KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief (SCF) is teaming with Life From the Passenger’s Seat’s Melanie Walker and Scott Wagner for two events at the 2019 Great American Truck Show in Dallas August 22-24.
Both Walker and Wagner have been giving back to the trucking community for years with auctions and fundraisers, but after meeting Shannon Currier, SCF director of philanthropy and development last year, they decided to focus their future efforts on the St. Christopher Fund. Scott is a driver for Spartan Direct and his fiancé Melanie rides with him, sharing photos, travel and weather information and encouragement to the trucking community, Currier said.
Last year at GATS, Walker and Wagner, along with a team of volunteers and GATS parking lot organizer Les Willis, raised $17,000 through silent and live auctions to support drivers out of work because of injury or illness, breaking any previous fundraising efforts.
An after-show surprise saw Heartland Express match the live auction amount of $16,038.
“Since this is the 20th anniversary of GATS, Scott and Melanie wanted to pull out all the stops and do something that has never been done and have a truck show within a truck show,” Currier said.
With the support and approval of the GATS team, the American Pride Truck Charity Event to benefit SCF was born, and will take place this year in the TA/Petro free truck parking lot.
“We are so excited to team with Scott and Melanie again to increase awareness of SCF as well as raise support for drivers out of work because of injury or illness, and we thank the GATS team for allowing us to do something new and different for the drivers,” Currier said.
There are four categories for the event, including company driver, owner-operators, “Dressed To Impress” and “Light ’Em Up.” Registration fee for each category entered is $5 and 100% of the registration fee is donated to SCF.
Corporate sponsor support each category includes RoadPro Family of Brands, National Truckin’ Magazine, 4 State Trucks and Boogey Lights. There will also be a peer choice category sponsored by James Rogers, owner and CEO of Spartan Direct, where all show participants get to vote for their favorite truck.
The first 100 participants will receive a commemorative dash plaque. First, second and third place trophies will be awarded for each of the 4 categories and a single winner will be announced for the peer choice category.
“We are so excited to be a part of both of these events organized by Scott and Melanie and we are honored to have such great support from the drivers,” Currier said.
Questions about the auction and American Pride Truck Charity Event can be directed to Melanie Walker at 636.725.3885.
St. Christopher Fund will be in the Health Pavilion at GATS in booth 4040.
Participants can register for GATS here.
St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund, headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization that provides assistance to over-the-road semi-truck drivers and their families when an illness or injury has caused the driver to be out of work and suffer financial hardship. Assistance may be in the form of direct payment for mortgage/rent, utilities, vehicle payments and insurance.
The SCF also provides programs to benefit professional drivers and the trucking industry. For more information, please visit www.truckersfund.org or call (865) 202-9428.
Life From the Passenger’s Seat is a Facebook page run by Melanie Walker where she shares photos, insight, traffic and weather information and encouragement to the trucking community.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
