INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Making MATS memories BY Jami Jones
/ MANAGING EDITOR
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/ L AND LINE MAGA ZINE
Theories about the appeal of the MidAmerica Trucking Show are as varied as the 70,000-plus people who attend it every year. Truck drivers, company owners, vendors, original equipment manufacturers, journalists, you name it, they seem to be there from all corners of the globe. This will be my 15th MATS. I have learned over the years that it really is all things to all people. If you’re starting a business, resources abound. Looking for the latest, greatest new gadget? They are everywhere. New trucks. Truck parts. T-shirts and caps. Accessories that shine, light up, make noise, deflect air or just plain look great. It’s all there. No matter your agenda and reason for attending MATS, it will deliver. But, in all the years I’ve been coming here, the one thing that means the most to me are the friends and memories I’ve made along the way. One standout memory for me was when I actually got to shirk my professional responsibilities and hang out with Logan Mahalek and his younger brother, Mason. Logan was an OOIDA Mary Johnston Scholarship recipient and came to MATS with his grandparents. Because I was a Mid-America veteran and knew some pretty cool people in the industry, I was asked to show them around. We spent a couple of hours catching the high points of the show. We chatted with Bryan “Boss Man” Martin with 4 State Trucks – Home of the Chrome Shop Mafia. Picked up a ton of shwag around the show. And, while Logan and I were all about the trucks and talking trucking, we found out Mason, who was 11 at the time, was quite the ladies’ man. That was fun to explain to Grandpa. I’ll never forget the first time I had to do a double take when trucker Rusty Wade, rest his soul, darted by in a gorilla suit, grass skirt and coconut bra. Up until that point I was pretty sure I’d seen it all when I saw Elvis and James Brown (not the real dudes) in the West Wing and Chubby Checker (real dude) outside. MATS is usually held in March. But a couple of years ago, the show included April 1. Now, I don’t know about you, but I
M id -Am e ri c a Tru ck i n g S ho w | 44TH ANNUAL
wasn’t real sure what I could expect out of 70,000-some-odd truckers on the day of the year known for pranks. I knew I’d better have my guard up. Innocently enough, I headed off to my first event for the day, Shell Rotella’s unveiling of a 10-million-mile truck. I will admit that I was doing the math and trying to figure out how on earth a truck could get 10 million miles on it. I was rationalizing the heck out of it. It must be a multi-generational truck. It had to have had some rebuilds, but not knowing Shell’s rules, I couldn’t be sure what they had allowed. So here I sat front row center, ready to see the modern marvel, and wound up hoodwinked.
you’ll leave with memories that will last for a long time The truck was rigged to fall completely apart at the unveiling. Doors fell off. Stacks dropped to the floor. I’m pretty sure even the windshield popped out. Well played, Shell. Well played. Last year seemed to be an animal-themed year for the memories. We were in the Western Star booth when I spotted a honey badger in the display. The theme of the booth was “Never Back Down.” After things settled and business was taken care of, I didn’t miss a beat, laid down on the booth floor (that drew some strange looks but, hey, it’s MATS) and took a picture proving I could go face-to-face with a stuffed honey badger. That got some mileage on Facebook. But not quite as much as LL Senior Editor Dave Tanner photobombing a real zebra that was in the West Wing. In the end, whether you are here for business or pleasure, there is one thing for certain. You’ll leave having experienced something you didn’t expect – memories that will last for a very long time. And if you’re lucky, you’ll make some new friends along the way.
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