the arrest of the man, and allowed the woman, who had been sexually exploited, to get to a safe place.

“Jessica’s quick thinking and immediate actions on behalf of the victim of sexual exploitation are indicative of what this award is all about,” enthused Kendis Paris, TAT executive director. “Her TAT training, combined with empathy and courage, are exactly what that woman needed that night. We are humbled and grateful to be presenting Jessica with our 2021 Harriet Tubman Award.”

“The training from Sapp Bros. about human trafficking helped me recognize something was wrong, and then my instincts took over. I was just really glad I could help. I’m very appreciative to win the 2021 Harriet Tubman Award,” said Chapman.

The award, which carries with it a $2500 check, was presented at a fiftieth anniversary celebration for Sapp Bros. at their headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska on July 29. Kylla Lanier, TAT deputy director, who attended the event, honored Chapman in her remarks, as well as Sapp Bros., for their work to combat sexual exploitation and their commitment as a TAT partner.

Sapp Bros has worked with law enforcement, as well as Truckers against Trafficking, to raise awareness through trainings offered to their customer base and their employees and to develop protocols for how to respond to this crime and its victims. Through their Help Now campaign, they have also supported TAT’s mission financially and have created signage found around their properties that raises awareness about human trafficking and that Sapp Bros is committed to help end it.

During the event, Sapp Bros. CEO Andy Richard presented TAT with a check for $65,000, raised through their ongoing fundraising efforts at their stores and through their staff. Recognition was given to the top fundraising stores and individuals.

Press coverage on this incident:
Sapp Bros. cashier recognized for helping a woman who was sexually exploited

Debo Adepiti and Alan Bailey, two TA Travel Plaza employees in Jessup, Maryland, have been awarded the Truckers Against Trafficking Harriet Tubman Award for their actions last year which resulted in the arrest of traffickers and the recovery of victims.

The award, which carries with it a $2500 check, is named in honor of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman, whose courageous personal actions resulted in the transportation of 300 enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad and whose overall role in the freedom movement was instrumental in the freeing of thousands more. Born into slavery in 1820, Miss Tubman was the first African American woman buried with full military honors and the first to have the inaugural Liberty ship named after her – the SS Harriet Tubman – by the US Maritime Commission.

“Because of Harriet Tubman’s connection to transportation through the Underground Railroad and her heroic work to free thousands of enslaved people, TAT believes she epitomizes the symbol of freedom a trucking anti-trafficking award represents,” said Kendis Paris, TAT executive director.

Adepiti and Porter were presented the award and check on Sept. 20 at the Jessup travel plaza. “The training and procedures behind Truckers Against Trafficking are based on a very simple instruction: if you see or suspect something, call,” said Tom Liutkus, senior vice president of marketing and public relations for TravelCenters of America. “Alan and Debo did just that. Their actions led to the arrest of a three-person trafficking ring that was canvassing the entire Baltimore area and that law enforcement was already pursuing. Most importantly, newspaper accounts of the story indicate as many as 12 women had been trafficked across that area. Alan and Debo’s call has forever resulted in changing the lives of those victims for the better. By strict definition of the word, their action was not ‘heroic,’ but the results were. We at TA/Petro are very proud of them.”

Field manager Adepiti at the TA Travel Plaza was making a premise check, including the fuel desk, mechanics shop and hotel, when Alan Bailey, the night porter, told him a young lady had recently come in dressed provocatively; the porter suspected prostitution. After speaking with both the driver of the van that brought the girl, as well as the young lady when she left the hotel, Adepiti believed the girl was being trafficked. He contacted Howard County police. When detectives arrived, they recognized a woman from one of the "X-Factor" ads they'd been investigating for two months on Backpage.com. As a result of Adepiti's call, they arrested two men and a woman on human trafficking charges. The trio were advertising as many as 12 women from various states, posting ads, renting hotel rooms, scheduling appointments for prostitution and taking money from the women after they were forced to perform sex acts. Detectives also learned all three individuals provided drugs to keep the women high, making them work without sleep, assaulting them and forcing them to perform sex acts with them under threat. Police were able to locate and recover six of the women being abused by the ring of traffickers.

Press coverage on this incident:
Human trafficking uncovered by truck stop call

In conjunction with its TAT partnership, Sapp Brothers Travel Centers initiated Help Now, a program designed to identify victims of human trafficking and provide them with immediate help. Working with TAT and law enforcement, Sapp Brothers designed its program to include:

• Buttons in restrooms with verbiage that says, "If you are in Danger, need help now or this area needs attention, press this button."
• Posters near the buttons with the text and phone numbers for the National Human Trafficking Hotline, as well as the location phone number for the travel center itself.
• Training for employees on using a victim-centered approach when interacting with victims, as well as contacting law enforcement for help.

Sapp Brothers also participates in quarterly meetings of the Coalition Against Human Trafficking in Omaha and holds educational/awareness sessions at its locations in Omaha/Council Bluffs for customers, employees and surrounding businesses, complete with law enforcement providing TAT training and a special lunch menu for those participating in the training.

Tracy Mullins, general manager of the Petro Shopping Center, was walking into a restaurant near her travel plaza to talk to the manager. She noticed two young girls sitting with an older man and, recalling her TAT human trafficking awareness training, she thought it seemed suspicious. “Not that the situation was odd,” she said, “but the man looked as if something could be wrong. I positioned myself close enough to the table to hear the young girls ask for a ride to Seattle. At this point, the images of all the young girls from the training video were going through my mind. I approached the table and asked the fields if everything was okay. One of them told me the man was her uncle. The man seemed very uncomfortable and removed himself from the situation. The young girls then asked other drivers for a ride.”

Mullins realized there was a problem and notified law enforcement. The girls turned out to be runaways from a neighboring state with only $5 between them. She states, “As a mother, I know I helped two young girls not become a statistic that day.”

In August 2020, at a Montana TravelCenters of America location, a TAT-trained cashier facilitated the recovery of a suspected female victim of trafficking when the young woman approached the counter asking for help and indicated that she was under the control of a man on the premises. The cashier put his TAT training into action and swiftly reported his suspicions to management who contacted the sheriff’s office. Upon learning the young woman’s identity, law enforcement found she’d been reported as a missing person. After the young woman was reunited with her father in the Seattle, WA area, he called the truck stop to thank them for “saving his daughter’s life.”