Jeremy and Alicia Ray of Cozy Corner Towing drove 12 hours from Colorado to New Hampton, IA, last week to pick up a light-duty wrecker from Zip’s AW Direct. The new Chevrolet was the couple’s fourth purchase from Zip’s in the last year and a half.

The timing of the Aug. 16 delivery was especially fitting for Alicia, coming the day after her late grandfather’s birthday. Bob Swaney founded the Lafayette, CO-based company more than 30 years ago, and Alicia is now a third-generation owner of the business.

Inducted in October of 2003, Swaney is a member of the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame in Chattanooga, TN. He was instrumental in organizing the Widows and Orphans Relief Fund in their state, and with their latest purchase, the Rays are planning to pay homage to the company founder.

“Everybody has their own story to tell, but this is a pretty big deal to us,” Jeremy said. “I was never able to meet my wife’s grandfather, but our newest truck will be an ode to the person who started all of this…who started our company.”

Swaney passed away 10 years ago. He was an active member and past president of the Towing and Recovery Professionals of Colorado. The Rays said they plan to keep the truck primarily white in honor of Swaney’s original company colors and will name it ‘Bobbie Joe’.

The decision to minimize the decals on this latest truck purchase is in stark contrast to the rest of their fleet. Their other three trucks feature full decal wraps, displaying their support for various causes which are “personal to us and our families.”

One truck features ‘Slow Down. Move Over’ decals and is dedicated to the Widows and Orphans Fund and the Wall of the Fallen tow truck operators' memorial. Another is decaled in support of breast cancer research, and a third calls attention to autism awareness.

In addition to their moving billboards, they also donate a percentage of the revenue from each truck to its respective charity. They said it’s a way to promote the organizations they care about and to help improve the image of tow truck operators to the motoring public.

“We just want to give back,” Jeremy said. “We don’t come from rich families. What we got is what we got. But being able to do something like this is one small thing we can do for others.”