With temperatures scorching outside, it was great to be inside at the 2002 International Trucking Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 27-29 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. As usual, we at 10-4 had a lot of fun things going on in our booth. But this year, in addition to the fun, we also raised some money for charity.
With the Truckin’ For Kids Show and Drags just around the corner in October, we thought it was a perfect time to help out the organization (which raises money for children’s charities through truck drag events every year) by raising some extra money for their cause. We made some phone calls and got several truck accessory manufacturers to donate fantastic prizes which we sold raffle tickets for in our booth. Over the three days of the show, we were able to raise $2,035. As the show came to an end on Saturday afternoon, we presented a “big check” (literally) to Frank Pangburn, race director and Truckin’ for Kids’ fearless leader.
But we never could have done it without the help of some special people. First and foremost, we’d like to thank Jerry and Gayle Jeffries of Double JJ Enterprises in Anaheim, CA. Not only did they donate two sets of Double JJ blinker bars and rear step blinkers to raffle off, but they also brought their unique two-seat funny car to display in our booth. With 50s music playing on the radio inside, this awesome bright red 1957 Chevy attracted a lot of attention and got many to stop at our booth - not to mention the tireless efforts of Gayle who wouldn’t let anyone walk by the booth without hearing her sales pitch. That girl, as well as Jean, Shannon, April and Debbie, worked hard!
The other generous accessory manufacturers who donated products included Kent Carpenter of Valley Chrome Plating in Fresno, CA (a front bumper of the winner’s choice); George Lombino Jr. of Hogebuilt in Industry, CA (a set of stainless steel quarter fenders); and John J. Hyatt of Vortox in Claremont, CA (a set of stainless steel Vortox air cleaners). Thanks to these people and companies, we had over $5,000 worth of incredible truck accessories to entice show attendees to stop and buy the raffle tickets.
And when we weren’t selling raffle tickets or talking about the racecar, we were busy handing out the latest 10-4 poster, T-shirts, flavored toothpicks, pens and, of course, thousands of magazines. Here are the names of all the winners: Joeie Harris of Glendale, UT and Jim Christoffersen of Everson, WA both won a set of Double JJ blinker bars and rear step blinkers; Francisco Villa of Fresno, CA won the front bumper from Valley Chrome Plating; Brent W. Barney of Orem, UT won the Hogebuilt quarter fenders; and Bill Sandvik of Escondido, CA won the set of Vortox air cleaners. Congratulations to all the winners and a big “thank you” goes out to everyone who bought a raffle ticket.
We’d like to say another special thank you to Jerry Jeffries who made a $200 cash “donation” at the end of the show, and to Gary Phillips, Clayton Sullivan and Bill Sandvik who each bought $50 worth of raffle tickets. That really helped our total go up. All of the money raised is being donated to Truckin’ For Kids who currently support The Children’s Center of Antelope Valley, a non-profit organization who’s mission is to protect the children of the Antelope Valley from abuse through prevention, treatment and education. This center operates entirely through grants and financial donations from the generous people in their community and organizations like Truckin’ For Kids. We are proud to have raised over $2,000 for this charity.
If you were at the show, we hope you came by our booth and had some fun - that is always our number one concern. Thanks to everyone who helped make this another great year in Las Vegas to remember. We’ll be back again next year (June 26-28), but there’s no telling what we’ll be doing then. For all of you who coudn’t make it to the show to participate in this charity raffle, we hope to see you at the Truck Drags on October 5-6 at L.A. County Raceway in Palmdale.
