U-Haul Pioneer Hap Carty to be Honored in 2022 Phoenix Veterans Day Parade

PHOENIX (Nov. 10, 2022) — U.S. Army veteran William E. “Hap” Carty, an industry pioneer and the first U-Haul® employee, will be recognized posthumously as the Business Community Grand Marshal in Friday’s annual Phoenix Veterans Day Parade.

The longtime Tempe resident passed away in June at age 95. Members of the Carty family will take part in the parade, and U-Haul Team Members will wear shirts with his image on the back.

U-Haul, veteran-founded in 1945 and headquartered in Phoenix since 1967, remains a top U.S. veteran-friendly employer and a staple of the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade, which is presented by the nonprofit group Honoring America’s Veterans.

The DIY moving and self-storage company will again showcase its fleet of moving trucks with the popular U.S. Armed Forces SuperGraphics® on the sides to honor veterans and active military personnel. This year, the U-Haul entry will also feature a special truck saluting Carty.

Nicknamed for being a happy child with a big smile, Hap helped his brother-in-law, U-Haul co-founder and Navy veteran L.S. “Sam” Shoen, build the Company’s first 10 rental trailers in 1945 while on leave from the Army.

Carty joined U-Haul as its first official employee the next year. He served as Board Chairman of U-Haul International and president of U-Haul during a 43-year career. Carty spent half of his life in the East Valley and was instrumental in opening the U-Haul Technical Center when Tempe was mostly undeveloped desert in 1970. Home to the only R&D facility of its kind in the world, the Tech Center signaled business expansion for Tempe – and the entire Valley.

“This is our 26th annual parade, and we’ve had longtime support from U-Haul,” stated Paula Pedene, executive director of Honoring America’s Veterans. “When I saw that Hap Carty had passed away earlier this year, I contacted (U-Haul) and asked if they would be willing to let us honor Hap as a Business Community Grand Marshal. U-Haul has helped us for so long. We wanted to do something in return.

“For nearly 20 years, U-Haul has printed our parade programs. They give us a truck to put the programs in, and we hand out the programs to the Boy and Girl Scouts who distribute the programs to people along the route. We are so grateful to U-Haul, and to all our sponsors for helping to make this beautiful parade a reality.”

The parade begins at 11 a.m. on Friday. The route starts on Central Avenue just south of Bethany Home Road, turns east on Camelback Road, and then south again on 7th Street. The parade ends near Indian School Road alongside the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center.

More than 45,000 spectators and 2,500 marchers are expected to be in attendance.

About U-HAUL

Founded in 1945, U-Haul is the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 23,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 186,000 trucks, 128,000 trailers and 46,000 towing devices. U-Haul is the third largest self-storage operator in North America and offers 895,000 rentable storage units and 76.6 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities. U-Haul is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S., and continues to be the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. U-Haul has been recognized repeatedly as a leading “Best for Vets” employer and was recently named one of the 15 Healthiest Workplaces in America. 

Contact:

Jeff Lockridge
Sebastien Reyes
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-760-4941
Website: uhaul.com