September 2006 eReport

We had us a HOT time at the Dallas truck show this year, and if you were there, you know exactly what we mean by HOT!

It was hot in every aspect of the word - it really was a good show though, and we really did have a good time. It's always great to get out and hang with the trucking folks. The trucking industry truly represents a cross-section of our society, all kinds of people work in trucking and you see them all at a truck show. Hope you were able to make it.

The ACS MultiMedia Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month honor has been awarded to Tracey Alf and Sean Dillon, who are Trucker Buddies to Amy Donohue's second-grade class in Clifton Park, N.Y.

"Tracey and Sean are super buddies," wrote Donohue in the nomination letter. "I could not have asked for a better set of pen pals! I'll let them know the topics we are working on, and they find a way to include real life examples of it in their e-mails."

In addition to sending postcards, Alf and Dillon also e-mail their class at Arongen Elementary School at least two times a week. To spice things up for the students, they also send postcards and e-mails from their dog, Buddy.

"They will describe something from a dog's point of view and we will have to guess what is going on," Donohue explained. "They send us trivia questions along with the roads they take so we can follow the route."

Alf and Dillon, Arnprior, Ont., are company drivers for the Yanke Group of Companies in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After two years with the program and teacher Donohue, they got to visit with their class for the first time this past June.

"We want to thank our company, Yanke, for arranging the visit," Dillon related. "It was a logistical feat to get us there, but they made it happen."

"We were surprised at how enthusiastic the kids were, and how interested they are in what we are doing," Alf related. "It is a constant source of entertainment how their second-grade minds interpret what we say."

Alf and Dillon joined Trucker Buddy because they "don't have any little people in our lives," Alf said. Now, they are hooked, she added. "We went through postcard withdrawal at the beginning of the summer, so I started sending postcards to a friend's child!"

They plan to continue with the Trucker Buddy program, again matched with Donohue, and look forward to starting with a new second-grade class.

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 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.

Alf and Dillon are 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 ACS MultiMedia Advertising and TruckDriver.com.

From: VK
Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2006 12:08 AM
To: jobs@truckdriver.com
Subject: TruckDriver.com Contact Us: Feedback/Question

Just want to say thank you. With your website I was able to land a driving job with a company that is good to work for and that I am actually happy to climb behind the wheel for. Keep up the good work and I will defiantly be sure to use this website again if the need ever arises. Once again thank you very much

From: PH
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 12:45 PM
To: jobs@truckdriver.com
Subject: RE: August 15, 2006 eReport

I wanted to thank you for the article, which I read with interest. Finally someone else to join the growing numbers of men and women who talk from their own experience and give others a good "heads up".

I am not a driver myself, but have OTR experience, and am considering a return to the workforce. However, all the recruiters, their "independent" job recruiters, and most others say much of the same thing. Unfortunately, even the smaller companies sometimes find it difficult to be up front from the get go.

I tip my hat and thank all the drivers out there. I will be returning to teaching this month after a 10 year absence. I am looking for drivers who could let me know their own experiences, and their opinions about what companies are good ones to contact for possible work.

You probably don't remember, (no reason you should) but awhile back we were wondering what the first truck driving song was, and who wrote it.

Born on September 21, 1912 in Merryvale, LA, Ted Daffan, a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame passed away on October 6, 1996.

TRUCK DRIVER'S BLUES
(Words and Music by Ted Daffan)

Feelin' kinda weary, from my head down to my shoes
Feelin' kinda weary, from my head down to my shoes
I got a low down feelin' Truck Driver's Blues.

Keep them wheels a-rollin', I ain't got no time to lose
Keep them wheels a-rollin', I ain't got no time to lose
Just a low down feelin' Truck Driver's Blues.

Ride, ride, ride, ride on into town
Ride, ride, ride, ride on into town
My honky tonk gal is waitin'
I got troubles to drown.

I never did have nothin', I got nothin' much to lose
I never did have nothin', I got nothin' much to lose
But the low down feelin' Truck Driver's Blues.

Now that we've solved that riddle, here are the results from the recent TruckDriver.com Old Timer's Mandatory Testing survey.

The majority of you, seventy-five percent, said there should be mandatory road testing for all drivers after a certain age.

Thirty percent of you thought that age should be 60. Twenty-five percent thought it should 65 and twenty percent said 70. Thirteen percent of you said never.

Sixty-two percent of you said there should be mandatory testing for commercial drivers at age 65.

And now, you can click here to take the TruckDriver.com Public or Private Survey.

We do like to hear from you and invite you to let us know how we can improve the e-Report. Please send your ideas and suggestions to: jobs@truckdriver.com

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security
will deserve neither and lose both."
~ Benjamin Franklin ~