Welcome And Why Drivers Hit Walls

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Welcome back to That's Delivered where we talk about what's going on here in trucking, the good, the bad, and everything in between, the people that keep the whole thing running. So I'm your host, Truck and Ray, and we have an episode here for you. Getting to something real. What happens when a driver can't keep pushing? Because when you're out there, uh, we're just used to figuring it out, just grinding through it. But sometimes it hits different. Last time we sat down with St. Christopher Trucker's Relief Fund. They uh they talked about the things that drivers need help with, the moments where drivers hit a wall. The truth is the part that hasn't changed, but what has changed is the level of support, the program, and the people stepping up behind the scenes. Diane Hutzel is with us again, and she is bringing back a lot of great conversation that stuck with a lot of folks last time. So we wanted to bring her back again. So I'm glad to have her running it back and going deeper into what's involved with St. Christopher's Trucking Relief Fund. Diane, how are you doing? Welcome back to the show. So glad to have you here.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Good to be here. Good to be here. Always a great opportunity to spread the word about what we do and let people know how how important we think the drivers are, and we're here to support them.

What The Relief Fund Covers

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Wow, I feel so honored. You guys do such great work. I always look at your post and you see all the people you're helping out and the smiling faces. So yeah, I mean, you guys are doing great things, just wanted to pick it up where we left off. Let's get started. Well, if someone missed last episode, give them a quick rundown with Saint Christopher Fund is the relief fund, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah, so Saint Christopher's we are the only one of its kind, which is good and bad. But we will help drivers that are get hurt or injured that are no longer able to be on the road. And obviously, if you're not on the road, you're probably not earning a paycheck, and that's really hard on your families. So we, while we don't pay medical bills, we can step in and pay those bills that you're normally going to pay, but it's going to medical. So we'll pay your rent, your mortgage, insurance. We will pay your electric bill. We've added where we'll kind of pay some cell phone bills in there too. So we're growing a little bit as to what we can do. We've expanded a little bit more on how much we can offer. You know, the economy is tight. I've been following diesel prices. That was the excuse me, the big story on the news this morning is diesel prices are going up. So we know that the smaller drivers out there are probably feeling that just, you know, pretty hard. So if you're an over-the-road driver or if you know one and you're sick and injured and you can't drive and you're in financial difficulties and you just don't know what to do, call us and and we'll help you. And if we can't help you, we will give you directions and point you to where we can't you can go get help. It's not just, oh, I'm sorry we don't fund that. We'll we'll get you to where you need to go to get help. So we're we're all in.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

That's amazing. So I mean, if you've what's grown? What's changed behind the scenes? Or I know we sat down last time and talked. Are you are you seeing more drivers reaching out now than uh than more than ever?

Applying Online And Free Wellness Tools

SPEAKER_01 3:21

We're we're seeing more, you know, which it's it's a shame that we do that, that it, you know, that there are people out there, but we're happy to be there to help them. We've got a new user easier to use website. So, you know, you can go online and apply. That's how that process works. There's a very easy application process to start with. Yes or no questions that'll that'll get you through the door to figure out if you're you're able to qualify because there are a few stipulations. And there's also information on our health and wellness programs. So, as usual, we offer you know rigs without SIG. So if you're looking to get off nicotine, you know, we can help you. We have diabetes prevention screenings, we have cancer screenings, we have where you can get vaccine vouchers. We are incredibly excited for to be able to add to our health and wellness programs cervical cancer screenings for the ladies out there because you know, I was at Maths over the weekend. And if unless you were colorblind, you saw that tribe of women in red all over the building. And so we're really excited to be able to support female drivers out there now specifically and get the help that they need. You know, cervical cancer is one of those things that if it's caught early, it has a really good survivor rate. And so all of these services that we offer are 100, absolutely 100% free. So we're excited about that.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Yeah, people like the word free. I love it. Yeah, I appreciate that. And helping out helping out women, man, the moms and all the women out there to keep the world going. That's amazing. So, what results are you seeing from like this rigs without cigs? How has that been going?

