NASHVILLE — A veteran truck driver now has the keys to a classic 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am thanks to a contest sponsored by AMBEST.
According to a news release, the member-owned nationwide network of independent truck stops hosted their 2023 Grand Prize Celebration on Tuesday, March 19, at Ole Red on Broadway in Nashville, where trucker Stacey Hamilton was presented with his prize.
Chuck Ryan, president and CEO of AMBEST, gave Hamilton, a long-time AMBUCK$ card holder and truck driver of 38 years, with the keys to the car.
His winning AMBUCK$ transaction occurred on Aug. 17, 2023, at Truckers Inn in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, according to the news release.
“AMBEST is proud and grateful to have been able to award our 2023 AMBUCK$ Grand Prize to such a deserving person,” Ryan said. “Stacey has labored and served as a career Truck Driver for over 38 years. After getting to know him and his wife Lisa we feel that he was the perfect recipient.”
Hamilton started his career as a teenager, driving with his dad and learning the ropes of the trucking industry.
He worked his way up from being a company driver to owning his truck, as he has for the past twenty-two years. He is currently leased out to a company in Parker, South Dakota, and said he looks forward to finishing his trucking career with them.
“I am married to my amazing wife, Leisa, and we have four beautiful daughters,” he said. They are my world, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without their love and support.”
AMBUCK$ is the longest, continuously running professional driver rewards program and gives over $30,000 in prizes and rewards to truck drivers each year. Drivers swipe their AMBUCK$ loyalty card when they fuel at any AMBEST location or get work done at an AMBEST Service Center. Each swipe is an entry to win multiple prizes throughout the year.
“AMBEST, they’ve been the best. This whole thing, they put on at Blake Shelton’s bar, I love it! It’s awesome! It’s truly a good feeling,” Hamilton said after receiving the keys to the 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
