10-4 Magazine November 2023

Truck Show Report: By Eric Hill In the summer of 2021, I met a gentleman by the name of Mike Braun from Franklin Grove, IL at a truck show in Wisconsin. Having lived most of my life in Illinois, I have traveled extensively throughout the state and know many of the towns and cities. But Franklin Grove was one I was not familiar with, nor did I know where it was located. So, I had to look this one up. I discovered that I have been near this town many times, but not in it. But I digress. Mike stopped by the 10-4 booth and introduced himself. After providing him some free magazine and posters, he proceeded to tell me about a truck show that he and several people from his hometown of Franklin Grove organized and put on annually the first weekend of August. He asked my advice about how he could get greater exposure for their truck show, named the Franklin Grove Big Rig Truck Show. He also invited 10-4 Magazine to attend and cover the event. My immediate recommendation was to advertise the show in 10-4 and post it on our online Events Calendar. Mike took my advice and advertised the show in our magazine in 2022, listed it on the Events Calendar, and I was approved to attend their show for the first time in August 2022. That show was memorable because it was unusually hot and humid that day. I posted several photos and a few videos from that show to the Ten Four Magazine Lounge (our official Facebook Group page). Pleased with our coverage, Mike invited us back for their 2023 show. For the Big Rig Show this year, we decided to provide support with a booth, handing out free magazines and posters at the 2023 show held on Saturday, August 5th, at the Chaplin Creek Historical Site about a mile south of Franklin Grove. The town is a small farming community of about 1,000 people located in north central Illinois. It is two hours straight west of Chicago, 45 minutes southwest of Rockford, and one hour straight east of the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. The area where the trucks are parked is on groomed grass and is expansive – the show grounds could easily accommodate 150-200 big rig trucks. The Big Rig Truck Show is part of the Franklin Grove Harvest Festival that happens annually the first weekend of August. President Bryan Atkinson and Mike as Vice President lead a team of 12 people to plan, organize, and put on this event. They also have a group of volunteers who assist on the day of the truck show. Planning and organizing this event is a year-long process that starts immediately after the previous year’s show ends. I had the opportunity to meet and interview Bryan and Mike, as well as meeting all of the truck show team, on the day of the show. According to Bryan and Mike, the truck show started small at Bryan’s shop with bobtails only. It is not a judged event, and most drivers just park their 38 10-4 Magazine / November 2023 BIG RIGS FOR SHRINERS