SPEAKER_01 4:51

The Rigs Without SIGs is going out phenomenally. You know, we have you know, we're based in Tennessee, and so just looking at our numbers, we actually have a better quit rate for cigarettes in the state of Tennessee than the state actually has because they do track those numbers. So pretty much half of the drivers that go through that program, they've they've successfully quit smoking. About a third of them have cut back dramatically. So, you know, you know, people who've tried to quit smoking know how hard that is. And so we we take that as a definite, definite win. Oh, and we give different alternatives and and kind of their support groups to kind of help you get through that. And we even have a program that you know, you kind of get rewarded for I've been off cigarettes for a certain amount of of time. And um, so you get some perks with that, not just good health.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

So when drivers actually go through these programs, what surprises them most?

SPEAKER_01 5:44

I think that that I guess they kind of made me think, well, you know, okay, we're gonna give you a pamphlet and we're gonna brush you off, and then that's the end of the day. That's that's not it at all. I mean, we make real connections with our drivers, our health and wellness staff are phenomenal, all of our staff, you know, we really care about what we do. And so, you know, it's it's not just another day at the office for us. We really believe in the drivers, you know, we all have connections. My dad, although he wasn't a driver, he worked for Mac Truck 50-some odd years ago when we still lived in New York. And we all have connections to that. So we know how it affects people and being on the road and how hard it is, not just on the driver, but on the families that they leave behind. The the wives or the husbands in some cases that that are staying behind, kind of holding everything together. So, you know, I think just the fact that that we we humanize it, I think we're not just like I said, just gonna be a pamphlet and wish you on your way and wish you good luck. We really care about our drivers and we want them to succeed.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Yeah, I can tell. And the passion comes through, the excitement. I mean, when I follow your post too, you see all the great things you guys are doing over there.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

Yeah, what what helped get the cervical cancer screenings on as the next thing or next program?

SPEAKER_01 6:59

It's just that natural progression. I mean, you know, you've got 10% of the drivers out there that hold their CDL are are female, and that that number is gonna grow. And again, those women in trucking they're they're pretty intent on, you know, is the same level of the playing field and getting everybody out there. So we just we want to be able to support everybody. So, you know, we we just are looking at different ways that we can grow. And it it's our goal to eventually never have to write checks because the way our funding works, if you're in need, we're not just gonna write like so if you needed funding, right? We're we're not gonna write you a check, we're gonna send it to your your landlord or your electric company. So we're very conscientious about how we treat our money and make sure that it actually goes to where it's gonna go. So it would be great if one day we didn't have to do that. I mean, you know, truck drivers though, a lot of people think, oh, you're just a truck driver and they don't eat, you know, they don't have the opportunity to get out and exercise, or it's a fairly sedentary lifestyle, or or you know, I don't imagine many are stopping to get a salad for lunch. So we just want to kind of give them those tools to to stay healthy. We're on the road. So it would be a wonderful, wonderful world if, you know, we didn't have to write up checks to to help people with heart disease or diabetes. But we're glad that we're here. And, you know, we're 18 years we've been around and we plan on being here for for another 18 years. It's it's a little bit bittersweet. We we lost Dr. John last February, who was one of our, along with you know, Dave Numa and the guys over there, one of our founders. And so it was a little bit bittersweet being at Matt's Relouable this last week, where we would have, you know, drivers come up and say, you know, I needed a CPAP machine. And Dr. John just picked up a phone and just called somebody and had it for me within a couple of days. So we're just trying to continue his legacy of being there for the drivers, whatever they need. And so when something new comes up, we're gonna stop and go, okay, how can we make this accessible to to our drivers? So who knows what's coming next after cervical cancer? Something, something like that.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

I didn't know if there was a rise of of that or mammogram or what's growing.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

