The JBC Hotline: Raising money and keeping good company

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Left to right: Don Schmidt, Richard Gatton and Kevin ‘Cornholio’ Young of the JBC Hotline crew at MATS.Left to right: Don Schmidt, Richard Gatton and Kevin ‘Cornholio’ Young of the JBC Hotline crew at MATS.

JB and Miss Kim have deep roots in the trucking industry. JB is a third-generation trucker who hauls hazmat for First Choice and Miss Kim has been his support and home team for the past six years. About four years ago, they got together with a group of people who would “piggyback” call each other and create a chat room full of drivers. The group grew from four people making three-way calls to an organized conference call that runs 24/7. Callers use the room to keep company on long nights, give and get weather and road reports, check routes and just touch base with other human beings who do the same job.

A shot from the JBC group’s annual Rocking Class Car, Motorcycle and Truck Show in Perrysburg, Ohio.A shot from the JBC group’s annual Rocking Class Car, Motorcycle and Truck Show in Perrysburg, Ohio.

We met the couple in the Papa John’s Parking Lot at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., in March. Our truck happened to be parked directly across from their food tent, where they served a full menu on a donations-only basis for the three days during MATS. JBC also sponsored the 2014 MATS Drag Race, which benefited the Truckers for Troops and OOIDA Scholarship funds and featured some of the ugliest women in trucking (who were actually members of JBC, dressed as women, racing each other across the parking lot — no high heels permitted).

Wendy Parker is writes the George & Wendy Show blog, appearing several times a week on OverdriveOnline.com, dispatched from her ridealong position in the truck (though not this particular one) with her owner-operator husband, George.Wendy Parker is writes the George & Wendy Show blog, appearing several times a week on OverdriveOnline.com, dispatched from her ridealong position in the truck (though not this particular one) with her owner-operator husband, George.

The group likes to have fun, but they’re usually doing it to support a good cause. The first weekend in August, the Rocking Classic Car, Motorcycle and Truck Show is hosted by JBC in Perrysburg, Ohio. A different charity is chosen as beneficiary each year, with more than $5,000 being donated to cystic fibrosis research last year.

You can find the group of Facebook here, and reach the group’s hotline at 408-418-5050, access code 20519#. And while subject matter may range from religion to fuel economy, anyone who wishes to fellowship is more than welcome.

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