Pennsylvania Town Makes Special Delivery To Beloved UPS Driver

DAUPHIN, PA — Like many of his package-delivering colleagues who have been working overtime since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Chad Turns hasn’t slowed down in making sure local residents of this small Pennsylvania town are getting good service.

So when Turns made what he thought was a normal delivery to the town's municipal building earlier this week, the stop became one he soon won’t forget. In a surprise party that was caught on video, a contingent of Dauphin’s population of around 800 people turned out to thank their local UPS driver for taking care of them.

As Turns got to his final destination, he stepped out of the truck to find nearly 75 residents waiting for him with balloons, signs and a giant card signed by grateful residents. The town even came together to collect $1,000 for Turns, who sometimes works up to 30 hours of overtime each week to deliver goods to the borough’s residents.

In the video, residents can be seen yelling “Thank you, Chad” as he gets out of his truck. As Turns walked over to the welcoming committee, he appears surprised at the reception and is moved to tears as he reads the greetings left for him on the card.

“Well, thank you,” Turns said. “Oh, my God. I don’t know what to say. Now you’ve got me choked up.”

Dauphin resident Kristie Vogelsong told Patch on Friday that the reception was just a small token of the borough’s appreciation. Turns is known for delivering not only packages to residents but also for carrying dog biscuits with him to deliver to pets along his route.

“We are happy to (see) Chad receive the additional accolades and attention,” Vogelsong wrote in an online message Friday. “He deserves the recognition for being such a positive person who is exceptionally kind to the residents of Dauphin and our furry friends.”

Local residents say Turns always has a smile on his face and never complains about the long hours. Jenny Shickley, who organized Tuesday’s surprise reception for Turns, said that after setting a goal of $500 to collect for the UPS driver, that much came over a two-day period before it grew to $1,000 over a couple of weeks.

This all came after a local resident posted an act of Turns’ kindness on Facebook, which spurred more comments. In no time, a “Thank You Chad” Facebook event had been set up, which led to Tuesday’s surprise. The gathering was set after dispatchers sent Turns to Dauphin’s municipal building for a pickup that was all a ploy to get Turns to the desired location where everyone was waiting.

But for a rural community Shickley describes as very “Norman Rockwell-esque,” the appreciation for Turns came as no surprise.

“He is just a wonderful human being,” Shickley told Patch on Friday. “He’s just very positive and he does a job that is very difficult and he does it with a smile on his face and with the true intention of being a service to the community …. he’s just been working so hard. It’s just so much pressure and he does it with a smile on his face the whole time."

She added: “It was just amazing to see. But that’s just how our town is — just very generous. It was exciting, but I wasn’t surprised.”