It's just, you know, it's it's like I said, it's it's really treatable if it's detected early. They they figure about there's about 14,000 new cases every year in the United States. And so again, that early detection, that's really can critical. So if you can get it early on, the five-year survival rate is about 91, 92 percent if it's caught early, but then it drops significantly as it as it spreads, as if you catch it a little bit later. So, you know, we all have moms and wives and sisters and women in our lives. So, you know, definitely encourage them to get that checked out. This is something that I know our health and wellness crew have been working on for a little while. They can keep their own, and it's finally those those at-home cancer screening kits have finally been approved. And so we've been able to get access to those. So if you're interested in one of those and you want to get your your cancer screening, any of our cancer screens, you can go online and fill out a little bit of information, and then that kit is gonna be sent to their home. And then you follow the instructions of whatever it takes, and then then you send it back. And then usually within seven to ten days, you'll get results. If the worst happens and you get a positive result, then you're off that driver's gonna be offered free telehealth appointments for that follow-up consolidation consultation to kind of figure out, okay, what are my next steps? But we we really encourage all the women out there, drivers, to to reach out to us and you know, put us to work, make us make us work for our keep and get everybody that we can get get screened as much as we can, especially with we're an office full of women. So, you know, we're like, gosh, we haven't really even thought about that ourselves. So, you know, it's making us think about ourselves too.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Yeah, if you're anything like my wife, you you tend to not want to go to the doctor because it's like I don't want to have to argue and fight for this and get that tested and get hoped and brought. And I mean, it's just uh so yeah, the human side of it.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

The what if, you know, you're always worried about something, something bad, you know, could show up. But again, the earlier you get detected, the the easier it is for to cure. So go get your stuff checked.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Yeah, you gotta get your stuff checked. Yeah, so yeah, awesome. So that's great. I didn't know if it was something that was actually going, you know, something that truckers were dealing with more of having trouble with cervical cancer. So I didn't know if that's what sparked it or something.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

But yeah, I mean, yeah, I know there's studies that are out there done, but you know, women kind of the women drivers, they're kind of left on that background. I don't think people study the health effects. I haven't really found a lot of studies on on what it does to them. Nothing's really been done on that. So that might be something that would be, you know, good to look at down the road.

SPEAKER_02 11:41

Yeah. Yeah.

How Fast A Health Crisis Hits

SPEAKER_01 11:42

But right now, like I said, the they they've approved it for at-home use. So we we were ready to go as soon as they said go for it. We pulled the trigger and we're able to get that ready and available to our our lady drivers out there.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

So, how fast did things get left, go, go left for a driver when they have health issues pop up? You know, and maybe you hear those stories from drivers, you know, they were doing great one day, and then all of a sudden getting hit with things left and right.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Yeah, I mean, that happens. And and unfortunately, on my end, is director of philanthropic because I'm always one curious as to why people donate or how they found out about us. And and just a perfect example is we had one that she she donates on a regular basis. I mean, it's it's wonderful that she does that. And so she said, what had happened was that her her grandfather was a truck driver and he died early, but then her father was a truck driver and he had a heart attack. And his option was stay home, recover 100%, maybe not have a job, but be healthy, or then get back in the cab and get on the road and driving. And he unfortunately passed away relatively quickly after that first heart attack because he wasn't allowed the opportunity to stay home. Because it was, I have to get on the road, I got to get in the cab, I gotta get, you know, get this delivered. And and so if it's between taking care of your family and taking care of yourself, that's kind of the one common denominator that I've come across with most of the drivers that I've met is that, you know, if they've got a family, they're in, they're there to protect their family and they're gonna do what's right no matter what it does to their health. So, I mean, it can happen and it it at a heartbeat. You know, you can be out and you can have a heart attack. We've had that before. You think you're fine, you think you're healthy, and you have a heart attack when you're on the road. Well, what are you gonna do? You can't, obviously, you can't work. We've had folks that have had strokes. We've had drivers that have, you know, broken a leg or broken an arm. And even though that's not a permanent or a life-threatening condition, you know, we've all, oh my gosh, I broke my foot walking my dog last summer. So, I mean, it happens in the, you know, in the speed of light. And so you just don't know when that's gonna happen. And so, what do you do? A lot of people don't really plan for the worst, or the economy being what it is, it's really hard to put money away for those rainy day things when terrible things happen. So, again, we're just we're just thrilled that we get to be here and we get to be of service and and to help our drivers.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

Yeah, you guys are killing it. I mean, man, your team is in the middle of all that, and you know, how do you stay grounded and doing what's this kind of hard work every day, what keeps you going? Because, you know, as a trucker, we got to get back in the truck, like you said, you know, we just gotta keep going. I mean, you can you're getting in the chair and you're getting on that keyboard. Is I mean, man, that's that takes a lot of work too.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

