Truck Show Report: By Stephanie Haas As part of the “Cattle belt,” Garden City, KS is surrounded by agriculture as far as the eye can see. As most know, the western part of the state tends to have a drier climate in comparison to its eastern counterpart. Regardless of the dusty dryness of that area, Garden City has become home to the Sunflower Classic Benefit Truck Show, drawing in beautiful and shiny trucks since 2020, and raising money for local families in need. During Covid, some shows were canceled, but truckers wanted to get out and meet up with their truck show families. During that time, new shows were started, with the opportunity for truckers to bring their trucks out, enjoy time together, and put their trucks on display. One thing I always remember Daniel Linss, our fearless leader at 10-4 Magazine, saying is that if a new show can make it to five years, it has a good chance of succeeding, and the Sunflower Classic Benefit Truck Show, now in its fifth year, is definitely succeeding. Starting out as a vision of bringing a truck show to the Garden City area, the founders were Trevin Walck (May 2019 feature truck) and his girlfriend, Jessica Sharp. Since there wasn’t a show close to them in the state of Kansas, the two embarked on creating this event, and it was Jessica’s idea to make it a charity show. Trevin claims that this show wouldn’t even exist if it hadn’t been for his grandparents, Lyman and Juanita, as they are the reason he got into trucking in the first place. They have been at every show to support it since the first year. Unfortunately, this year looked different because Trevin’s grandfather passed away, but his presence was still felt at the show. Held on June 6-8, 2025, at the Finney County Fairgrounds on the south side of Garden City, the weather during the show, like it normally is at that time of year, was pretty hot. It was a good thing everyone was able to get a break from the heat and come inside a building where most of the bobtails were parked. There wasn’t air conditioning in there, but there were fans, and it actually stayed fairly comfortable. As a charity truck show, proceeds go to a family within the community who is in need. This year, 11-year-old Nicole Romero and her family from Holcomb, KS were the recipients. Nicole is battling Acute Lymphoma, but that doesn’t stop her sweet smile from lighting up the 54 10-4 Magazine / August 2025 room. Friday was a day for parking trucks with registration starting at noon. Indoor bobtail parking was first come first served, and it seemed that everyone who wanted to park inside was able to. That evening Weston Wilkerson put on a live concert. As a fourth-generation farmer/rancher, he kept things going, and then there was a light show at 8:00 pm. Saturday, the show opened at 8:00 am and the activities started at noon, beginning with the Jake Brake Contest. The contest was run by Trevin, Jessica, Mason Smith (our February 2025 cover feature) and his wife Esther, and was measured by a decibel meter. As the day went on, votes were placed by the people and by the truckers for who would win the trophies, as there is no official judging at this show. To add to the excitement, the local cornhole league ran a tournament costing $40 per team, double elimination, and had a 50% payout. I think my favorite part of the day was getting homemade ice cream, DUST AND SHINE
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