'I'm still alive'

The old Pearl Jam song could be the official song of a number of truckers who've survived an injury or illness and benefited from a not-for-profit organization known as TransAlive USA.

OOIDA Member David Gilland and TransAlive USA's
President and founder Bob Hataway

OOIDA Member David Gilland had a stroke a couple of years ago and found himself far from home and unable to get home. 

“No one but my family really knew where I was, but you know how it is in trucking. They tracked me down,” he told me today. David, aka “Bullwinkle,” got a call in his hospital bed from Lance Wood, a friend (and OOIDA member).

“After a stroke, you can’t just get back behind the wheel, or even take a plane,” says David. “You’ve got to have a way home that is specially equipped.”

The next thing he knew, he was hooked up with Bob Hataway and TransAlive USA’s AmCoach and headed home.

Bob and his wife Carol started the national ministry in 1984 to help injured or sick truckers get home. The effort has been such as success, it’s earned itself some great operational sponsors. Fuel, for example, is provided by Pilot Travel Centers, lube services by Speedco, and tires from Bridgestone Bandag. J.B. Hunt, Great Dane and Alcoa provide operational financial services.

TransAlive USA is here at the Heart of America Trucking Show at the Kansas Speedway. And I got a chance today to visit with Bob, who is at the truck show promoting TransAlive’s new deal. It is partnering with Air Ambulance Card from Birmingham, Ala., to provide air service for critical medical issues with drivers.

I was curious about the program so I checked out some quick facts. The Air Ambulance Program transports drivers from medical facilities by ground ambulance to local airports. Drivers are loaded on aircraft and flown to their destination in a matter of hours as opposed to days with the AmCoach. They are taken to the nearest destination airport and transported by ground ambulance to a medical facility of their choice. Medical staff, as needed, accompany the driver, and family members are allowed to travel as well. All services are free to members of Air Ambulance Card.

What about the trusty AmCoach? Bob says the AmCoach service will still be available as before; however, it will be replaced with the air service over the next two years.

Forrest Lucas reconnects

Wherever you find cars, trucks or any motorized vehicles – and whether they race, haul the nation's freight or take Grandma to church – you're going to find Lucas Oil products.

And while many people have become familiar with the success story of company founder and former long-haul trucker Forrest Lucas, they may not know that he's still got trucking on his mind.

I caught up with Forrest during a busy but chilly Friday during the Heart of America Trucking Show. He was preparing to record a spot for TV at the Lucas Oil booth, but the rain had his crew scrambling to find a dry place to finish the shot.


Forrest Lucas is a proud OOIDA member
(Photo by David Tanner, Land Line Magazine)

Even with the change in plans, and the rain coming down mid-afternoon, nothing could dampen this man's enthusiasm to attend and be associated with OOIDA's 40th anniversary event. Not even the cancellation of the Kansas rock concert he had sponsored for the main stage would get him down on this day.

In fact, he was all smiles. Being here, among the truckers, was enough.

"I wanted to reconnect with the owner-operators," he said. "We've been busy, but it's time to reconnect."

Forrest Lucas' story has been well-documented, but it was still cool to hear him talk about the beginning.

He told me it all started with a desire to develop oil products for use in his own trucks. Everything – the racing, the dedication to research and development, the naming rights to the NFL stadium in Indianapolis – is a result of and an extension of that desire.

This is a man who seems to have a bit of everything on his plate these days, but Forrest Lucas has never forgotten where he came from. He has tremendous respect for the nation's truckers, and he told me he wouldn't miss OOIDA's show for anything. He's been a member of the Association for years.

"The owner-operators ... if it hadn't been for them, we wouldn't be here today," he said.

"Every time we do something, we keep the truckers in mind."

Operation Roger: As seen on TV!

I was watching "NBC Nightly News" back in April when anchorman Brian Williams said something like “we leave you tonight with a story from NBC’s Mark Potter.” I was surprised to see it was a piece about our friends with Operation Roger.

If you are not familiar with them, they are a volunteer group of truck drivers who pick up pets that need a loving home and deliver them to their new owners, sometimes thousands of miles away.

The drivers and volunteers call the 501(c)(3) charity group “Operation Roger,” after one of the dogs owned by founder and trucker Sue Weise. Roger was a toy Manchester terrier, the first Operation Roger rescue dog who has since passed away, but he used to go with Sue on the road.

OOIDA Member Mary Abraham, pet lover and an
 Operation Roger volunteer.

Sue, who is an OOIDA life member from Joshua, Texas, had a desire to do something for the many helpless pets who were left homeless by Hurricane Katrina. She established Operation Roger on Sept. 16, 2005, and since then, the group has found permanent homes for almost 700 dogs and cats.

The men and women of Operation Roger describe themselves as a “group of 20-30 truckers who do their job first and if they can help transport a pet to a new home while traveling the country, why not?"

I really like what these people do so Booth No. 321 was on my list of places to hit Friday to say hi to a handful of these generous truck drivers and let them know much I enjoyed the NBC story.

  

Your pit pass to OOIDA’s Heart of America Trucking Show

Live from turn one at the Kansas Speedway … the Land Line media blog – Tales from Turn One – is your pit pass to the show scheduled for Oct. 18-19 in Kansas City, Kan.

During the show, we’ll be blogging on the whole 40th anniversary event, the people, the games, the show trucks, antique trucks, the seminars, vendors, entertainment and more. Think of us as your “Prairie Truck Companion.” Check it out at landlinemag.com. Also – watch all of our OOIDA social media pages for news, pics and video clips.

During the Heart of America Trucking Show, the “Land Line Now” team will be at the Kansas Speedway, bringing you the latest from the show. “Land Line Now,” OOIDA’s Sirius XM radio show, airs daily from 7 to 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. Eastern time on the Road Dog Channel 128.

If you can’t make the show and miss the multimedia blowout, don’t fret. The November issue of Land Line will feature complete coverage of the action – all the events you want to read about.