Did you trick or did you treat?

Did you get tricked or did you get treated?

Either way, Happy Halloween!

And, Happy Tenth Anniversary to us!

That’s right - hard to believe - but ten years ago this month we ventured on to the world wide web for the first time.

We have to admit, we didn’t know what we were getting into at the time, and now, except for those times when it feels like it was yesterday, it seems like a century ago instead of decade.

We weren’t very good at recordkeeping in those days, so we’re not even sure who our first paying customer was, but we have several that were with us then and that are still with us today.

Among the first were US Xpress, Stevens Transport and Anderson Trucking.  And to those customers and all of our customers, affiliates and partners we just want to say thanks for your support and encouragement, we hope we have been of service to you, and that we’ll be celebrating together in another ten years.

And, of course, we want to shout out a great big THANK YOU! to all of you who visit and use TruckDriver.com, you are our real success story, without you, we wouldn’t be here.

And, for that, we thank you most sincerely.

We’re not sure what was in the air back in 1996 but as we got to reflecting and reminiscing about our beginnings we discovered there were a lot of other beginnings that year as well.

1996 was the year of the Palm Pilot, JAVA script and Adobe Flash.  CNET and MSNBC made their debut along with FOX NEWS and The Daily Show.  Slate Magazine and Expedia.com also hit the net in ‘96 as did Roadrunner High Speed Internet, and just to balance out all that new, hi-tech stuff, the Antiques Roadshow aired for the first time on PBS television.

Wonder how long before somebody shows up on there with a Tandy TRS-80.?

Speaking of ten years, that’s how long Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month, Steve Weibley has been helping children learn about trucking. 

That’s got to be the easiest segue we’ve ever written…

Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month

Steve Weibley

Little did Steve Weibley know, way back in 1996 when his daughter entered second grade in Cynthia Paulson's class and he joined her as a Trucker Buddy, that he was embarking on a 10-year endeavor that would positively impact hundreds of schoolchildren's educations over a decade. In the process, he has also educated them and their community about the trucking industry and the vital role it plays in the economy.

In recognition of this exceptional achievement, Weibley was named the October Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month.

"Steve Weibley has truly made a difference in the lives of my second grade students. He is a wonderful role model, always championing learning and the importance of education!" related Paulson, who has been teaching at Sarah Milner Elementary School in Loveland, Colo. "Trucker Buddy Steve provides meaningful lessons that correlate with several subjects of our curriculum. Equally important are the life lessons he brings, motivating students to 'dream big, work hard, and live safely!'"

Paulson retired at the end of the 2006 school year, and Weibley is taking the opportunity to take a year off from being a Trucker Buddy. Yet, Paulson still teaches part time and Weibley, also from Loveland, still volunteers in the community and at the school.

Over the years, Trucker Buddy Steve became more than a Trucker Buddy and more than a hero to Paulson's second graders: He became known as their teacher. Some call him an "extra" teacher, some call him their "traveling" teacher; no matter the nickname, this illustrates how involved Weibley became in the children's education.

"Steve teaches lessons in a variety of subject areas, including reading, writing, mathematics, geography, careers and economics," Paulson said. "I hear a lot of comments from parents about Trucker Buddy Steve's lessons. Favorite lessons include 'Trip Down the Mississippi River,' 'Colorado's Seven Border States,' 'The Interstate Highway System,' and the ever popular, 'Questions and Answers with Trucker Buddy Steve.'"

Weibley also visited the school about once a month, arriving in his Stevens Transport rig, for whom he is a company driver. Using his company truck and all of the measurements involved in trucking, Weibley taught math lessons. For example, he measured the length, width and height of his trailer to figure load capacity. Using his fuel tank capacity, students had to figure out how many miles he could travel on a tank of fuel.

Of course, Weibley also sent post cards from the 48 contiguous states on a regular basis, as well as maps, travel brochures and educational materials.
"This wealth of materials is organized in four large boxes, with a file for each state," Paulson explained. "These materials, along with the more than 500 cards he has sent to 'Mrs. Paulson's Second Grade' during the previous years, provide a wealth of information for the students to work with."

In addition to Weibley's visits to the school, he also participates in community events held in Loveland.

"He and his truck are always a big hit at Loveland's annual transportation safety fair," Paulson said. "He has talked with hundreds of students and their parents about a variety of issues from pedestrian and bicycle safety, to seat belt use, to highway safety related to all types of vehicles sharing the roads. He is a well-known and respected member of our community!"

Weibley is among some 3,500 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 TruckDriver.com to fund the program

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What a difference a couple of weeks make.  When we set up the No Nukes is Good Nukes Survey it seemed like the world was ready to explode. No pun intended.

But in today’s ‘instant news’ world the North Korean nuclear crisis is off the radar, replaced by the continuous blip of negative campaigning going on for the upcoming election.  Please don’t get us started on political advertising, just take the Lesser of Two Evils survey and let us know what you think is going to happen on election day.

Until next time, keep on truckin' and please drive safely.

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