70 10-4 Magazine / May 2026 this place an annual stop during our time in Louisville, KY during MATS. Bette would have loved the food part of this story, as well. We used to “eat our way across America” and she was always game to try new things and had a vast knowledge of gourmet food, along with all her other interests. This old Peterbilt was the total package and the perfect choice for the award, with a blend of the truck from the time she started her career, along with the people, the food, and the story. I stood in her driveway the day after we lost her and promised her family that I would keep her work and her memory alive. That was over 17 years ago, and now I want to thank all the people who are helping me keep that promise to her family. Thanks to D for sharing Bette’s early years that I wasn’t there for. Thanks to Mark Harter who became the curator of the Bette Garber collection and took on the gargantuan task of scanning and organizing 150,000+ slides (he also uses his talent to write for 10-4 Magazine). Thanks to my editor Daniel Linss for having the “Out of the Archives” column each month that brings her work back to the pages of a great magazine, and for letting me write about Bette and her work so many times over the past years. Because of that, so many more drivers out there today know who she was. Also, thanks to Scott for the Bette stickers he continues to make for me, getting her back on trucks, and out on the road. Thanks to Carl Carstens for helping me get her work back all those years ago and for making a beautiful trophy for the first award given in her honor. Big congratulations go out to Austin and Sabrina. Also, thanks to Mike Gaffin for his Tik Tok posts using pictures of Bette’s work that Mark shares with him. Mark didn’t know her like the rest of us did, but he knows how important the work he is doing is. I appreciate every one of you mentioned here – thank you for helping me continue to honor my friend, Bette Garber! n
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