Christopher Omasta Launches Yellow Ribbon Trucking Inc.

HADLEY — Christopher Omasta, vice president of Omasta Landscaping Inc., recently started Yellow Ribbon Trucking Inc. of Hadley.

After an injury, following a deployment to Qatar 2012 in 2013, forced a service-related retirement from the Army National Guard, Omasta worked as second in command to his father, Greg Omasta, in his company, Omasta Landscaping. Seeing a need in the local trucking industry, Chris, with the help of Greenfield Savings Bank, was able to purchase his first truck in 2017. Since then, he acquired another truck, which predominantly works large construction sites and highway paving jobs.

Chris, a Hadley native and graduate of UMass Amherst, has long been committed to his community and has worked with organizations like Valley CDC developing business strategies and target sales and analytics, and is involved with the Northampton Chamber of Commerce. As a veteran, he has also been involved with the Amherst VFW and has provided his time and services to helping support local veterans and veteran-related issues in the Valley. He is also a board member for Alpha Tau Gamma, a fraternity in which members are enrolled at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture.

As a service-disabled veteran, Chris went through a nearly 10-month process to get his company, Yellow Ribbon Trucking Inc., certified as an SDVOSB, or service-disabled-veteran-owned small business. This classification allows him to bid and work on jobs other organizations may not be allowed to, helping him to further broaden his businesses reach throughout New England and beyond.