10-4 Magazine May 2023

Truck Show Report: By Stephanie Haas Every year tens of thousands of people flock to the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, KY for the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS), one of the largest heavy duty trucking shows in the world. This year, the show was held March 30 to April 1, and with that brought mild weather by comparison to previous years. This is the show to see all things trucking, and for most, it is also the start of truck show season. If you have never been, this event should be on your bucket list to attend. I attended MATS for the first time in 2001 when I didn’t know truck shows were actually a thing across the country. With all the vendors in each wing, the purchase of a t-shirt I bought just because it said “If it don’t shine it ain’t mine,” and the wow factor of the trucks lined up in the show lot, I was like a kid in a candy shop that first year! Fast forward to attending for the third time in 2016, and I was disappointed to find out America’s Truck Wash & Chrome Shop was no longer in business so I couldn’t purchase a couple more of the previously mentioned t-shirts. This year, I arrived in Louisville on Saturday evening and came to the grounds Sunday morning to meet up with JC Alt (show director). I was also able to help Debbie Alt, Jackie Friend, and Cheri Kimball in an assembly line plan to get all of the registration packets together. We definitely lucked out with the weather, with Cheri and I outside all day Monday through Wednesday, taking pictures of the competitors as they arrived and got parked. It was beautiful during the day, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather at night, too. Besides enduring a sunburn on my face from Monday (forgot my sunscreen), the nice weather made for an enjoyable event (besides the rain on Friday). We at 10-4 Magazine, separately or collectively, have attended MATS each year since 2003. Our first year, we shared a booth space with our great friends at Double JJ Enterprises. Each year, we see some amazing trucks, from all over the country, taking part in the outdoor Paul K. Young (PKY) Truck Championship. We have participated as an exhibitor for many years as a way to meet our readers and provide swag for our supporters. This year we had lots of help at the 10-4 Magazine booth with Dan and Shannon Linss, Eric Hill, Tim Sieben, John Testa (in between his gathering of video content from the show), Frank Strohmyer, and Paul Kittle. Kim and John Jaikes even helped with setup on Wednesday prior to the show starting. I would love to help with the 10-4 booth, but yearly commitments have prevented that from happening, so I cheer them on behind the scenes and catch up over meals during the show. In our booth this year, we also had a special guest named Trent Van Bronkhorst from Michigan, who brought his totally custom CNC machined model of a 1980 Kenworth K100 cabover hooked to a 1999 Great Dane spread-axle reefer trailer he made, which was featured in our February 2023 issue. Everyone loved seeing this “metal marvel” in person! Trent was awesome, answering questions and talking with 22 10-4 Magazine / May 2023 ALL THINGS TRUCKING