In The News

Mother's Day Convoy

Each of the 350 trucks in this Sunday's Mother's Day Truck Convoy in Lancaster, Pa., will be carrying something a little extra.

In some cases, it will be a sick child. The convoy, which has been named the longest in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records, benefits the Philadelphia, Northern Delaware & Susquehanna Valley chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and dozens of children who've been helped by the charity share cabs with the volunteer drivers.

In other cases, the cargo is symbolic.

Tim Kauffman of Bainbridge, Pa., will be behind the wheel of Big Red, a 1972 Kenworth that had been restored and driven in the convoy for years by his friend, Carl Ellerman, who spent his retirement volunteering for Make-A-Wish. When Carl died in 2012, Tim bought the truck at auction at the urging of Carl's daughters.

"I wanted to make sure it was in the Mother's Day convoy again," Tim said. "Three of Carl's daughters told me at the auction that there was no one else Carl would have wanted to have it. That meant a lot to me."

Driver Keith Wagner of New Britain, Pa., carries memories of a deceased granddaughter who died before Make-A-Wish could grant her request of a remodeled bedroom. He's driven in the convoy every year since 2006 and his family raises money for it year-round through a yard sale, wrestling match, motorcycle run and other benefits.

"It helps the kids that need something to brighten their lives up," said Keith, a truck driver for 35 years. "It might be the last thing they get to do."

The convoy, which snakes for 28 miles through the heart of Amish Country in central Pennsylvania, draws thousands of spectators who line the sides of the state route and watch from bridge overpasses. The drivers will raise approximately $300,000.

Over the past 26 years, the convoy has become a community festival, drawing thousands of people to the business park where the procession starts and ends. The convoy is sponsored by the RoadPro Family of Brands, located in nearby Palmyra, Pa.

For more information about the Mother's Day Convoy, click here.