Florence native Tyler Schlickeisen will take the national stage to receive the Order of Towman award, presented by The American Towman in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 22.
The Order of Towman recognizes a towing operator’s “showing extreme dedication to the towing trade and the community you serve,” according to the nomination letter from The American Towman magazine.
Hailing from a family-owned company, Lee’s Wrecker Service, Mr. Schlickeisen said he and his sister, Julie Horelica, initially thought the announcement was a scam. After calling around to different towing associations and the Florence Police Chief Wayne Thompson, they realized it was real.
“That’s when we finally realized that it was legit,” Mr. Schlickeisen said with a laugh. “That was
just one of the things. I never thought that this would come about, especially being a small town, and to the point that we were thinking that it was a scam.”
Mr. Schlickeisen began working in the towing industry at 13 years old with Lee’s Wrecker Service in Florence. He follows in the footsteps of his grandparents and former owners, Lee and Dorothy Medlock, and parents, Donald and Teresa Schlickeisen, who currently own and operate the company. He is now the senior tow operator for Lee’s Wrecker Service.
Outside of towing, Mr. Schlickeisen has also served with the Florence Volunteer Fire Department for 12 years, starting as a junior firefighter.
“He helps others in difficult moments, and we’re really excited about his recognition with this,” Ms. Horelica said. “[The Order of Towman] is like, one of the biggest awards in the nation to be able to get, especially in a small town, because you know, we didn’t expect it at all.”
Chief Thompson said he nominated Mr. Schlickeisen because he said he was always willing to help, whether it was a car crash scene or a disabled motorist with a broken vehicle on the roadside, even helping direct traffic during wildfires.
“Tyler just kind of stood out to me because he would very often be close by to scenes,” Chief Thompson said. “And he was always willing to pitch in and help, even if he wasn't the one taking the vehicle. So he just kind of stood out to me as going the extra mile.”
Chief Thompson said he will travel to Baltimore to celebrate with Mr. Schlickeisen on receiving the award. In the meantime, the police department is promoting fundraising opportunities to bring Mr. Schlickeisen’s family to Baltimore for the award.
The next fundraising opportunity will be on October 3 at Florence’s First Friday on Main Street. The family will sell barbecue sandwiches and a bake sale from 5 p.m. until items are sold out.
According to the North American Industry Classification System, towing companies are establishments that haul light or heavy motor vehicles, both local and long-distance. These establishments may provide incidental services, such as storage and emergency road repair services.
As first responders and public servants, towing companies are included in the Move Over Law. Statistically, a tow operator is hit and killed on the side of the road every six days. Mr. Schlickeisen said there’s more struck by deaths in the towing industry than there is police, fire and EMS combined.
“So tow operators, they have families that they're trying to get back to,” Ms. Horelica said. “So that’s mainly everybody's goal, especially being in the tow industry, is we watch each other’s back. It's a very dangerous industry.”
For now, Mr. Schlickeisen and his family said they are thankful to the Florence community for the donations and the reposts on Facebook.
“Thanks for keeping us busy,” Mr. Schlickeisen said with a smile. “Thanks to the Florence community for all their support throughout the years, starting back all the way from when my grandpa first opened the business, almost 50 years ago.”