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A Truckers Wife Convention 2006

Face to Face
Photos and Stories

Thank you to our convention sponsors: ProMiles® Canada Inc. Bee Trucking, Inc.
WEDNESDAY
On the highway heading for Green Bay.	On the airplane heading for Green Bay.
On the first day/evening/night/wee hours of the morn, all the early arrivals hung out in the lounge and got to know each other, a LOT better.
Around midnight, we discovered that we had all missed dinner, delivery pretty much stopped at midnight in GB, none of us could drive, and we were all very, very hungry. Thanks to Randy, manager of the HoJo, we all got cheeseburgers and fries! Thanks Randy, YOU ROCK!	Linda Sharp, President/Exhibitor Chairman of the Titletown Trucker's Showdown AND a fantastic fun lady!! Thanks Linda -- We love ya!!
All Convention Attendees received a Tote Bag, T-shirt and a mug with the Convention logo. The bag was filled with so many goodies, it was a job getting them all in there!!
THURSDAY
	To the Howard Johnson hotel staff, the Mayor and all the great folks in Green Bay, Wisconsin... We Thank You for making our stay in your city so welcoming and friendly.
Barb - Kelly - Linda Sharp - Ellen Voie - Opening Meeting and Introductions - Welcome to Green Bay from Mayor James Schmitt. What a real guy! Ellen Voie author of “Marriage In The Long Run”. What a joy to finally meet this wonderful lady. She is all that and a bag of chips! Thanks Ellen! Kelly Galler from Bellin Health presented Go Red for Women. Dr. Loyal Peterson Stress Busters for Truckers Handling the stress encountered on the back and nervous system at home and on the road.	The dining room. We shared a few great meals here! Alex, the FOOD guy! LOL, No really, Alex was just the greatest! And we ate so well!! Barb, our ever gracious, witty and unbelievably prepared hostess with the mostess! Thanks Barb, you are the best!! Outside at the Casino. Waiting for the shuttle bus to take us home.
FRIDAY
	Closing activities were heart wrenching. Although we knew we still had a bit of time together, this was the realization that it would end soon.
Judy and Shannon sang their rendition of Convoy, ATW Convention style! And YES, that IS the cheese bra on Judy! Judy “ Uh, breaker one nine, this here's intrstrace, you got a copy on me lizzabella, c'mon. Shannon “ Uh, 10-4, lizzabella, fer shure, fer shure, by golly it's clean clear to Green Bay, c'mon Judy “ Big 10-4 lizzabella, yeah we definitely got the front door, good buddy, mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy It was a brilliant sky, fifth of July Kelly's in her Aerostar Watching highway signs and cars pass by In a van full haulin kids She's a headed for beer on I one five ˜Bout a mile outta Fella Town She says, yo girls, this here's a truckers wife And I'm about to put the hammer down Chorus Cause we got a little convoy We'll rock right through the night We're truckers wives and girlfriends, Ain't we beautiful sight Come on and join our convoy Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way We're a truckin woman's convoy Off to far Green Bay Convoy Judy “ Uh, lizzabella, you wanna back off with them hogs? Yeah 10-4 ˜bout five mile or so. Ten roger, them hogs is getting in-tense up here! By the time she rolled into the camp ground She had nerves so raw, she lost her mind But she pushed on towards the lake, mind full of sound Off to meet girls so sweet There was intrstrace and mj in sa Add Lizzabella, and Dustbunny She says callin' all girls this is the wife We're about to go huntin' beer. (chorus) Cause we got a great big convoy We'll rock right through the night We âre truckers wives and girlfriends, Ain't we beautiful sight Come on and join our convoy Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way We're a truckin woman's convoy Off to far Green Bay Convoy¦Convoy She rolled up interstate twenty-nine Like a freightshaker on fire She tore up all a her bandwidth bills And left ˜em layin' on her desk By the time she hit that shawono Her thoughts were a bouncin' round She thought about reinforcements From the Wisconsin National Guard. She thought of trk1175 And Sygmaspouse too Her truckers wives site was full of girls And it was doin' swell. She just threw up some links and went for broke Now has lots of screaming chicks With eleven long-haired friends of wildchild And a bookbimbo thrown in Well she laid a strip for the Green Bay shore And prepared to have some fun The bridge was lined with truckers wives And it beat all she ever saw She says hey girls this heres the truckers wife We ain't a gonna sit right here So we crashed HoJo doin' ninety-eight Sayin' trucker girls, let's roll, 10 "If you are gonna act that stupid and not listen... then leave me alone"
Tammy Richards provided information on Leukemia and Lymphoma.	Marianne's a Cheese head!! Marianne's a Cheese head!! Nananananaaaaa!!! As Judy so perfectly put it, "Barb being Barb."
Thanks for the limo ride Barb! It was just the coolest thing to be cruising around GB with everyone looking at us, well, ok, not at us, at the black windows! HAHA!! Lambeau field was massive. Even from a non-football fan's point of view, it was awesome to see it all! Back into the limo for another stop at Wine Premiere where we sampled some wares and bought an undisclosed number of bottles of wine.
It's been almost three years since I registered atruckerswife.com and began the site with a few links, a freebie message board and the hopes that it would be of some use, to some one, some day. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that someday, we would organize a get together of this caliber. The planning and work that went into this convention was beyond anything I would have ever thought it could be. I would like to acknowledge the committee members who worked so diligently for months and months to pull this together. I thank Barb for the meetings and speakers, the goody bags, the gifts, the jokes, the exercise regiment, the LIMOUSINE and a lot more than I can even begin to list here. She is an amazing woman. I thank Marianne. Who so eloquently wrote out so many letters, proposals, articles and sent them out to anyone and everyone who may be able to help us. This, our first year, was the hardest, and I thank goodness for Marianne; I may know a bit about web pages, but I know nothing about marketing our cause! I thank MJ, she was the first to come to me with idea, no, the vision, that this could, and would be so much more than a bunch of women meeting up at some hotel somewhere. In July, this vision became a reality. Thanks MJ, for all the listening, the calming and for putting up with my incessant natterings when I didn't get it! Oh yeah, and for helping the hotel put together some seriously yummy meals!! ;) To those who attended, I am so grateful for the opportunity to get to know you... Jusy, (darn it, that was not on purpose, but I am leaving it), thank you for listening, and not judging. Alisha, you are such a beautiful woman and I thank you for being SO much fun! Laurie, you are a splash of refreshing cool water on a hot summer day! Nice sunglasses... Think green bottles and electrical tape! Mandy, and those two other kids say hi! Shany, you have my heart, you are such a great mom!
TRUCK SHOW Friday/Saturday

