Ryder to Participate in Governor’s Hurricane Conference

May 12, 2011

Reinforcing Commitment to Disaster Preparedness Through Its Support of the American Red Cross

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ryder System, Inc., a leader in commercial transportation and supply chain management solutions, will be participating in the Governor’s Hurricane Conference®, the largest forum of its kind in the United States designed to help develop the state’s capacity to effectively respond to a hurricane event. The Conference is being held from May 15 – 20, 2011 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

On May 19th, Bob Brunn, Ryder’s Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations, will be speaking on a panel moderated by the American Red Cross titled “Partnering to Meet Community Needs: Before, During and After the Storm.” Mr. Brunn will discuss Ryder’s support of the American Red Cross as an Annual Disaster Giving Program member and how this partnership has successfully helped the Company engage stakeholders in understanding the importance of disaster preparedness.

“As a Company that has been headquartered in South Florida for close to 80 years, we certainly appreciate the importance of effective hurricane and disaster preparedness and recovery,” said Bob Brunn. “In addition, as a transportation and logistics provider, we understand the complexity and depth of timely resources needed to respond to disasters. We are pleased to have the opportunity to share our experiences at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference, not only from the perspective of a Miami-based company that has been directly affected by major storms, but also as a proud member of the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program.”

The American Red Cross has been a Ryder National Rental Customer since 1989 and Ryder has been providing charitable support to the Red Cross in the way of financial and vehicle donations since 1991. In 2009, Ryder formalized its support by selecting the American Red Cross as the Company’s national charitable partner, including a $1 million, three-year commitment that made Ryder a member of the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program. In 2010, Ryder continued to strengthen its relationship with the Red Cross by launching a national employee volunteer program through VolunteerMatch, providing Red Cross employees with Six Sigma Disaster Logistics Training conducted by Ryder supply chain engineers, and through an employee giving campaign that resulted in an additional $100,000 donation to support last year’s Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Recently, Ryder engaged its employees again with a campaign to raise funds to support recovery efforts for victims of the earthquake in Japan and Pacific Tsunami, as well as for the recent storms in the U.S. Mid-South Region.

The year 2011 marks the 25th anniversary of the Governor’s Hurricane Conference. In 1987 the conference was established to focus on the challenges caused by hurricanes and tropical events unique to Florida, the most hurricane-vulnerable state in the nation. Since then, tens of thousands of emergency management professionals from around the state, the country and the world have come to the Governor’s Hurricane Conference to attend training, state of the art workshops and to network with partners who are committed to making the state of Florida more prepared to respond to hurricanes that have and will continue to affect us. This year’s Conference theme, “25 years: Learning from the Past, Preparing for the Future,” reflects the commitment of those who have the responsibility to protect citizens from tropical events that threaten the safety of Florida, its communities, and its businesses.

About Ryder

Ryder is a FORTUNE 500® commercial transportation, logistics and supply chain management solutions company. Ryder’s stock is a component of the Dow Jones Transportation Average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Inbound Logistics magazine has recognized Ryder as the top third party logistics provider and included Ryder in its 2010 “50 Green Partners” listing. Ryder also ranked 114 out of the top 500 U.S. companies and sixth in its industry sector in the 2010 Newsweek Green Rankings. Security Magazine has named Ryder one of the top companies for security practices in the transportation, logistics, supply chain, and warehousing sector. Ryder is a proud member of the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program, supporting national and local disaster preparedness and response efforts. For more information on Ryder System, Inc., visit www.ryder.com.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements and information included in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on our current plans and expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements should be evaluated with consideration given to the many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including those risks set forth in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors or to assess the impact of such risks on our business. Accordingly, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

 

Source: Ryder System, Inc.