Trucker Buddies, what neat people

My old friend Gary King, founder of Trucker Buddy, would have enjoyed the Trucker Buddy event at MATS. I couldn’t help but think of him when the truckers honored for 2007 were introduced yesterday.

An amazing thing, with the cost of fuel so high, all but about two of these busy truckers were here in Louisville to accept the kudos.

Owner-operator John Rose, Springfield, MO, was chosen as the January 2007 Trucker Buddy of the Month. John has two classes. I can see why John hits if off with kids. He’s a sharp guy who teaches them about responsible behavior and the importance of education.

The February honoree was Tom Barstow Sr. of Moyock, NC. This guy was astounding. He created a national weather Web site for the kids and has big plans to more neat projects like this.

Leased owner-operator Scott Sexton, the March Trucker Buddy, is from Greenville, NC. His wife was there, too, and the story I heard about Scott and Lisa made everyone shake their head in admiration. He visited his class in Pennsylvania and noticed that many did not have winter coats and it disturbed him. He rang up his wife and together, they set about fixing that. They collected clothes and supplies for the schools and loaded it up in their personal vehicle and drove to PA to deliver the stuff.

The April Trucker Buddy, Brenda Meacham, has been a kid mentor since 2004. The teachers rave over her generosity. Brenda’s not a woman of means, but finds ways to generate assistance in providing needed items for her class. For instance, in 2007 she gave her students laptops. No wonder they call her a “genie in a Trucker Buddy disguise.”

My favorite part of the program was the introduction of Frank Nathanson of Staten Island, NY. Trucker Frank, who built a Web site for his students and e-mails his adventures, is so popular with his class that Ms. Deborah Penney traveled from Shirley, NY, to Louisville with one of her students to honor him. The exquisite speech by third-grader Veronika Kurimska from John S. Hobart Elementary knocked me out.

Beth Eder, Park Falls, WI, was honored as the June Trucker Buddy. Trucker Beth and her husband sat next to me at the event and were so excited to be there. She's nothing short of wonderful and I can see why her students love her.

I’ve known Karen and Harvey Zander, St. Louis Park, MN, for years. As owners and pilots of Icy Blu 2 – they’re a well-known trucking couple. I know full well why their kids love them and nominated them July Trucker Buddies for July. Those kids are lucky to know this extraordinary pair.

Ontario trucker Ray White’s employer, Liberty Linehaul, asked Ray to sign up for Trucker Buddy. The company has been involved for years. Trucker Ray, the August honoree, has 20 fourth-graders who think he is top-notch because he sends them souvenirs from his travels. When a kid thinks you're cool, YOU ARE.

Clayton James is a Kansas City guy, now retired from trucking, but sharing his road savvy with students in Ellisville, MO. He’s the September Trucker Buddy.

October’s Trucker Buddy of the Month Paul Moerer lives in Elkhorn, WI. His fourth-graders were impressed that even when Paul was on vacation, he remembered them, sending a conch shell from the Bahamas. He takes his dogs Hither and Yon to visit the kids, too. Trucks, dogs, kids are something like Mom, baseball and apple pie, right?

Sandy and Ken Cook were honored as November’s Trucker Buddies. They’ve been doing this for 11 years. They are drivers for FedEx National LTL out of Middletown, PA and live in Yellow Spring, WV. They are so involved with their kids, they do the annual spelling bee.

Andrew Pomicter was selected as December Trucker Buddy. Andrew is an owner-operator from Weirsdale, FL. His class thinks he is extra cool. The fact that he has a pet snake probably doesn’t hurt.

I always get such a dose of good attitude from being around the truckers in this program. I remember when Gary King used to come by our OOIDA office and talk about his dream of establishing it.

Now, some 3,500 professional drivers share their time with elementary classes.