"Yes" as the title denotes, we are in the trucking business, longhaul trucking to be more specific and even though it does mean a lot of time spent apart from loved ones the journeys, the rewards and the lessons learned are instilled deep in our hearts. Now you ask, what does trucking have to do with quilting? Well, NOT unlike quilters, truckers are very compassonate and have some of the biggest hearts, especially when it comes to helping out those who are struck suddenly with illness or family tragedy, are down on their luck or in this case I share with you, coming together to rally around some of the most special people who are so often overlooked, our Special Olympic Athletes. Every year for one day, thousands of these compassionate drivers and their Big Rigs pull off our interstates and highways to raise funds for our Special Olympians so that their dreams of "The Gold" can continue to be realized. On this day, the events are kicked off with an escort form their community & state's finest officers, these trucks form what is known as "The World's Largest Truck Convoy for Special Olympics". They hit the streets of their commnities with the most dramatic parade you could ever imagine to see. Held annually in September, every participating trucker pays an entry fee, but the fundraising does not stop there. Many activities for everyone including the atheletes such as auctions and raffles to dunk tanks and loaded semi-truck and firetruck pulls continue throughout the day. For the past 4 yrs, I have been asked to design and make a special quilt depicting that yrs event that was then auctioned at the end of the festivities. This yr is a very important milestone for our state Special Olympics as it is the 40th Anniversary of SOSD. Also, from this yr on, the quilt will be one of the major raffle items allowing more event goers to have an opportunity to take it home. So come along with me on the shades of my journey for the 2008 Convoy quilt. 
 
for more information about the Convoy or how you can become involved with Special Olympics enjoy browsing these links: http://www.myspace.com/sosdconvoy http://www.specialolympics.org/Special+Olympics+Public+Website/English/Support/Truck_Convoy/About/default.htm http://www.sdconvoy.com/index.html |