It it does. But you know, we've given out over$5.4 million. And and like I said, I just came from Matt's, which those of you who are in the trucking industry, I I don't know how you don't know what that is, but that's the Mid-America trucking show. It's one of the largest. There's what 45,000, 50,000 folks there over the course of three days. And and that right there to me, that is, I mean, I love being able to fundraise. I love, you know, seeing these good stories. But but my highlight of the entire weekend was people coming in and saying, well, you know, Dr. John did this for me, or I was sick last month, last year. And I, you know, you guys sent us a check and and we're great now. And um, so my next question to them is always, are you back on the road? And every one of them was, I'm I'm back on the road. So to me, that's what kind of keeps me going is these are real people, they have real problems. And again, a lot of people don't, you know, unless it was COVID and you weren't getting your toilet paper, people didn't really think about truck drivers and the role that they play in this world. If it was brought to you and you've used it today, you've probably better thank a truck driver for that. And you know, I see that my brother-in-law has this CDL. He he's not over the road, but he drives a milk truck and he hates snow. And so, you know, if if you don't have that, then then what are you guys, what are we all gonna do without our drivers? And so to me being able to hear thank you and to get to see their kids' faces and their or their wives or their spouses, I mean, that right there is that's my bread and butter. I mean, I like going home feeling like I've helped people at the end of the day. I'm I do this for purely selfish reasons. I feel good at the end of my day when I get to help people, but you know, that they're doing an important job, so somebody's got to be there to have their back. And we're I'm glad I get to be part of that. I can't imagine doing any other industry.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Wow, thank you. Yeah, I got a chance to go to Mass as well. And when you're there, I mean, you the more you go, the more you feel like you're amongst a just a great community, yeah, and everybody is well well spoken of each of each other. I mean, it's not like uh you're out to to get the other person, like you hear about some of the some media programs. Yeah, I love taking a break and getting there. I mean, man, this is that's a great place to network and get to know each other on a on a more face-to-face because you know you're doing the stuff online, uh, like the show I do is also online, but yeah, actually be able to shake hands with individuals that you get to talk to.

MATS Community Stories And Big Fundraisers

SPEAKER_01 16:43

So they're always so they're so good to us at Matt's anyway. This is uh I don't remember how many multiple years, but they let us host the silent auction every year for the last several years. It's an amazing fundraiser. It's eight, nine thousand, ten thousand dollars that we raise in an hour and a half. And this year was even better than last year. We had 50 different things as part of that silent auction. You know, we had things like we had air conditioners from Be Cool, they were great. This is the then multiple years that they've given to us. TA Petro, they actually had a really cool collector's like racing helmet, mudflap donated, Shell Rotella, who's always been an amazing partner with us at St. Christopher's as well. And then um House, you know, is a one-year supply of all their goodies and then you know, swag. And so we we had a really good time, got to meet a lot of our people and truck parking club. They're a wild and crazy bunch of guys, and so they donated a smoker and you know, we it just it was a great evening to just sit down and talk to everybody and and you know raise funds. And we had we had the wheel where you can come in and for a dollar you can spin the wheel. And so we have great partners, ConnexEal. They give us great little, you know, prizes. Everybody's a winner on the wheel, and so we we raised about$2,000. I don't have the final numbers on that quite yet. And then, you know, we do the 50-50 split where which was so phenomenal is the, you know, I don't know if you know what the 50-50 is. You pay for a ticket, and then at the end of the evening, you know, St. Christopher's keeps part of it, and then somebody actually wins half that money. Well, the person that won donated a large chunk of that back to St. Christopher's. So it's just it was just a nice, warm, fuzzy kind of evening, everybody celebrating everybody else, and just a great community from you know, suit and tie wearing folks to to the truck driving families that win their dogs because they all had their dogs with them. Next year we're gonna learn we're gonna have dog treats at our booth. But yeah, it was Matt's was was was great and special, and and just it's always one of my favorites.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Look at that. I mean, I mean, I wish I could have made it all the days. I was only able to make for one, so unfortunately I had to keep working, but uh yeah, it was a long three days. Yeah, oh I was so exhausted when I got back to the hotel. I just flopped on the bed. I was like passed up.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

And yeah, but man, Matt's is a great place. If you if you're a trucker out there, please you have in your career, you have to try to get to Matt's at least once. I mean, that's I think is great. I hope it never changes the the vibes that are going there, just so nice, so very nice. And then also, too, connecting on industry. You mentioned you're wanting to connect more with podcasters and and voices in the industry. Why is that so important right now?

