Arrow Sanitary Service sets up parade for young garbage truck fan

People and companies don’t have to be in the entertainment industry to please their fans, as Arrow Sanitary Service, Portland, Oregon, has recently demonstrated.

According to Arrow, a subsidiary of Toronto-based Waste Connections, young southeast Portland resident Kamden Park spends part of his time riding his bike, jumping on his trampoline and swimming. None of those pastimes, however, can compete for his attention when his home’s Arrow Sanitary driver, Mark McKenzie, comes by to pick up his family’s yard debris

“Whenever Mark rolls up to Kamden’s house, Kamden comes running out to watch his buddy run the arm on his trash truck,” states Arrow in a news release.

When McKenzie and Arrow found out that Kamden’s third birthday was coming up, they decided to arrange something special for their young fan. 

“Kamden’s mother reached out a few months ago, thanking us and letting us know how much Kamden looks forward to Mark’s pickups,” says Josh Brown, Arrow district manager. “Through that correspondence, we found out his birthday was in August, so we decided to get about a half dozen trucks together to throw the little guy a birthday parade. We feel like we could all use a little bit of happy news right now. This will also continue to brighten the spirits of our drivers who, as essential workers, have been working nonstop during this pandemic.”

In addition to the “parade of trash trucks,” McKenzie and Brown offered Kamden some gifts on behalf of Arrow, including toy garbage trucks, a hard hat and a T-shirt, delivered in a 20-gallon Arrow Sanitary cart with Kamden’s name on it.

Arrow Sanitary Service, founded in 1956, was named a Top Workplace in a 2019 competition held by the Portland-based The Oregonian newspaper.