One Million Square Feet of Trucking

Last year, 70,197 people attended the show.

Truckers will be the center of attention at the 33rd annual Mid-America Trucking Show, where companies ranging from recruiters to technology vendors will vie for truckers’ favor and dollars.

The March 25-27 show at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky., covers more than 1,000 exhibiting companies and 1 million square feet of exhibit space. More than 26 acres of parking are available on site, with recreational vehicle hook-ups available for $35 a night.

Last year, the show brought in 1,037 exhibiting companies from 44 states and 11 countries, and 70,197 attendees came from all 50 states and more than 40 countries.

The show offers a look at the latest equipment and technology in trucking and a variety of free seminars hosted by the Kentucky Motor Transport Association and others. Topics include “Diesel Idling Reduction,” “Hours of Service Update,” “Preparing for a Career in Expedited Trucking,” “The Impact of Your Safestat Report,” and “Roadside Inspections: What to Expect & How to Prepare.”

Attendees can also enjoy the music of the Charlie Daniels Band in a free concert sponsored by Kenworth Truck Company. The concert is set for Friday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Freedom Hall, adjacent to the truck show. Phil Vassar, the Country Music Association’s Top New Male Vocalist for 2002, is scheduled to open for the Charlie Daniels Band.

Country music star Charlie Daniels will be performing in a free concert Friday night of the show.

Charlie Daniels Band has won numerous awards, including a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal for “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which also won three Country Music Association trophies, topped both country and pop charts, and became a platinum single.

On Saturday night the show will feature the Gaither Homecoming concert at Freedom Hall. One of the most successful artists in Christian music, Bill Gaither has received three Grammys, more than 20 Dove awards and the first Gold Record ever awarded to an inspirational album. Inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1982, Gaither and his wife Gloria were recently honored by The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers as Christian Songwriters of the Century.

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Tickets for the concert are available for sale at the box office and at Ticketmaster outlets.
Attendees can also meet some of their favorite celebrities at the show. Country music legend Crystal Gayle, NASCAR driver Ken Schrader and longtime trucking radio personality Bill Mack will be signing autographs.

Gayle will be available for autographs from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. on the opening day of the show during the Mid-America Jamboree at the Midnight Trucking Radio Network booth in the lobby. Gayle will also join DJ Eric Harley of the Midnight Trucking Radio Network that night – from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. EST March 26 – for a live remote broadcast of the show from the lobby of the Executive West Hotel.

Radio legend and songwriter Bill Mack will be signing autographs at the Randall Publishing Company booth on March 26.

Attendees can also register at the Midnight Trucking booth for $1,000 cash to be given away Saturday afternoon at the end of the show.

NASCAR driver Ken Schrader will be signing autographs on March 25 in Booth 6485 in the Driver Recruitment Center, sponsored by Over-The-Road and Pro-Trucker.

Mack will be at the Randall Publishing Company (publisher of Truckers News, Overdrive, CCJ and eTrucker.com) booth from 3-4 p.m. on March 26 to sign autographs and have his picture made with truckers. Mack has been the recipient of a host of major awards in the country music broadcasting field, including a Grammy Award and Country Music D.J. of the Year, and in 1982 he was placed into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in Nashville. Songs he has written have gone to the top of the charts, including LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue” and George Strait’s “Drinking Champagne.”

Other show events include:

  • Overdrive, in conjunction with The Alliance, an owner-operator financial services group, will present a free Partners in Business seminar Saturday morning. Kevin Rutherford of The Alliance, a former trucker who runs a small fleet in addition to his accounting work, will discuss business advice and money-saving ideas for new and experienced owner-operators.
  • The 4th Annual Paul K. Young Truck Beauty Championship, a “Stars & Stripes Event.”
  • The Trucking Technology Center, which will showcase products from Internet and technology-based companies. It will also feature high-speed Internet access from the Internet Café and prizes and giveaways.
  • The Expedited Trucking InfoCenter, sponsored by ExpressTrucking.com.
  • The Ol’ Blue, USA “Safety Center”
  • A new issue of the Mid-America Show Daily, sponsored by Randall Publishing, will be available each day as you enter the show.
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