2013 Expedite Expo in the Books
We arrived at the Expedite Expo on Wednesday evening and
spent all day Thursday polishing on the truck. Bob spent most of the evening putting
on finishing touches in preparation for the truck show beauty contest.
This was in addition to the time that was
just spent at home waxing all of the truck including the box, touching up the
paint on the frame rails and the back doors.
Sylectus sponsored the Thursday evening event that featured a baked potato bar that everyone seemed to be enjoying including myself. There were a lot of vendors in attendance and we spent some time catching up with people we only see at the Expo.
On Friday the day started out at a wonderful temperature of 54 degrees for our PJ walk. This year we had vendors, expediters, and prospective drivers walk with us. Homer Hogg of TA/Petro once again walked and as always his high energy got all of us moving. On Saturday we woke up to rain and for the first time we held the walk inside and found that this worked rather well. We had some odd looks as we walked through the hotel lobby at a brisk clip with many of us in our PJ's. Thanks to all who participated.
The weather was perfect on Friday and we spent most of the day showing the inside of our sleeper to Expo attendee's and also showing what all we carry in the box of our truck. The day flew by and we met a lot of very nice people and we were able to share ideas that have made our life easier on the road.
For the first time we were able to participate in the Great Lakes Convoy along with 16 other trucks. The convoy was a lot of fun and we enjoyed seeing the decorated trucks as well as drivers.
On Friday evening we attended Casino Night
sponsored by CIS and it was better then ever. The event has outgrown
the room it was formally held in and is now in the spacious lobby of the
convention center. The prizes that are donated to this event are
fantastic and this year I won a $100.00 gift certificate from SpeedCo
and also a $25.00 Bob Evans Gift Certificate from TriState. Thanks to all of the vendors that donated and to John and Shelly who have created this fun filled evening!
Saturday the rain chased us inside for part of the day and
that enabled us to talk with other vendors.
We participated in the Drivers Round Table workshop and fielded
questions from fleet owners on getting and qualifying drivers to questions
about CSA and HOS.
In the afternoon I
was included on a panel with the Women in Trucking forum.
Both workshops were well attended and I think
everyone learned something and had fun.
At 4:00 the drawings started as well as the awards
ceremony.
We were very excited when our
name was called as we won the Working Class Truck Beauty contest.
Our 2012 Cascadia and Bolt Custom Sleeper won
a beautiful trophy as well as $500.00 dollars. Winning this reminded us of our
very first Expedite Expo as we spent a lot of time talking to the drivers who
won that truck beauty contest, hard to believe ten years have passed since that
time.
The Drivers BBQ sponsored by Ontime Media was fantastic this
year as the weather was cool.
The
weather was perfect and this year the drivers that did all of the cooking were
exceptional.
They were organized and
they had everything under control.
For
those that missed this event the Cheesecakes that Mayfield Express brought were
the best cheesecake I have ever had.
Last year I missed out on these and I made a special effort to get over
to the BBQ and it was well worth it!
Thanks to all that cooked and brought side dishes!
This year was our first year of attending the Expedite Expo as part of the Freightliner Team Run Smart program with Henry Albert. We were proud to wear our Team Run Smart shirts and have chance to talk about the web site and what all we are able to do as "Pro's". To follow our activities and blog on Team Run Smart become a member and please post comments!
Now we are counting down the days to Expedite Expo 2014!
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO
Expediters 8 years been out here on the road 13 years
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.