Trucker Buddy is one of America’s best programs helping enhance the image of the professional truck driver to one of our greatest national assets – our children.
This month, Trucker Buddy Matt Slovak recounts his time with Linda Ford’s 4th grade class. We don’t have to tell you that Matt’s presentation and the family-friendly atmosphere of the Walcott Iowa 80 truck stop put lots of smiles on their faces.
Trucker Buddy Field Trip
Today was my 2012 Trucker Buddy field trip at Iowa 80, the world’s busiest truck stop. I was worried about the trip due to forcasted rain, but it all worked out great. I arrived at the Walcott, Iowa truck stop 3 hours before the kids to prep my truck, a 2009 International Pro Star, making sure it was clean and ready for inspection by the students.
At 9am, Linda Ford’s 4th grade class showed up to the smiling face of Meghan Dalton, our Iowa 80 host for the day. She showed the main part of the truck stop to the kids that included the gift shop and the chrome shop.
We all got back into the school bus, which was weighed by the Cat Scale just like a big rig, while Meghan explained the weight laws to the kids. We also got to put the school bus through the truck wash and got it sparkling clean!
We then went to the trucking museum to explore trucks of the past. Chris Hummer, Vice President of Don Hummer Trucking spoke with the kids and answered all of their questions about how trucks work and what the job entails.
We ended the day with a tour of my Pro Star truck and the refrigerant trailer attached to it.
I’m very thankful for the hard work of Meghan and Chris which made the field trip a huge success.
Click the image to see more pictures of the big day with Trucker Buddy.