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Well, I mean, obviously my job as director of philanthropy is is to raise funds. But what I've discovered, because I just I just celebrated my year anniversary oh, two weeks ago. So I'm I'm thrilled to be here at St. Christopher's. But the one thing that we hear all the time is how did I not know about you? You know, we had one one logistics company, we've been here for 60 years. How have I not heard about you? And so that's always my first and foremost is getting in front of the people that can spread the word to their drivers, whether it's state trucking associations, you know, ATA, Ambest has been fantastic too. So women in trucking have been great. Podcasters like you are phenomenal to help spread the word. I mean, Dave Memo was one of our founders, you know, and so as long as we can, whether you need it yourself, I mean, maybe you don't need it now, and you know, we hope you don't ever have to need us, but maybe you will down the road or you know somebody. We we've had people that came through just over the weekend and said, you know, my son has been injured and I've been kind of taking care of his bills. And so we said, well, okay, so he's in financial difficulty. She said, Well, no, but I've been paying his bills. Yes, you've been paying his bills. Let us pay your bills, his bills for him for a little while. So that's that's my goal is to get in front of as many people as we can. You know, we've had some great traction with Peppercom, who's a marketing firm that has donated a lot of their time in getting press releases out and getting the word about St. Christopher. So we've had some great traction there. So we're definitely looking to expand that. We're we're looking to broaden the people that we work with. So we have, you know, pilot and TA and Shell Rotella and that kind of a thing. But we're looking, you know, the actual truck manufacturers, Mac truck, Peterbilt, Vovel, that kind of thing. Great Dane kind of came in like this last year and is a new spot supporter last year for St. Christopher. So we're looking to broaden that with the insurance companies that that support drivers because you know, we can maybe save some money out of your pocket where we're helping the drivers and we're all, you know, supporting the same cause. So so yeah, I'm I'm pretty shameless about what I do and being able to talk about it. I mean, I was at Bucky's on the way home. It was my first trip to a Bucky's. It was insane. It was just insane. But you're standing there in line waiting to pay for your barbecue sandwich and your banana pudding, and you hear conversations, and inevitably you go, Well, do you know what I do for a living? Like, we can help you, you know. So wherever I go, it's just spreading the word of St. Christopher's and all the good stuff we do.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Yeah, I mean, I mean, hopefully Bucky's can work with uh truck parking club and get some places where we can park right next there, because man, you know, no trucks allowed. I mean, I'm always gonna be hard on Buckys.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

They are. If Bucky's, if y'all are listening, if you know anybody, you are you are missing out on a good segment of guys, is is you know, that they're they're wild, but they're growing, racing what they've done over the last three years. But you know, just all the services out there to help drivers, I think that's a growing segment. And I think that's a wonderful, that's a wonderful thing to be able to to say we've got you guys, our drivers have support.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

Yeah, I mean, they got a great business model for making revenue. I think they mentioned That a truck takes up more space, so they they kind of target families that can come in and and you know I that makes sense. I get it. It's nothing that we just they're not opposed to truck drivers, but they just don't make as much money on us, I guess. So I didn't know that. But yeah, I mean you mentioned uh Dave Nemo. I mean, those guys are doing a great job. I used to hear you guys on there as well. Yeah. Um really sad that that show came to an end and I he had to reach out.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

I know, I know. I saw saw Jimmy Mack when we were over the weekend, and you know, we've we've talked and touched face, and and you know, he's passionate about what we do and supporting drivers, even though they're not on the radio. You know, it kind of broke my heart when when Dave said, you know, we kind of feel like the trucking industry is done with us. No, I don't think so. Um, I don't think he realizes how much we appreciate everything that he's done, not just for us, because without him and and the others, you know, St. Christopher's wouldn't be here, but just for trucking in general for the last umpteen years or however, well, what 50 some odd years?

