OOIDA truck show

[moose]

Good morning from the Kansas motor speedway, where the Heart of America Truck Show is on the way.
many truck are rolling in, it's a bit nippy, and there's a lot to do & see.
i had a great Early birding morning @ the Nemo show, annd already started to network.
many good O'l friends to mingle with, and they promise good food and good music.
i have long list of 'to do' things.{& to spend money on}.
anyone else here?

 

[moose]

well the first day just about came to an end here @ the HATS. it was COLD & WET. my heart go's to the countless exhibitors that stood outside in the cold all day smiling and just been nice.
even the tough Moose from Minnesota had to go in & warm up a few times.
@ one point we were outside in the rain for the 'safe drivers award' ceremony. the award have been given by Anne Faro, and she did a great job presenting them. the funny thing was, as soon as she started to talk, the rain became a freezing rain...true story.
i spent a lot of time with the guys from W.DC office {Ryan & Rod}, & gave them some homework on issues that effect my operation & we needs to fight, & offered my help in doing so.
an interesting moment was when i spoke with Dave Nemo & John Osborne. my phone rang. it was the Minnesota Trucking Association on the line, so i placed them on the speaker phone. the MTA asked for my help in fighting legislators in M.N that are trying to void O/O statue in M.N, a fight i told them before that i am committed to be a part of.
Back in the Expediters Expo, i auctioned out a truck alignment, curtsey of Chad from MD alignment in K.C. 3 weeks ago i finely had a load going that way and Chad did an excellent job. he recommend that i will trade in the rims on the truck. so here i am. during the HATS Micheline tires are having a show special for truckers that are interesting in converting their rigs to wide base tires. they agreed to switch over my rims for the price of the show special. we are going to do it tomorrow.
i had dinner with the nice folks from 'truckers charity' ,they are having an outdoor cookout, and will serve breakfast.
i have ended my day touring the 'light show competition' it is flat out amassing to see how much work some owner are putting into their rigs, and since the rain stopped many came to see. having seen the light competition for the first time, i'm now thinking of entering the competition some time on the other side of winter- i know i can be a strong competitor since my trailer can be lightened up from the inside out, a gimmick none tried before.
they are promising clear sky for tomorrow, high of 62*.
so the race drivers will be running the speedway, and i sure hope all the vendors de-iced themselves by show time tomorrow.
the rain seams to end now.

 

[moose]

Good morning from the Truck show- where the moon is full{of it} the sky's are clear, and truckers are zombieing around looking for coffee.
the AirTab's guys are not here.
interestingly enough there is a vacant booth for the Great Lakes convoy.
it's going to be another long busy day here.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Nice wrap up for the first day of the show Moose! I see the sun starting to shine this morning so I think it is going to be a much better day.

I am not sure we are deiced yet as we were pretty cold when we left. The best part was having out truck in the booth with the heater running. It immediately became the mobil office and break room. Expediters save the day again.

Today is the Driver Health Walk at 11:30 starting at the beer garden.... We have over 150 people signed up to walk and it sounds like we ran out of t-shirts early on the first day. That is really exciting news.

Stop by the Freightliner Team Run Smart Booth and say Hi!

 

[moose]

a very cold Nemo show, & a frozen LandLineNow hosts.
"my laptop works as a water repellant, when it get's wet it simply die"{-Mark Reddick}

 

[zorry]

Glad you guys are having fun.

Starting the Health Walk at the Beer Garden gave me a chuckle.
Maybe thats the place to find the people that need it most.

 

[moose]

Well today was a great day @ the HATS.
the morning started with a coffee with the 'truckers charity group', nice truckers that made free breakfast for us all. then it was a Micheline time- trading my truck 2" offset for a Zero offset rims. along the way i bothered them with all bunch of technical questions.
next stop was the AirDog fueling system. i had to upgrade the unit, the new model is WAY better. & i'm very happy that i had the opportunity to learn it 'from the man'. well worth the investment.
then it was time to network with the FMCSA. we have discussed several issues and the guys in the booth helped me understand how to file for the FMCSA to follow up on them.
i had a chance to seat up close and watch the recording of LandLineNow, and talk some more with the W.DC guys.
i also met many of the staff from HQ, and was amassed how many of them remember me.
then it was GoodYear tire. they lunched in the show a new website, and a new program for O/O. i had the chance to speak with the engineer that developed the program, and he took notes and will follow up with me on some items.
also took a test drive on the new Western Star.
overall i have tons of homework now to do with all bunch of exhibitors. i learned a lot
the weather was real nice, and i hope they will do it again next year.
well worth my time. the trailer is loaded with a dedicated shipment we have, so back to work early birding heading to Toronto.