I was interviewed about our site for the evening news. Getting hats signed by the Mayor!	A very special flower
As we were at the truck show and the trucks were lining up for the light parade, we were in awe of the lights some of them had. We grabbed some chairs and lined them up on the pavement to take our pictures of them. Earlier in the day, I had my eyes on a really shiny "pumpkin" hauling a tanker. Yes, I'm going to say I was partial. The parade line-up stopped. We sat there several minutes wondering what the hold up was. Kelly came walking back to me; laughing because it was my favorite truck with its hood up and getting worked on! Yeah, they all got a kick out of making fun of me! Well the driver got it fixed, whatever 'fixed' was. On the way back into the fairgrounds, they were lighting up the jake brakes for us and the pumpkin driver, so Barb told me, was smiling ear to ear when he passed us and we were cheering them on. The driver had a company shirt on, so we knew his name was Craig, and that he was a "master driver". We just didn't know what that meant.
	I had made a friend on staff of the truck show and the next day he was driving the pumpkin driver around in a golf cart. "Willie" called me over to take another picture of him. So when I started talking with them, I asked Craig if he was going to break down again in the day parade. They both tried to tell me they were only turning on the lights. I got them when I told them I was married to a pumpkin driver, and they all lied good! We all had a laugh and went our separate ways. About an hour later, I was smoking a cigarette outside at a picnic table and Craig came over to sit with me. He told me he'd sit a spell if I promised not to pick on him. Yeah, right. He had NO idea! I told him he could have at least remembered my soda, so up he jumped and went to ask one of our ladies for it. Shany and Al came out and also sat down. He explained to us what a "master driver" was. He was one of only 40 drivers who were chosen. When Al was impressed, he said, "Well they chose 39 of the best drivers and then me." He was just a nice guy (young kid to me!) who talked to us. I never expected to see him again. Al and I were walking around later and he ran up to us; asking for a favor. Talk about a warm-hearted man??? There was a little girl, about 7, who thought she had won something from buying a raffle ticket. He asked us if we would pretend to be the booth who was selling the tickets. He gave us $70 and asked us to give it to her when she brought us the "winning" ticket. She was the 50/50 winner! Al and I ran back to the booth to tell the other girls what we were going to do. Everyone asked the same question: "Is he married???" Yes, and to one of the luckiest women in the world! LOL He has two little ones at home in Houston. He was asked to do the show for the company, and was there missing his kids. He's a big softy when it comes to them! Kelly said later in the day, "Too bad we don't know a driver to get us in the parade!" Al and I just kinda looked at each other and yelled, "We do!!!" All along the parade route little kids were waving to him. I wish I could have gotten a picture of his face as he was waving at them. It was priceless because here was this big bear of a man, carrying on like a trucking man on the CB, but melting as he waved to the kids. He gave me his wife's email address, and I gave him Gregg's truck number. He couldn't wait to tell her about us. It was funny. He said to me, "You know, I was really bored until I met you ladies!" Such is a day in the life of a trucker!!!
Click here to see a larger copy of the convention collage that was at the beginning of the photos. I tried to capture, the best I could, the essence of convention in the faces and places of Convention 2006, Face to Face.