Iowa Motor Truck Association: Event moments

Remember me telling you about my crazy week last week? Well, Tuesday and Wednesday were the best kind of crazy. I road tripped to Coralville to photograph the Iowa Motor Truck Association's annual Managment Conference.

Many thanks to the staff at the Coralville Marriot for taking me to the roof for a few shots!

This was my second IMTA event; it was even more fun than the last. I remembered some of the people there. Some of them even remembered me. They are a super fun group of people.

That guy.... up there... at the podium? That's Michael Reagan. As in, son of former President Ronald Reagan.

The hotel had the neatest decor. This light, for instance. Not to mention these cool, bright red, rotary looking - yet push button phones!

At the golf tournament I made the mistake of telling one group of guys I'd never golfed before. They insisted I try my hand at putting. And they stole my camera.

The Governor

Miss Wheelchair Iowa is starting to become a staple of this little blog. I tagged along as Angie went to an autism event and spent a couple days with her a few months ago.

When Angie was invited to attend a morning coffee with Iowa's Governor Chet Culver, she asked if I could come along. Of course I said yes.

Angie has been working with those at the state capital to help them accommodate people with disabilities as they renovate existing buildings and start new construction. She was invited to attend a morning chat with Governor Culver, along with a handful of other individuals and organizations.

They chatted about Angie's reign as Ms. Wheelchair Iowa, and her upcoming trip to Rapid City, SD for the national competition.

An hour later, after Governor Culver had made his way around the entire room, he was off to a press conference.

Side note - the event was held at the Cub Club at Principal Park (home of the I-Cubs). I was just telling a friend (who knows someone that works for the LA Dodgers) that I would love to shoot in an empty baseball stadium!

Fire Department Fundraiser

The Fire Department had an open house and bbq fundraiser over the weekend. They asked me to take a few pictures for them. As if I wasn't planning on it already.
Thanks to the generosity of the local community the night was a success. All of the money raised will go toward building a new fire station. It's a lofty goal, one that may take a couple years, but one that is long over due.
Here is just a handful of photos from Saturday.

Ms. Wheelchair Iowa

Last Thursday and Friday I spent the day with my friend Angie, who is Ms. Wheelchair Iowa. It's not the first time I've tagged along with her. The day started out at the Iowa State University Memorial Union for a mentor luncheon with the Youth Leadership Forum, a week-long camp for kids with disabilities.


The reigning queen with the 2008 Ms. Wheelchair Iowa.

Afterward we were off to the Easter Seals annual Regatta. Not sailboats mind you - paddle boats. The celebration kicked off with "christening" the boats with silly string.

Former Governor Robert Ray and his wife Billie were on hand for the regatta also.

The second day we were back at Iowa State for the Youth Leadership Forum in Ames. Since it was the last day for the delegates it was a very emotional day. There were lots of smiles, hugs, and laughter. It was so great to hear how much fun these kids had at camp all week.



Angie has been working with the guys at inclusion=solutions to create a call system at gas stations for those with disabilities called FuelCall. With the push of a button a gas station attendant will come out and assist with pumping gas. The first one has been installed at the Hy-Vee gas station in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.

I had so much fun with Angie those two days. More than she'll ever realize. Good luck next month at the Ms. Wheelchair America competition Ang!

Truck Driving Championships

You owe a lot to the trucking industry. Yeah, that's right. YOU. That computer you're reading this on? It arrived on the store shelf by one of these.

As did the chair or couch you're sitting on. The TV or radio you're listening to in the background. The toothbrush in your bathroom or the milk in your fridge. If you got it, it came from a truck. Even the kitchen sink!


I photographed the annual Iowa Motor Truck Association's Truck Driving Championships this past week. There were 21 trucking companies represented by 75 drivers. Each driver takes a written and oral exam followed by a driving test.

And they have a lot of fun doing it.

Just a few of my favorites from the day.

The event was held at the Iowa Speedway in Newton. They opened the track up to give rides to those attending. Going 120 mph around a race track is certainly a different experience than maneuvering an eighteen wheeler downtown a major city in rush hour traffic.

As a truck driver's daughter, I hope the next time you pour yourself a bowl of cereal or start the engine on your vehicle you thank the truck driver that hauled it. Because often they sacrifice time away from their families to put the stuff we buy on store shelves.