Town throws party to thank its only UPS driver for working through the pandemic almost every single day

People like Chad Turns restore our faith in humanity. The UPS driver was moved to tears after his town showed their appreciation for him in a special way. The pandemic was a tough time for everyone but Chad diligently worked hard through it all. Residents of Dauphin, Pennsylvania noticed that their one and only UPS driver, Chad Turns, went above and beyond to make sure things went smoothly despite the difficult period. If Chad Turns has a big heart, the residents of the small town have just as much. They all came together to throw a sweet surprise for Turns who has been delivering packages for UPS to Dauphin for over a decade. 

“Everyone knows how special Chad is,” resident Jenny Shickley told TODAY. “If he thinks something might be a gift - and this happened to us - he literally didn’t deliver it when the kids were in the yard, he just drove by, and then he drove all the way back to our house after dark because he was nervous it was a gift and didn’t want to ruin it for the kids.” And that's not some one-time incident. “On Facebook, another friend mentioned there was a package that needed signing and they weren’t home,” she explained. “Chad was nervous that it was important, so he went to their parents' house to get it signed for them.”

Last year was especially difficult for Turns. With so many people forced to stay home, his workload had increased. “He’s been working 60-80 hour weeks for a year,” Shickley said. “He’s been working Christmas-style hours for 365 days.” Turns still made sure everyone got their packages on time and did his best to serve the people of Dauphin. The town may be small with just around 800 people, but they sure do know how to be there for each other. “Blink and you’ll miss it,” Joe Calhoun, a longtime resident told the media outlet. “But there is something so special here. It’s a small town with a big heart.”

Jenny Shickley and other community members decided to do something special for Turns. Shickley organized a “Thank You, Chad” event along with a big group gift. “The funny thing is I meant to set it up for $300, but it set to $500,” she shared. “It hit $500 within two days and the total wound up being a little over $1000.” She got some help with the logistics from Adam Kerr, a UPS shift supervisor. “He’s not Chad’s supervisor,” Shickley explained. “But he dealt with all the dispatch stuff. He arranged for Chad’s last stop to be an on-demand pickup at the municipal building. Chad thought he was going to pick up a box, [but] it was the community and kids and big signs.”

The event turned into a surprise with Turns thinking that he was arriving in the parking lot for a work pickup. Community members cheered and clapped in the parking lot as he showed up. It was an emotional day. He told TODAY, “The idea that they even thought of me to do anything...to go above and beyond and do what they did yesterday was truly amazing to me.” “I cried,” he shared, adding that his wife also teared up. “I always call her when I leave work and she asks me how my day was. It was a tearjerker. It was very touching and humbling.”

"I'm still overwhelmed and it is touching that this community feels so strongly about me," Turns told CNN. "Chad is a great UPSer and has been delivering to Dauphin residents for more than a decade," UPS spokesperson Jackie Fajt said in a statement. "Celebrations like this really highlight the bond our drivers have with their customer base. We appreciate that UPS drivers like Chad are being recognized for how they are moving our world forward."