WALCOTT, Iowa — The 2020 Walcott Truckers Jamboree kicked off today (July 9) in a new online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event would normally held at the Iowa 80 truck stop in Walcott, Iowa, which is touted as the “world’s largest truck stop, but in compliance with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynold’s orders, organizers have moved the entire event online.
“The good news is we will most definitely continue with our long-standing tradition of celebrating America’s truckers,” said Heather DeBaille, vice president of marketing. “While we can’t host 45,000 people at Iowa 80 to celebrate, we will take the jamboree virtual and still celebrate the important job of the professional driver.”
Many events, including the Antique Truck Display, Super Truck Beauty Contest, Trucker’s Best Friend Pet Contest and more have been revamped to fit an online format. All concerts will be rescheduled for the 2021 Jamboree.
The antique truck display features photos from entrants, along with information about their antique vehicles.
Voting for the Super Truck Beauty Contest and the Trucker’s Best Friend Pet contest continues until 5 p.m. central time July 9; the beauty contest winner will be announced July 11 and the pet contest winner will be announced July 10. Click here to vote in the Super Truck Beauty Contest; click here to vote in the Trucker’s Best Friend contest.
On Friday, July 10, the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum will celebrate the 100th birthday one of its exhibits, a 1920 GMC, with a video event that will be posted on the museum’s Facebook page.
Even though this year’s jamboree cannot be held on site, all professional truck drivers with a commercial driver’s license who stop at the Iowa 80 July 9, 10 or 11 can receive a free meal in the Iowa 80 Kitchen restaurant. Meal certificates will be available at the fuel center, service center, truck wash and Super Truck Showroom.
“We want drivers to know who much we appreciate the hard work they do. This certainly isn’t the way we thought our 41st jamboree would play out, but we care about drivers and their families, and we still want to celebrate them,” said Delia Moon Meier, senior vice president.
“We truly hope everyone understands, and we hope that you will join us in spirit and online in celebration of trucking,” she continued. “We look forward to seeing everyone in person in 2021.”
To join in the fun of this year’s Walcott Trucking Jamboree, click here.
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.
