Joliet’s Cadence Premier Logistics tackles business and serves the community

A Joliet logistics company didn’t stop at moving and storing goods.

Cadence Premier Logistics started its Cadence Cares Foundation to serve youth in the community. The company also is parent to a family of companies, including a cafe and a company that services trucks and trailers, all of which many are unaware, according to Rocky Caylor, president and CEO.

“We’ve just been quiet in the background,” Caylor said.

For instance, Pit Stop Corner Café “serves home-cooked food every day out of our kitchen with portions double the size of anybody else.”

And Pit Stop Truck & Trailer Repair Service provides ”truck maintenance, mechanical repairs and body collision repairs to diesel and DEF fuel station and aftermarket parts,” as well as “a high-tech truck and trailer wash,” according to the company’s website.

Why so many projects?

When the company decided to relocate from its space in Alsip – what Caylor likened to “20 kids in a one-bedroom house” – to Joliet in 2014, Caylor said he and founder and Chairman Tom Maciulis were “hellbent” on one thing: “We were going to be involved with the community.”

And Cadence has.

I really appreciate the fact that Rocky has been such a guiding light for and in the community, supporting our young people and using his company as a way to do that. They get the mentorship from a man who came from less-than-perfect circumstances and has been successful.”

—  Denise Winfrey, Will County Board member, on Rocky Caylor, president and CEO of Cadence Premier Logistics

In 2017, Cadence Premier Logistics worked with the city of Joliet to help Hurricane Harvey victims through a donation drive, Caylor said. Cadence provided a tractor and trailer to collect donations and then drove to Texas to deliver them, Caylor said.

Also in 2017, Cadence hosted “Teens, Trucks, & Traffic,” an Illinois Trucking Foundation program to teach traffic safety to teens.

During the event, teens sat in commercial motor vehicles for a firsthand look at blind spots, learned the consequences of texting and driving, drinking and driving, speeding, and failure to wear a seatbelt and saw a presentation of paramedics working to save the lives of people who made poor choices while driving.

Before the pandemic, Cadence partnered with Joliet Township High School District 204 to offer paid internships to students.

Will County Board member Denise Winfrey said students learned valuable logistical skills while being paid. The program was especially valuable for students who weren’t college-bound or who wanted to work and save money for college, Winfrey said.

“They could be self-supporting, contributing to the community, all while they’re learning,” Winfrey said.

At the same time, Cadence emphasizes safety, since the company was founded by former drivers.

For instance, the Illinois Trucking Assocation named Neringa Mickute, Cadence’s certified director of safety, one of two Safety Professionals of the Year in 2022.

Cadence and United Way of Will County

In 2022, Cadence and its Care Cadence Foundation (founded in 2020) partnered with United Way of Will County’s Home Sweet Home program.

Through United Way’s community partners, the program provided people with basic, large houseware items donated by “big box” companies. These might include TVs, furniture and baby beds, strollers and car seats – any household items a large retailer would sell.

One community partner was the Greater Joliet Area YMCA.

Patty Hall, executive director of the Galowich Family YMCA in Joliet, said the YMCA received an email from United Way when items became available. The YMCA made their requests, waited for confirmation and then picked the items up at Cadence.

Hall said these items were new items.

“People were so grateful to have them, especially car seats, strollers and highchairs,” Hall said. “Those are big items people requested all the time.”

By the end of 2022, United Way of Will County had given out 1,989 items to people who needed them, worth nearly $329,000, Kamala Martinez, then-president and CEO of United Way of Will County, said in 2022.

Sarah Oprzedek, current president and CEO of United Way of Will County, said, “We love Cadence” and praised “Rocky, his team and the foundation” for providing drivers and tractor trailers.

“We live in a heck of a community; we really do. And when we call come together, we can make incredible things happen for those who live and work in Will County,” Oprzedek said.

Cadence Cares Foundation

Cadence Cares Foundation strives to level the playing field for youth of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

Caylor said youth from low-income families often miss out on high-level competition and college scholarships simply because they don’t have money to participate. The foundation “gets rid of the barriers” by giving all children access to excel in youith sports, Caylor said.

“Everybody plays and everybody gets to learn and have fun,” Caylor said. “They enjoy what it’s like to be in a group and in the social environment.”

Winfrey said the foundation offers on-site sports for youth where skilled coaches – including a soccer coach from South America – work with the youth, teaching both the sport and sportsmanship, Winfrey said, adding, “I wish we had 100 more Rockys.”

“I really appreciate the fact that Rocky has been such a guiding light for and in the community, supporting our young people and using his company as a way to do that,” Winfrey said. “They get the mentorship from a man who came from less-than-perfect circumstances and has been successful.”

Winfrey said youth ultimately learn that one can be successful even if they don’t start life “with a silver spoon.”

“He [Rocky] models for them that, regardless of where you start from, you can get to where you’re self-sufficient, independent, knowledgeable and well-trained,” Winfrey said. “So I appreciate him being able to do that work.”

Importance of giving back

Part of Caylor’s “giving back” included speaking about his leadership style in November 2023 at Governors State University, the first time Caylor shared his personal journey in a public way, he said.

Caylor said he received his “first taste of giving back” when he served in the Marine Corps years ago.

“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do,” Caylor said. “My dad was a union plumber; we didn’t have much growing up. I didn’t want those kids to miss what I had missed.”

Besides, a company with a culture of helping others benefits its employees, too, Caylor said.

“It gives them a feeling of warmth. They can walk around in pride and say, ‘Oh, I did this.’ I just happen to be that guy that has the connections and network to set them up to put their ideas into play.”