LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CA - What does it mean to be a part of your community? Declaring values for companies is not a longstanding necessity, yet the Allen Lund Company (ALC) has stood by several pillars built by Allen and Kathleen Lund for half a century.

What it means, I learned as I stood in the conference room of the building the logistics giant has grown into, is that those who represent, speak for, and shape the area you call home come to a gathering on a Wednesday afternoon in January to acknowledge what your business means to them.

"Allen Lund Company was started so that our mom and dad could feed their kids. 50 years later, it is a billion-dollar company that still has that family feel. It's a great accomplishment, and we are so proud of our people who have taken mom and dad's dream and made it a reality," Eddie Lund, President of ALC, said in a statement. With me stood key local dignitaries, including Mayor Kim Bowman and Pat Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of La Cañada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce, who once worked in the very building now bearing the Allen Lund Company name on the side. All were there to extend appreciation and accolades to ALC for what it has become to the community.

"We are so blessed to be celebrating our 50^th anniversary, and we are grateful to the city of La Cañada (our home for 47 of the 50 years), Los Angeles County, and all of the vendors and friends we have in the area who have offered their support," Eddie said of the event. Later, in discussing the commitment that has helped the ALC brand get to where it is, he shared, “If we do a great job performance-wise in five areas—growing offices, helping our people, IT initiatives, our support departments, and acts of kindness—then the results will happen. Because we're not bigger than the market, we're not going to control the margin. We're going to control our service offering, and how well we treat our customers, our carriers, and our people.”

Wandering the office of Allen Lund himself, Mrs. Lund treated me to stories from the ranch where our now widespread image—cover of The Snack Magazine in 2015—was taken. Warmly, she remembered the laughter and the lighting of an image that would help tell the story so many times of the man whose name would become synonymous with logistics and TMS innovation.

Sitting with her and Eddie later in his office, shifting back and forth between business and family experiences, it is easy to see how, even as it has grown, ALC still makes each person feel they are the sole focus of the moment. As Eddie shared with the team at the onset of a company-wide livestream, “This is no small accomplishment. Our mom and dad valued our employees so greatly, and their motto was always, ‘our employees are our greatest assets.’ So thank you to all our past and current employees.”

As ALC enters the second half of its century in business, it is doing so in a way that has contributed significantly to its success thus far. To commemorate the milestone, Kenny Lund, Executive Vice President, announced the launch of a charity initiative, "50 Acts of Warmth," as the team marked the occasion with a celebratory lunch at headquarters.

Mrs. Lund elaborated more on this with me. 

“The fifth pillar of the company is Acts of Kindness, so it carries an equal weight in our company's mind as the other four,” she shared with me. “When we started the Acts of Kindness, that was our 40^th year, and we had 40 divisions. We asked each division to do something, and we ended up with about 70. And then, it was Allen’s last address to the managers in 2018, he said, ‘Keep that going. Keep. That. Going. That this is an important part of who we are.' He didn't talk about growing to a billion dollars; he talked about taking care of your customers and being involved in your community.”

This is what it means to live your values. To truly contribute to the area you call home, at your headquarters, and at every office that sports your brand. This is the cup that nourishes a legacy.

Congratulations to the Allen Lund family and team on this incredible milestone!