Taking a Chance

It's easy to get caught up in the hoopla and hype surrounding MATS. I was just as dazzled as anyone by the unveiling of the Mack Titan, and I spent my share of time staring at the strange new look of International's LoneStar. The music, the lights, the sounds. Like I said, it's easy to get caught up.

But there's one event here that doesn't seem to have gotten a lot of attention, outside of those who were there. It happened Thursday night, far from the crowds in the expo center, tucked away in the middle of the Papa John's stadium parking lot.

Amid a sea of trucks a space had been cleared and a makeshift stage was assembled using a flatbed trailer. A few tents surrounded the area creating an almost festival-like atmosphere. There, more than a hundred or so truck drivers gathered for a single cause: A 12 year old boy by the name of Chance Rodgers.

Chance - who wants nothing more than to be a truck driver when he grows up - is the grandson of OOIDA member Jim Rodgers, and has been battling bone cancer since last year. These truckers - each one of them crazier than the next - banded together to put on a benefit concert, an auction and a chili cook off all to raise money for Chance's medical bills.

As I stood in the crowd and watched OOIDA member Dave Smith ham it up on the microphone, someone near the stage did something amazing. He offered money to make Chance a lifetime member of OOIDA and challenged everyone to match his donation. Next thing I knew, $20 bills were flying in from all over. I've never seen anything quite like it.

One thing that has amazed me about the trucking industry is the willingness of its members to help those in need. Even in this time of $4 a gallon diesel and a slumping economy, those truckers Thursday night handed over that money as if they were millionaires.

I'm sorry this blog post is so long, but I just thought that each and every truck driver who was there that night deserved a ROSE for damn near making a jaded journalist cry. Welcome to the association, Chance.