SPEAKER_00 23:23

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

Yeah.

Partners Media Outreach And Getting Support

SPEAKER_00 23:25

So amazing. Yeah, Jimmy Mack, man. I love those guys. So, yeah. So thank you so much for bringing that up, uh, talking about it, getting on with podcasters. We try to keep spreading the word for other podcasters to have you on and talk about that. So keep going with that. And how can people get involved? If someone's listening right now, what's an easier way for them to get in there and support what's going on over there for you guys?

SPEAKER_01 23:48

Yeah, they can go to our brands thanking shiny new website. We're really proud of it. It's truckersfund.org. And if you are a driver that needs assistance, if you want to learn how you can quit cigarettes or you want to get a cancer screening kit, or if you want to donate fund funds, it's all right there. Pretty easy to follow. You're always welcome to give us a call and you know, we'll kind of answer whatever questions you have. Like I said, we're we're we're based in Oxville, Tennessee, go vault. But you know, we cover the country and you know, we we treat everybody like they're just down the road from us. So, you know, we're not we're not this big fancy schmancy nonprofit. We're just we're regular people like everybody else, and we just want to be there to help our drivers. So go online, give us a call, find us on LinkedIn. We've got, you know, Twitter or X, I guess is what the kids call it now. We even have Instagram and all that kind of thing. So we're we're out there for sure.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

What's the numbers that if we can share um what's the numbers of percentage of where the money where which way it goes or the bulk of our funding that we do goes to help paying mortgage and rent, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

I think that's just that's just to scale. Um and then it goes down, I think, electrical or you know, electricity and stuff, just because again, things are so insanely extensive. And then just as far as health and wellness is is is you know, we see a lot of folks with heart disease, we see a lot of people with diabetes. Those are kind of those top uh illnesses and injuries that that we see down the road. And then with our cancer screenings, you know, our numbers have have risen a lot on those, just people being a little bit more aware, being a lot more proactive. You know, you can get vaccines, you can get flu, pneumonia, covet, shingles, you can stop at any of the different sites that we have across the country that partner with us where you you register for that vaccine and we get you set up and then you can go and stay healthy, not not get the flu and not get COVID and and shingles, which are terrible if you've never had them. And so yeah, we we we're growing. We want we want the health part to grow, maybe not so much the the help and you know, we help people stay healthy, but I'm always out there. We had a great year with our sponsors as far as you know, bringing in funding. They had the goal of of driven to a million. We we we cracked a million this this year, which is great again, considering what the economy is. You know, you've got donors out there that are are given less, but but not in our world. Our our donors are are here for the long haul and you're just support drivers. So if you are one of my donors and you have not gotten a handwritten note from me, just take your time and you'll get one of them in the mail. But we we appreciate everybody that supports, whether, you know, it's when we had volunteers Thursday night at the auction that helped us set up for that, you know, people that have gone through and helped sort through our medical files as we we do have a bit of a paper process. You know, we have an amazing board of directors that is active and involved and love what we do from all sorts of segments of the industry. And so we've been very blessed. We're we are small but mighty. You know, we're a very small staff, we have a very small overhead because we want all that money to go directly to the to the drivers.

Pets Onboard And Final Calls

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Nice. That's awesome. And and that's a that's a big difference where people want to give give their money and donate because if they know like maybe only two percent is going, they kind of get a little reluctant. So good job, guys. And you got a pet program coming, or you already have that, or what are you gonna say?

