Wayne Childress, vice president of sales for the beverage and engineered vehicles division of Mickey Truck Bodies Inc., retired from the High Point, N.C.-based company after a 29-year career.

Childress joined Mickey in 1984 as its first national accounts sales manager. Throughout his career with the company, he helped it grow to become a major manufacturer of truck bodies and trailers for the carbonated soft drink, beer, bottled water, automotive battery, and emergency services industries.

Childress, who officially retired June 14, was honored at a special company celebration in High
Point that was attended by his current colleagues and past Mickey teammates and mentors, the company says.

Tom Arland, a 25-year veteran of Ryder System Inc., Miami, will succeed Childress at Mickey.