TQL = Taters Quickly Loaded

TQL Nashville helped – some might say dominated – a group of about 40 volunteers assisting the Society of St. Andrew Tennessee Gleaning Network unload, bag and distribute nearly 10 tons of donated sweet potatoes.

The event was part of Ag Day on the Hill celebrating the Volunteer State’s agricultural heritage March 24.

With 19 1,000-pound bins of sweet potatoes lining the sidewalk near Legislative Plaza, volunteers filled 10-pound bags and built what amounted to a waist-high sweet potato bunker half a city block long.

After bagging their first two or three bins together – with the help of 5-year-old Elijah, son of the farmer who donated the produce – TQL made a competition of it.

Two teams of three each claimed a bin and took only 14 minutes to bag 1,000 pounds.

“It’s pretty obvious you guys are from a logistics company,” said one passerby amid the sailing spuds. “You’ve got this down.”

Stephanie W., Mark V. and Charles O. edged Erin M., Kyle J. and Kyle M., 54 bags to 46 in Round 1. The pace slowed slightly to 18 minutes for the second 1,000 pounds, but Kyle, Kyle and Erin claimed victory in the second half.

Claimed. A disputed box of taters tipped into Stephanie, Mark and Charles’ bin (was it sabatoge?) and left a shadow as to who actually won.

There is no doubt, however, all the taters were bagged and ready for pickup nearly two hours ahead of schedule. The food went to feed those in need from a 12-county area.

“We really didn’t expect it to go this quickly,” said Linda Tozer, Society of St. Andrew Tennessee regional director. “This is amazing. We’re going to call the agencies and see if they can come early.”

Team Nashville ran back to the office and made calls for an hour before returning to load the agency trucks.

“A huge thank you to all of you who came and helped out,” Tozer said. “It was wonderful.”

Does this sound like a team you'd like to be a part of? TQL has sales jobs in Nashville available now.