SPEAKER_01 27:08

Um right now it's it's it's our cervical cancer. We're really we're really excited about that.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

Um I mean for animals.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

Oh, for animals, you know, okay. So one of the things I've got in my brain talking with the folks at Road Dog Care Company, and we've been working for them. I don't know if you know Bob and his crew, they they do great things. And so May is pet appreciation month, and you've got 50% of drivers out there that drive with a four-legged friend. I got to, I was going through dog withdrawal myself for four days. I didn't have access to my puppy, although he's a 95-pound puppy, so I don't really know if that's a correct term for him. But so we're we're gonna do kind of like what Shell Rotella does with the super rigs. We want to do a smaller version of that, or at least start out small, and have drivers submit pictures of their little four-legged friends. Although there is a driver I think that travels with goats, and there's one that I think has like a chameleon or something. I don't to each its own. So we're gonna have the dog care category, and then we're gonna have the other. And so we're still kind of banging out the the details on that one, but that way everybody can go and vote on our social medias as to, you know, best dog, best scene at picture. We're still working on the on the categories on that one, and and the goal is to have it where you can win your own road dog care company. And so they have great products that if you're on the road and you know, you you can't really shower or whatever, and and they've got body wipes and they've got you know deodorants and that kind of a thing. And you know, we've we've heard from our own drivers that we've kind of helped that their body wipes are really good. They're they're big, they don't get in your beard, they don't disintegrate. So I can I can vouch for their energy drinks as well. Even I need a little energy, but then they also have another side to it where it's you can take care of your dog, they have dry shampoo for your dog, they have body wipes. And I have used the dry shampoo on my big old baby boy because he's a Rhodesian Ridgeback, and you're not really supposed to give them a lot of baths because they don't have an undercoat. They were they're African dogs that were bred to hunt lions, he's just been killing socks today, but I can attest to to the products that they serve. So we're gonna kind of kind of piggyback with them and kind of come up with something fun. And you know, we all love our kids, but Charlie's my second baby, and so we're gonna give everybody an opportunity to show off their little fur babies.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

Nice. Yeah, I remember you having the dogs on it on the last episode, so yeah, it was nice. Yeah, we love our animals, so yeah, that's that's really good. That's a great idea, and it's a great project to get started and hopefully it goes through, yeah. So we can see the results on that as well for a lot of truckers out there. So, yeah, man, that's great. I'm so happy for you guys, and so happy for a lot of the truckers in the community. I see a lot of great things happening here. So we really appreciate you coming on the show. And uh, at the end of the day, the industry runs on people when life happens. Yeah, it will, it matters who is there and and what they're able to do to help these individuals. And like I said, that St. Christopher's Relief Truck Trucking Relief Fund there. I mean, you guys are doing great things. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

Well, thank you, and thanks to everybody that supports us. We can't we can't do it without them.

SPEAKER_00 30:08

Yeah, so we'll make sure drivers out there aren't alone, you know, that they can get things that are real to help them get through life. Diane, really appreciate you coming on the show. And uh, what's the best way for people to reach out to you so they don't get lost? I mean, there's a lot of information out there.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

Yeah, just you I mean, you can Google St. Christopher's Truckers Fund, but just truckersfund.org. That's our handle for our LinkedIn and our Facebook and our website as well. So pretty easy to follow us.

SPEAKER_00 30:34

Easy, nice. So, Diane, really appreciate you coming back on the show, talking with us. I know there's a lot of good things coming, and I know you guys are also looking to expand social media and outreach and get people more aware of what's going on. So, I really hope that works out. And uh, so anybody out there, please share this episode with someone you know, someone you love. If you see what you like and like what you hear, please share it with a fan. Subscribe to that's delivered, and uh, we'll be sure to come out with more episodes like this for you to enjoy and be aware of for professionals to to know what the industry has to offer, not for just trucking, but also for life. You know, I got my shirt too trying to support. Love that, love that hard out here for a trucker. So on the back it says hard out here for a trucker.

SPEAKER_01 31:18

I I was saying this weekend, we I saw so many neat shirts. I'm like, we need to come up with our own for St. Christopher's. It's kind of funny.

SPEAKER_00 31:24

So t shirts is the way to go, even if you know that you're not selling a ton of them, it's just nice, it's fun. Put put the stuff out there for people to enjoy. Yeah, yeah. I like t shirts. All right, well, thank you, Diane. Thank you so much for your time. I'll go ahead and get this episode sent out for you. For anyone out there listening, please share it with someone you know and be sure to check out Trucker's Release Truckers Fund Truckers.org. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 31:49

All right, thanks.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

Thank you.