July 2006 eReport

The ACS MultiMedia
June 2006
Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month
Bonnie DeWitt

The ACS MultiMedia June Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month tribute was awarded to Bonnie DeWitt, who is better known to her class as “Grandma Bonnie.”

"She was nominated," said teacher Jeanne Stevens, "because as I look back at my teaching career, Grandma Bonnie is one of the best things that has happened to my students.”

Stevens, who teaches supplementary reading and writing for students in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades at Homer Intermediate School in Homer, N.Y., said, "TheTrucker Buddy pen-pal program gave my students a meaningful and authentic reason for reading and writing. It even incorporated the content areas of math, social studies and geography.”

“They loved hearing about her adventures. Every day I would be asked if anything had arrived from Grandma Bonnie. The children’s enthusiasm and excitement was high throughout the entire year.”

The highlight of the year for the students, and the teacher, was the classroom visit Grandma Bonnie and husband Frank were able to make thanks to the support of their carrier, Arizona Pacific Transport, Springfield, Mo.

“They were so supportive. They routed us through Homer, which doesn’t happen often, so we could visit our class. They also gave us APT flashlight key rings for all of the students,” Grandma Bonnie said.

In addition, when the class made stationary for Grandma Bonnie’s letters, she handed it out to the employees at Arizona Pacific Transport, who in turn used it to tell the class about their jobs and encouraged them to keep up with their studies, Stevens related.

“At the school during our visit, they treated us like royalty,” Grandma Bonnie said. “We had pizza, pop and watermelon with the students. That night, Jeanne went above and beyond by having us to dinner at her house.”

Grandma Bonnie, who was a company driver along with her husband, Frankie, with Arizona Pacific Transport at the time of her nomination, has since come off the road due to back problems. However, she still works for Arizona Pacific in the office, and her husband runs the company’s shop.

Grandma Bonnie says she really misses being a Trucker Buddy, although the Trucker Buddy program will likely miss her even more.

“Grandma Bonnie’s letters seemed poetic when describing our country. We were able to visualize the landscapes and wildlife she saw. It was wonderful how everything dovetailed with our studies. The first-hand pictures of Mount St. Helen’s came when the volcano was in the news. Postcards of armadillos came when we were reading about armadillos. One of the best things is that she has taught me many things as well.”

Stevens noted her admiration of Grandma Bonnie’s story about wanting to drive when she was younger, "It wasn’t something that girls did. Now that she is older, she is realizing her dream. She has also motivated some of my girl students to want to be tractor-trailer drivers.”

Grandma Bonnie went the extra mile with a personal touch for each of the students.

"She answered all of their individual questions, which was quite a feat, given that more than 75 students were writing to her during the 2004-2005 school year. In all actuality, it was hard to keep up with her!" Stevens related.

"As I was researching creative ways for my students to learn more about the United States of America, I came upon Trucker Buddy International. The program of having a Trucker Buddy sounded wonderful," said Stevens, "I never imagined the impact this program would have."

Each Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month receives a personalized jacket, along with a check for $300 to spend on the class and $200 in Trucker Buddy merchandise, compliments of ACS MultiMedia Advertising ( www.tmi-multimedia.com ), the advertising agency of choice for the trucking industry. They also receive an IdleAire adaptor ( www.IdleAire.com ), a Koolatron cooler, an Accident Photo pack and a complete set of Airtabs for their tractor or trailer ( www.airtab.com ). The class will receive a CrossCountry USA game from Ingenuity Works ( www.ingenuityworks.com ), which will help them learn more about how trucks move freight across the continent.

Grandma Bonnie is one of nearly 4,000 other professional drivers who share their time with elementary classes throughout the world. The only criteria to be a Trucker Buddy is to be a truck driver and willing to send a postcard each week to a class in grades two through eight. Drivers and teachers can find out more about the program by visiting www.truckerbuddy.org or calling 1-800-MY BUDDY.

Trucker Buddy is dependent on corporate sponsors such as ACS MultiMedia Advertising and TruckDriver.com to fund the program.

This is where we had been telling you that you could still get FREE TICKETS to the Las Vegas Truck Show. But, since we've already been there, we'll offer you FREE TICKETS to the Dallas Tuck Show instead. We'll be at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas on August 24 - 26. And, you can be there too. Click here and we'll get a couple of FREE TICKETS out to you in the mail.

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