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"24/7." You hear it so much, it starts to lose meaning—but not for Tim Leonard. He's been on the road with the USDA Food Safety Mobile, taking it and its messages about safe food handling to communities across America.

Leonard and the Mobile have covered nearly 45,000 miles and traveled to events in each of the contiguous 48 States and the District of Columbia. Leonard is driver, valet, coordinator, foreman, inventory manager, custodian, superintendent, maintenance, host, public relations representative, educator, and tour guide.

It was by chance that Leonard became the face of USDA on the road. But when you understand the roads that led Leonard to this job, you also begin to understand why he is so very good at what he does.

Leonard was raised on a poultry farm in southern California, 1 of 10 children. After community college, he headed for India with the Peace Corps. By the time he returned, Leonard was so immersed in the country, he was dreaming in the language. And, the Peace Corps project—teaching and promoting egg production—was so successful that India became a leading producer of eggs.

Back in the States, his path took him back to college—and part-time work as a meat inspector. That, in turn, led to a 35-year career with the Federal Government. For many of those years, Leonard managed personnel offices for FSIS.

But even during this career, there was a passion for the road. Enter the Harley. Leonard's Harley-Davidson motorcycle, he'll admit, is one of the things he truly misses when he's traveling.

Leonard didn't seek to become an on-the-road guide to food safety. He had been retired several years when a colleague mentioned the new project. "I decided to go for it," he says. And within 3 weeks, Leonard launched a new life, traveling America and helping teach food safety.

"I think it's really made a difference," Leonard says. People are always enthusiastic about the Mobile and support the educational effort. "Fully 90 percent of the people—and I'm talking about thousands of people—will say: 'This is the Department of Agriculture, right? Our taxes are paying for this, right?' I'll say, 'They sure do.' And people respond, 'Well, I agree with this. This is a great idea. Food safety is important.'"

Wherever they go, Leonard and the Mobile are emissaries. "You drive down the road and people wave at you and smile, constantly. Almost every place you stop—filling up at a gas station, getting some food, pulling into a motel—people will come up to you and start talking. 'What do you do? How long have you been on the road? How many places have you been?' It's exciting to be able to meet all these people."

On one occasion, motoring in a parade through the Navajo Nation Fair, the crowd catching sight of the Mobile even sent up a chant: U-S-D-A! U-S-D-A!

"We are very, very well received and it makes me feel like we're making a contribution to these communities," Leonard says.

But there is more to the Mobile than educating consumers, Leonard notes. "When you are out there on the road, you see the impact of the partnerships we make at these events. It's just incredible. USDA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, public health, and extension—we're working together. We help them realize we are all on the same team. With the Mobile, we bring resources they just can't produce. And they bring local contacts; getting word to people we could never reach. It really works.

"But the other interesting thing is that we are a catalyst. We bring people together who've never worked together before. And now they are. Long after we are gone, this is something that remains," Leonard says.

So, after all these miles, do those days on the road all become a daze?

"When I left with the Mobile for the first time, it was April 1, 2003. And when I came back after that first tour, it was exactly December 1. And, in my mind, I still had a clear picture of every event that took place. That's how memorable it was."

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